Possible site of the birthplace of ice hockey

The origins of the sport of ice hockey have been widely debated over the years. Letters written by Arctic explorer Sir John Franklin imply the game was played near Fort Franklin in the small settlement of Déline on November 6, 1825 - decades earlier than previous indications of the sport's birth.

In the letter, Franklin writes, “[w]e endeavour to keep ourselves in good humour, health, and spirits by an agreeable variety of useful occupation and amusement. Till the snow fell the game of hockey played on the ice was the morning’s sport.”

A letter written weeks earlier mentioned, "the amusements of skating and the evening games on the ice".

Déline is located on the shore of Great Bear Lake in Canada's Northwest Territories, about 60 miles south of the Arctic Circle.