The Hockey News facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
The Hockey News

Editor	Ryan Kennedy
Former editors	Bob McKenzie (1982–1991) Steve Dryden (1991–2001) Jason Kay (2001–2021)
Categories	Sports
Founded	1947
Company	Roustan Media
Country	Canada
Based in	Toronto, Ontario
Language	English
ISSN	0018-3016

The Hockey News (also known as THN) is a popular magazine from Canada. It's all about ice hockey!

This magazine was started in 1947 by two people, Ken McKenzie and Will Cote. Since then, it has become one of the most famous hockey magazines in North America. Lots of people read The Hockey News. About 225,000 people read each magazine issue. Its website gets even more visitors, with two million readers in total.

The Hockey News is the best-selling hockey magazine in North America. You can get it by subscribing in North America. People around the world can read it online. You can also find it at many stores that sell magazines.

Before 2018, The Hockey News was owned by different companies. These included Transcontinental Media and the TVA Group. On January 26, 2018, Roustan Media bought The Hockey News.

History of The Hockey News

How The Hockey News Started

The Hockey News began in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, in 1947. Ken McKenzie and Will Cote were the founders. It is the second-oldest magazine in North America that focuses on just one sport. The oldest is Ring Magazine, which is about boxing and started in 1922.

Many people quickly started reading The Hockey News. In its first year, about 20,000 copies were sold. By 1967, this number grew to 50,000 copies. This was when the National Hockey League (NHL) added more teams. By 1972, sales reached 100,000 copies.

Changes in Ownership and Location

In 1968, Ken McKenzie bought out Will Cote and became the only owner. He then sold the magazine to Whitney Communications in New York in 1973. Even after selling it, McKenzie stayed on as the publisher until 1980.

Around 1979, The Hockey News moved its offices. It moved from Montreal to downtown Toronto. Until 2003, the magazine was printed in different cities in Ontario and Montreal. In 2003, all printing moved to Owen Sound, Ontario.

New Editors and Magazine Look

Tom Murray became the new editor. Under his leadership, The Hockey News started to use color on some pages for the first time. In 1982, Bob McKenzie (no relation to the founder) took over as editor. He was a well-known Canadian journalist.

Bob McKenzie made the magazine's stories even more direct. He also started special issues that are still popular today. These include the Season Preview, Draft Preview, and the annual Yearbook.

In 1986, Whitney Communications sold The Hockey News to Transcontinental, Inc. Five years later, Steve Dryden became the new editor. He also introduced new special editions. These included Future Watch, People of Power and Influence, and Season in Review.

Modern Magazine Design

For a long time, until 2003, The Hockey News looked like a newspaper. But in 2003, it changed to a full-color magazine. It had full-page pictures and stapled pages. Jason Kay, who became editor-in-chief in 2001, led these changes.

In 2007, The Hockey News became a full-blown magazine. It had a shiny cover and larger pages (8 x 10 inches).

In 2014, Transcontinental sold The Hockey News to Quebecor Media's Groupe TVA. This made it a partner with TVA Sports, a French-language sports TV channel. In 2018, W. Graeme Roustan bought the magazine.

In 2020, The Hockey News started working with Sports Illustrated. Content from THN would appear on SI.com. They also planned to create websites for specific teams together.

In March 2020, the NHL season was paused due to COVID-19. THN also stopped printing for a short time. Some staff were laid off, including editor-in-chief Jason Kay. He later returned. In the fall of 2022, Ryan Kennedy became the new editor-in-chief.

Brand Extensions: Beyond the Magazine

The Hockey News is mostly known as a magazine. But over the years, it has tried different ways to share hockey news.

In the 1980s and 1990s, when it was still a newspaper, The Hockey News had a TV show. It was shown on TSN and SportsNet in Canada.

The Hockey News has also published several books. Some titles include Hockey's Young Guns and We Are The Champions. They also had a radio show on Sirius XM. Now, they have The Hockey News Podcast, which is an audio and video show.

Digital Media and Online Presence

The Hockey News' website started in the late 1990s. In 2009, they launched the first mobile app just for hockey news. Two years later, a tablet app was added.

The Hockey News is also very active on social media. They have many followers on Twitter (292,000), Facebook (288,000 likes), and Instagram (29,000 followers).

Notable Special Issues

The Hockey News publishes several special issues each year. Here are some of the most popular ones:

• Draft Preview: This issue looks at the top young players who might be picked in the NHL's draft each June.
• Season Preview: It gives predictions for awards, team standings, and more before the season starts.
• Ultimate Pool Guide: This guide has detailed information on every NHL team. It also ranks young players and predicts stats for fantasy hockey players.
• Yearbook: This is a complete guide to the NHL. It includes team details, history, predictions, and analysis for each team.
• Money and Power: This issue explores the business side of hockey. It highlights the most powerful and important people in the hockey world.

Awards and Recognition for The Hockey News

Over the years, The Hockey News became known as 'The Bible of Hockey'. This nickname came from the fact that it was the best source for hockey information. This was especially true before the internet became popular and before there were many sports TV channels.

Even today, The Hockey News is a top source for hockey information. It focuses only on hockey, all the time, and is published year-round. Other magazines might slow down their hockey coverage in the summer, but THN keeps going.

Unlike some other Canadian hockey publications, The Hockey News is not directly connected to the NHL. This allows them to write more freely. They are especially known for their coverage of prospects. These are young players who are not yet in the professional leagues. Their issues like Future Watch and Draft Preview are often quoted by other media. Some NHL teams even use them for information.

Ken McKenzie, who founded The Hockey News, received an award in 1997. It was the Elmer Ferguson Award for great hockey journalism from the Hockey Hall of Fame. Bob McKenzie (no relation), who was editor from 1982 to 1991, received the same award in 2015.

All-Time NHL Player Rankings

Top Players of All Time

In February 1997, The Hockey News celebrated its 50th anniversary. To mark this, they announced they would list the 50 best NHL players of all time. A group of judges decided the rankings. This group included past and present NHL general managers, coaches, players, and famous hockey journalists. Some judges had seen hockey since the 1930s.

When the list was finally released, it named Wayne Gretzky as the best player in NHL history.

In 1998, THN made the list bigger and published it as a book. It was called The Top 100 NHL Players of All Time. Again, Gretzky was ranked number one. The top 10 players were: Wayne Gretzky, Bobby Orr, Gordie Howe, Mario Lemieux, Maurice Richard, Doug Harvey, Jean Beliveau, Bobby Hull, Terry Sawchuk and Eddie Shore. As of 2022, almost every player on this list has been added to the Hockey Hall of Fame.

Revised Rankings and New Lists

Ten years later, in 2007, THN released a new list called The Top 60 Since 1967. This list only included players from after the NHL expanded in 1967. Editor-in-chief Jason Kay explained that it was hard for most experts to fairly compare players from very early NHL history. He said the first "Top 50" list used a lot of old facts and stats to understand players from long ago.

In 2008, the staff of THN helped choose the IIHF Centennial All-Star Team.

In 2010, THN released another updated list of the top 100 players of all time. This time, it ranked the top 20 players for each position. The best player at each position was:

• goaltender - Terry Sawchuk
• defenceman - Bobby Orr
• center - Wayne Gretzky
• left wing - Gordie Howe
• right wing - Bobby Hull

The Top 100 NHL Players of All Time

Players in bold were still playing when the book was published in October 1998. Flags show players born outside of Canada.

See also

In Spanish: The Hockey News para niños