How Hockey Became Gen Z’s Favorite Sport

Something happened this spring that nobody fully predicted. Millions of people who had never watched a hockey game in their lives sat down for the Stanley Cup Playoffs and did not get up. The 2026 playoffs averaged 1.8 million viewers across all broadcasts, the most-watched in U.S. history, surpassing a record that had stood since 1996. The Stanley Cup Final itself averaged 5.2 million viewers per game, the highest since 2019. Game 5 alone drew 5.84 million, the…