Where was the first acknowledged professional ice hockey team formed?

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ice hockey Goalie Marc-André Fleury of the Vegas Golden Knights blocking a shot by Jakub Vrána of the Washington Capitals in game five of the 2018 Stanley Cup finals. The Capitals won the game and the series.

The first acknowledged professional ice hockey team in the world was the Portage Lakers, which was formed in 1903 in Houghton, Michigan.12

The team was owned by a dentist named J.L. Gibson, who recruited Canadian players to play professionally, a practice that contrasted with the prevailing "amateur" status of the sport in Canada at the time, where accepting payment for athletic services was considered ungentlemanly. Following the success of the Portage Lakers, Gibson went on to establish the first acknowledged professional league, the International Pro Hockey League, in 1904.12