Professional soccer, true. But professional hockey is pretty big in a lot of northern cities. Not at the same level as football or baseball, but big enough. It's limited in cities where kids don't actually play the sport in any numbers though.
Definitely. I'm from the Northeast, hockey has become HUGE in every city from DC to Philly to NYC to Boston, as well as Pittsburgh. The Pens have been selling out every game for years, Flyers fans are rabid, Caps fans are new to the hockey scene, but still sell out games. Try getting a Wizards or Nationals game to ever sell out...
To add to your point, of the original six NHL teams, four were American. Hockey is a very American game, at least for the upper half of the country (it is a big country).
