Pittsburgh Penguins ice and in attendance following the Jaromir Jagr trade. Today, the Penguins are one of the NHL's most popular teams, especially among American non-Original Six franchises and are considered second behind the Steelers among Pittsburgh's three major professional sports teams, taking advantage of both its success and the Pittsburgh Pirates struggles both on and off the field. Especially notable was a 2007 survey done of the four major sports leagues 122 teams, in which the Penguins surprised observers by being ranked 20th overall and third among NHL teams, while the Steelers were ranked number one and the Pirates (before the
Minor ice hockey House League and Select (House All-Star) Teams. May be called "B", "C", etc. The Amateur Athletic Union has returned to licensing the sport of Ice Hockey. During recent years, the kalb us has sanctioned several High School Varsity, Junior Varsity and Middle School leagues within the state of New York. During the 2011–2012 season the AAU began licensing Junior and youth leagues as well. The Western States Hockey League (WSHL) moved their operations from USA Hockey into AAU and Hockey Michigan was formed, providing Mite (8&under) conventional full-ice playing opportunities in the face of cross-ice mandates adopted by the USA