Marketing/Fixing the NHL

[Money99]

Quote: Originally Posted by Pappy Knuckles

Most people will never care about hockey. I hate that highlights get shown on ESPN at all, but I understand that it's still somewhat popular. It's always going to have its fans, but it will never rise much higher than the position that it's in right now.

Haha. You hate the highlights they have now?
They barely show any.

I'm from Canada so I get TSN. But a few years ago, for 3 weeks I was working in Northern California and got to watch ESPN for 21 days straight. This was around January.
Every morning while I got ready for work, I would watch ESPN and by day 4 I was completely sick and tired of college basketball and the NBA. That's the only highlights they showed. Ad naseum. They would show about 30 seconds of hockey - and this is when they actually had NHL rights.
By time I was done with this trip I never wanted to see another basketball highlight ever again. I seriously don't know anyone that could stomach ESPN if you're not a fan of basketball or the NFL. That program is like a 24-hour advertisment for the sports - which it is.
On one particular day, during the 'Top 10', there was a great highlight of an NHL goal. It was at #9. The #2 highlight? A jumpshot. It wasn't a buzzer beater either. Just a nice looking jumpshot. Talk about sucking the NBA's ***.

That's why I'm happy with the NHL on Versus. They actually treat the sport with respect. ESPN treated it like a foster child. A child it kept around only to pick up a few gov't checks to pay for strippers.

[GSW]

Quote: Originally Posted by Money99

Victor Hedman. He was outplayed by Tavares but in my opinion, Hedman is the better bet. Big, skilled defenseman are impossible to find. And I found that Tavares was nearly invisible in both the Russian and Sweden games when playing 5-on-5. I see Tavares as being more of a Dave Andreychuk. Both were centres in Junior with less than average skating, but Andreychuk found his niche in the league as a winger and on the powerplay. Tavares isn't the fastest, but he has great hands and great vision. His potential from the blueline in, is very good. But I don't think he has the wheels to play centre in the NHL as you need good wheels to cover all 3 zones. He'll probably be converted to a winger and score 200 PP goals before his career is over.

see this is what i dont understand.

how can a forward be good, yet he cant skate... and please define "cant skate".. when i see these guys they all look to be abel to skate fine.

Thats like sayin in basketball yea that point guard is really good but he cant run well.

[Pink Mist]

Quote: Originally Posted by GSW

see this is what i dont understand. how can a forward be good, yet he cant skate... and please define "cant skate".. when i see these guys they all look to be abel to skate fine. Thats like sayin in basketball yea that point guard is really good but he cant run well.

A forward can still be great if he's not the fastest because he can have a vision of the ice, or a good shot and what not.

And can't skate he means, that the are much faster skaters then him.

[GSW]

ohhh so skate as in being fast...

thats fair.

[Old's Cool]

I can understand where Money99 is coming from. I'm from Montreal and would love the Habs to have more french-canadian or just canadian players on the team. If they could get LeCavalier, it would be pandemonium over here!

[Money99]

Quote: Originally Posted by GSW

ohhh so skate as in being fast... thats fair.

It's not just that he doesn't have great straight-ahead speed, but his lateral movement and foot quickness aren't NHL caliber.

He has exceptional hands and vision and definitely has a nose for the net.
But the jump from junior to NHL is a giant one.

Tavares looked great against the lesser teams in the Jr tournament and played very well against Team USA. But against Russia and Sweden (and even USA to an extent) he was ineffective 5-on-5.

I could be completely off on this (Lord knows I usually am) but I think Cody Hodgson and Jordan Eberle are going to be better two-way and even strength pro's than Tavares.
Both those guys are beautiful skaters and are able to create more off the rush. Tavares needs more time because his poor skating doesn't allow him that first quick step to get around defenders or open things up.

But again, I could be completely wrong and he'll probably score 40 goals as a rookie next year.

[Money99]

Quote: Originally Posted by Old's Cool

I can understand where Money99 is coming from. I'm from Montreal and would love the Habs to have more french-canadian or just canadian players on the team. If they could get LeCavalier, it would be pandemonium over here!

Thanks Old's Cool. I certainly didn't mean to insult European players. I'm a huge fan of many of them.
But I believe, in some markets, you have to have at least one or two quality 'local' boys in order to gain maximum interest from fans.

If the Wings had a guy like Toews, I have no doubt they'd sell more tickets.
The Habs already sell out every night, but if they had Vinny? Oh boy. That place would explode!
I still remember when he was cheered by Habs fans a few years ago after putting on a great performance.
It's human nature for French people to want a French player. Just like I'm sure if the NHL expanded into Stockholm the fans would much prefer a team like Detroit over a team like Boston.

[DrJones]

Quote: Originally Posted by Money99

The Habs already sell out every night

That's my point, though. Montreal (and Vancouver, for that matter) rely heavily on European talent, and neither has sniffed a Cup in a long time, but they sell out every game with ticket prices far higher than in Detroit.