BenchClearers Blog | Hockey Apparel Guides & Gear Reviews – Tagged "hockey history"– Bench Clearers

Oct 09, 2026

From the Quebec Nordiques to the Colorado Avalanche: The Full Story

The Colorado Avalanche won the Stanley Cup in their first season in Denver, with a coach, a GM and two stars who had been Quebec Nordiques a year earlier. This is the full story of one franchise: a two-game coach, a pay phone in Austria, a 12-61-7 season, the Lindros trade, the 1995 sale and the night Patrick Roy walked out on Montreal.

Oct 02, 2026

AHL History: How the American Hockey League Became Hockey's Proving Ground

The NHL shows you the finished product. The AHL is where it gets forged. Look at any NHL roster this season and most of the names rode an AHL bus first. In 2024-25, 87% of all NHL players were AHL...

Sep 10, 2026

A Miracle in 1980 and Three Gold Medals in 2026: Here is the Other Century Nobody Told You About

Everyone knows 1980. That's about a tenth of the story. This is the other hundred and six years — the 1933 upset, the forgotten 1960 gold, the sled hockey dynasty nobody talks about, and the year USA Hockey swept gold three times over.

Sep 03, 2026

Did You Know the Pittsburgh Penguins Owned a Russian Hockey Team?

In 1993, the Pittsburgh Penguins bought a broke, empty Soviet hockey club and renamed it the Russian Penguins. This is the wildest road trip in hockey history.

Aug 10, 2026

The Original Six: The Real Story Behind Hockey's Most Famous Six Teams

The NHL's Original Six weren't the league's first six teams. Here's the real history behind Boston, Chicago, Detroit, Montreal, New York, and Toronto — and where their identities came from.