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Morning Start: The inventor of the slapshot played in the Coloured Hockey League

Your morning start for Friday, June 5, 2020
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(Natalia Cuevas-Huaico - Kelowna Capital News)

Plans for a return to play this summer have been in the works for major sports leagues like the NHL and NBA. Before we get there, let’s take a look at the man who invented the ice hockey slapshot.

Fun Fact of the day: the man who invented the slapshot

In hockey lore, credit for the invention of the slapshot is typically given to Bernard “Boom Boom” Geoffrion,” who played for the Montreal Canadiens in the 1950s and 60s.

However, as historians George and Darril Fosty state in their book Black Ice: The Lost History of the Coloured Hockey League of the Maritimes, the first player to use the slapshot technique was Eddie Martin of the Halifax Eureka in 1906.

The Coloured Hockey League of the Maritimes was an all-black men’s hockey league founded by black baptists and intellectuals in Halifax in 1895. More than 400 black Canadian players from across Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island played in the league, and play was known to be fast, physical and innovative.

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Brendan Shykora
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Brendan Shykora

About the Author: Brendan Shykora

I started as a carrier at the age of 8. In 2019 graduated from the Master of Journalism program at Carleton University.
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