The history of hockey's goal celebration! (VIDEO)

Have you ever wondered why hockey players so often raise their arms and their sticks in celebration of a goal? Honestly, I never did. It just seemed so natural, all my hockey heroes Gretzky, Lemieux, Yzerman, etc, they all did it so it was just the thing to do. I mean the Great One probably raised his stick in the air more than any hockey player ever,  helped by the fact that he scored so often. Well as it turns out, it wasn't always so natural a reaction for goal scorers, in fact on this day in 1947 the NHL implemented a rule that required players to raise their stick when a goal had been scored. Why? Because it allowed fans, coaches and everyone in the arena to know that a goal had been scored, you have to remember the glass wasn't nearly as transparent then as it is now, there were no big screens to watch the replay. According to Dave Stubbs Billy Reay was the first to celebrate in this fashion, so next time you score one at your local rink, just remember you're probably celebrating that way because players in the 1940's were forced to!

This day 1947: #NHL intros policy of having a player raise his stick to signify a goal. #Habs Billy Reay becomes 1st pic.twitter.com/iQvI8a94bi — Dave Stubbs (@Dave_Stubbs) November 13, 2014

Obviously goal celebrations have evolved over time, as you will see in this top 10 goal celebrations video  from TSN, which one is your favorite?