NHL needs to show the kids some love
Thursday, December 27, 2007 | 01:48 PM ET
If you’re like me this is one of the best times of the year to be a hockey fan as the IIHF Under-20 tournament is in many ways more exciting than the Stanley Cup finals. The NHLers of tomorrow, the junior stars of today, all on showcase in front of the world.
Well, Canada anyway.
It seems the rest of the world just doesn’t care in the same way that Canadians do about this tournament. For Canadian hockey fans this is often the last chance we get to see these wonderfully gifted athletes at the amateur level before they turn pro.
This tournament helps sell the backstory of each of these players before they take the next steps in their career. And by the time they reach the NHL we know something about them.
We know about Kyle Turris and his exploits with the Burnaby Express before he suits up for the Phoenix Coyotes.
We know that Steve Mason is exceptionally gifted at handling the puck for a goaltender and recorded a record 13 assists last year for the London Knights.
And we seem to know just about everything about John Tavares and will probably always be reminded of yesterday’s opener where despite only taking five shifts in the game, the Oshawa General potted two goals.
As for the United States, this tournament is barely a blip on the radar - it has no penetration at all into the American sports consciousness.
No TV, no newspaper, barely anything on the web.
Basically zilch.
Because of that, NHL players seem to come out of nowhere for U.S hockey fans. Think Islander fans know the story of Kyle Okposo before he suits up for them?
Or St Louis Blues fans…. Think they could spot Lars Eller in a lineup?
Do you think anyone in Los Angeles knew anything about Jonathan Bernier before he suited up for the Kings earlier this year?
For many American hockey fans, players might as well just come from hockey factories in Canada, Sweden, Russia, Finland etc.
In basketball American sports fans know the story of every players before he hits the NBA as coverage of hoops in the U.S. is extensive.
Ditto for football and baseball.
Personalities are built and fans watch the stars of tomorrow grow up in front of their eyes and on their T.V. screens. In short they can relate to each athlete before he joins their home team.
Not so in hockey and this tournament would be the perfect vehicle to introduce these young players to the U.S market. Last year Oilers fans knew all about Sam Gagner before Kevin Lowe selected him in the draft. Can you say most Blackhawks fans knew anything about Pat Kane before Dale Tallon made him the first overall pick in the draft?
Again, this tournament helps the NHL by telling the stories of the players so fans can relate to them. Sure, showcasing their skills is one thing but this tournament and the extensive coverage it gets in Canada brings us closer to our hockey players and makes them part of our lives at a young age.
If the NHL wants to help solve this problem, it has to get involved in a promotional way to help grow this tournament's presence in the United States. Sure the tournament gets some mention on the NHL web site but it would be in the league's best interests to step up it’s support and throw a little promotional muscle behind it.
We’ll talk about this on the show this afternoon.
Speaking of which….
On today’s edition of Hockey Night in Canada radio (Sirius ch 122 at 4pm eastern) Scott Morrison sits in as co-host and we’ll do a hockey roundtable with Elliotte Friedman and Craig Simpson. Scott Burnside from ESPN.com drops by to talk about the Atlanta Thrashers and takes us for a tour around the league. Dennis Beyak’s up tonight to set up the Maple Leafs/ Flyers tilt and we’ll play back interviews we did with Peter Mansbridge and Jim Gregory. Hope you can join us!
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About the Author
Jeff Marek, one of sports talk radio's brightest stars, is the host of the all-new HNIC Radio on SIRIUS Satellite Radio. A twelve-year sports-talk radio veteran, the Toronto native provides intelligent hockey talk, insight and debate during the two-hour national daily drive-time hockey program.
Well known for his previous work on Leafs Lunch on AM 640 Toronto Radio, Marek is one of sports talk radio's most respected personalities. He joined AM 640 in 2000, hosting The Jeff Marek Show, a nightly open-line talk show, while working as the stations' morning news anchor. He quickly became the director of sports news and joined host Bill Watters on Leafs Lunch.
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- Boudreau earning his Caps
- Friday, December 28, 2007
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- Thursday, December 27, 2007
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Comments
Pagan
There is a small faction of Blues fans here in St. louis that try to keep track of players like Lars Eller and Ian Cole as much as we can. We just have to try really hard to find anything. I know of several fans disappointed by there being no local televised coverage of the tourney. Our lack of knowledge is not for lack of interest, it's for lack of coverage.
Posted December 28, 2007 03:53 PM
Dale
The logic is sound but the answer is not to televise the WJC but to increase the exposure of US college hockey. The other sports build their interest in their athletes through their college careers and hockey should be no exception. So instead of wasting space with news about the CHL, the NHL.com website should promote the great collge games being played across the US.
Posted December 27, 2007 07:19 PM