Today Ashley March wrote about how she wasn't as excited or interested in the NHL this season. You can find it here.
While I can understand the things she says (she said later that its the Americanisation of the sport that she doesn't like) I can't agree with it.
Personally, I've never been so excited by the start of a NHL season.
For the common or garden EIHL fan, the NHL represents the ultimate pinnacle of the sport we love. We tend to get the "players end up over here when they're not good enough for the show any more" argument, so we look to the NHL for the top quality, the best of the best, the reason that we have the players we do. That in itself is enough for me to get excited - watching the best players in the world in my favourite sport going toe to toe.
Ashley mentions that the game is changing. Enforcers are being phased out, she says, and I tend to agree. However, as out and out enforcers are not my cup of tea, this isn't a huge issue for me. I am all for physicality - I love a good, clean, hard, well timed hit. I do appreciate the work of a checking line, and get the point of dropping the gloves when it's needed. However, I also like my guys who do that to be able to play a bit too.
One of my favourite Calgary players is Curtis Glencross - a former 4th line guy who has proved he's not just about hitting people and used his good playing ability to become a fixture on the first line. I like guys who have an all-round game, who aren't just there to lay somebody out and skate off, but are capable of doing so. The death of the enforcer isn't a bad thing - as long as all physicality doesn't leave with it.
She also mentions the commercialism that has seemingly taken over - players chasing the money, sponsors on the ice and round the boards, As a man who has grown up in football culture, and watched the Premier League take a similar approach, this is nothing new. High-end professional sports teams are now predominantly businesses. In fact, in football it could be argued that clubs need to be businesses now, as the rules relating to Financial Fair Play mean that they have to make revenue, as owners are no longer allowed to simply throw money at a football club if they have it spare. Teams have got to afford to pay those wages somehow, in both sports. Kane and Toews' contracts won't pay for themselves, after all.
Besides, you've got off lucky. Look at our ice.
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| Judas Incarnate |
As for player movement, again I will say look at football. A player signs a five year contract, you wonder how much that increases his transfer fee in the next window. Darren Bent was worshipped by Sunderland fans, and he jumped ship at the first opportunity. Luis Suarez apologists could be found on every red corner of Merseyside, and their adulation was rewarded by him abandoning the club who'd defended (and attempted to rehabilite him) in search of a better payday.
Actually, look at the Elite League. Players come and go every year. I say each year I won't become attached to a player because he'll just leave come April, and each year I can't help myself. Stefan Meyer, Tylor Michel, Shawn Limpright, all names in recent years who have came in, formed emotional bonds with the fans, and left afterwards. It can't be helped, its the nature of the EIHL beast. I think its the beast of professional sport - players have a limited career span, and will make the best of themselves while they're able to. Good luck to them, but it still hurts you.
I've found the best way to be now is to thank them for their service, and wish them well in their future endeavours. If you harbour resentment towards a player leaving your club, where does it get you? Extreme bitterness, that's where.
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| Role Model |
She also says the revolution of Canadian NHL coverage is a sad affair, the end of an era for Canadian hockey fans. If you weren't aware, Rogers Sportsnet has near-enough exclusivity on NHL on TV in Canada. Don Cherry and Coaches Corner will remain, but on a different network. To be honest, having watched the NHL intently for a few years now, I believe that this change will probably end up being a breath of fresh air. At times, it felt like hockey coverage was simply going through the motions - quick pre-game, show game, do a brief roundtable, show more game, move on. Fresh ideas and fresh designs could give it a jolt that I felt it needed. But then I only get what Gamecenter shows me, so I maybe don't see the fuller picture.
Plus with the small amount of hockey coverage we get over here (I have big love for Premier Sports, but the celebration of a premium rate mostly-unheard-of satellite channel getting EIHL coverage was a sign of where the sport is in the British consciousness), we still look over at the mass coverage hockey gets on the western front of the Atlantic with great envy.
I imagine the main reason I disagree with Ashley is mainly because I'm not a 20+ year Canadian hockey fan living in Ontario. I've been watching hockey religiously for about 5 years now, so for me, even the dullest of NHL games still excites me because its the NHL. Had I seen games two decades ago, and looked back on it now, I might have the same opinion.
For my final point though, I will lean back to football. It's becoming a pretty big deal Stateside. NBCSN shows every Premier League game. They're not interested in the lower leagues, like football fans on this side of the divide are (mostly). They want to see the stars.
I want to see the NHL. I love seeing the NHL. And on Wednesday night, I was like a kid at Christmas. Long may it continue.
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