The modern sport of ice hockey was developed in Canada, with the first recorded indoor game played in Montreal on March 3, 1875. This game was organized by James G. Creighton, a Canadian from Halifax, Nova Scotia, who also created the first set of ice hockey rules and introduced innovations such as the hockey puck to improve gameplay and safety. Creighton brought patented skates and hockey sticks to Montreal and helped formalize the sport at the Victoria Skating Rink

. While ice hockey as we know it originated in Canada, its roots trace back to various stick-and-ball games played on ice in Europe, particularly in the UK during the 17th century, such as bandy and shinty. British soldiers brought these games to Canada in the mid-1800s, where they evolved into ice hockey. There is also evidence of ancient stick-and-ball games resembling hockey played thousands of years ago in places like Egypt and among indigenous peoples in North America, but these were quite different from modern hockey

. In summary, James G. Creighton is credited with inventing modern ice hockey by organizing the first indoor game and establishing its initial rules in Montreal, Canada, in 1875, building on earlier European and indigenous stick- and-ball traditions