Obviously, hockey is a very mainstream sport. If you ask anyone, what is hockey? I guarantee 99% of people know are familiar.

Players like Sidney Crosby and Wayne Gretzky are known across the world, but with the Olympics wrapping up, there’s a new name floating around.

You may or may not have know him two weeks ago, but after America’s record-breaking winter games, there’s a high chance you do.

The man’s name is Jack Hughes, who was overcome with American pride after his overtime goal gave Team USA the gold medal in men’s ice hockey against Canada.

If you’re not a very big hockey fan (like me), you typically don’t hear about it too often. But open up your computer and check out recent news stories or browse through trending topics on social media; don’t be surprised when you see multiple stories on USA hockey.

Within the past month, USA’s interest in hockey as a whole has shot up, sparking interest in many young, up-and-coming players.

Locally, there’s also the story of Penn State’s rise in the college hockey world. The Nittany Lions made it to the “Frozen 4” last season, and this year hosted one of the biggest hockey games ever in Beaver Stadium.

On top of that, the Pittsburgh Penguins are streaking even though their star Crosby being out. Since Christmas break, they’ve been hot with a record of 14-7. They climbed the Metro division and are  now sitting tied in 2nd place.

An average NHL hockey game has around 450,000-800,000 television viewers and the Stanley cup typically reaches up to 2.5 million viewers, so the sport in America has some traction. The USA hockey team achieved almost 8.9 million viewers for its gold medal game last week. That blows the Stanley cup viewership out of the water.

So, yes, Hockey is on the rise and isn’t planning on stopping anytime soon.