Junior hockey is ice hockey competition generally for players between 16 and 21 years of age. Junior hockey leagues in the United States and Canada are considered amateur (with some exceptions) and operate within regions of each country.

In Canada, the highest level is major junior, and is governed by the Canadian Hockey League, which itself has three constituent leagues: the Ontario Hockey League, Quebec Major Junior Hockey League and the Western Hockey League. The second tier is Junior A, governed nationally by the Canadian Junior Hockey League.

In the United States, the top level is Tier I, represented by the United States Hockey League. Tier II is represented by the North American Hockey League. There are several Tier III leagues throughout the country. A limited number of teams in the Canadian major junior leagues are also based in the United States.

In Europe, junior teams are often sponsored by professional teams, and act as development and feeder associations for those organizations.

Ice hockey is a contact team sport played on ice, usually in a rink, in which two teams of skaters use their sticks to shoot a vulcanized rubber puck into their opponent's net to score points. Ice hockey teams usually consist of four lines of three forwards, three pairs of defencemen, and two goaltenders. Normally, each team has five players who skate up and down the ice trying to take the puck and score a goal against the opposing team.

A fast-paced, physical sport, hockey is most popular in areas of North America (particularly Canada and the northern United States) and northern and western Europe. In North America, the National Hockey League (NHL) is the highest level for men's hockey and the most popular. The Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) is the highest league in Russia and much of Eastern Europe. Ice hockey is the official national winter sport of Canada, where the game enjoys immense popularity. The International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) is the formal governing body for international ice hockey. The IIHF manages international tournaments and maintains the IIHF World Ranking. Worldwide, there are ice hockey federations in 74 countries.

The Hockey Players (original title: Khokkeisty) (Russian: Хоккеисты) is a 1964 Soviet sports drama film written by Yury Trifonov and directed by Raphael Goldin. It had English release in 1965 under the title The Hockey Players, Finnish release as Mestarit, and East German release as Eishockeyspieler.

Plot

Thirty-year captain of the Rockets hockey team, Anatoly Duganov (Vyacheslav Shalevich), famous and experienced player decides to fight for the sport longevity of the old men as he tries to prove that it is still too early to retire. But in sports, including hockey, for a long time there is a certain stereotype: in 16 years is considered to be more junior player, at 18 years young player in the adult team, and in 25 years - is already a veteran. Acutely experiencing a quarrel with my girlfriend Maya (Elza Lezhdey), Duganov seeking participation in the decisive final match between the two strongest teams - and seek victory team.

Cast

Ice Hockey may mean: