N H L Returns: Official Ice hockey thread

[stumigoo]

In terms of watching the NHL on my TV what are my options? I've always enjoyed the Ice Hockey and recently went to see the NY Rangers (I'm technically a Sharks fan due to family commitments). Anyway, want to watch some of the playoffs and I know Premier Sports has a fair bit of the NHL but is there any other way? I have a Smart TV so could stream stuff if there is a service/app that supports that?

[wellfan09]

Abdelkader

[wellfan09]

In terms of watching the NHL on my TV what are my options? I've always enjoyed the Ice Hockey and recently went to see the NY Rangers (I'm technically a Sharks fan due to family commitments). Anyway, want to watch some of the playoffs and I know Premier Sports has a fair bit of the NHL but is there any other way? I have a Smart TV so could stream stuff if there is a service/app that supports that?

 

Game Pass, but you wouldn't be able to stream anything to your tv that was being shown live on premier sports I believe. Could footer about to get it to work on a computer though.

[Savage Henry]

I can't believe I'm typing this, but the Sharks have come through in the clutch so far in Los Angeles.

[MuckleMoo]

Abdelkader

I follow the Red Wings and even I found that a bit embarrassing. Think Abby was complaining that he had a damaged hand so couldn't drop the gloves.

Reckon the Bolts will bide there time until they get the Wings back to the Amalie Arena before nailing him.

[sergie's no1 fan]

3-1 Sharks in the series now .

[wellfan09]

Chicago potentially getting papped out tonight, same with Detroit

[Zanetti]

Chicago potentially getting papped out tonight, same with Detroit

Detroit out, it's Chicago's turn now.

Mon the Blues!

[wellfan09]

Chicago looking good to keep it going for another game at least

[wellfan09]

Maybe not, 3-3 now!

[wellfan09]

Offt skills from Kane to win it in 2OT!

[sergie's no1 fan]

The Sharks won 6-3 in LA to win the series 4-1. Amazing.

[Savage Henry]

The Sharks won 6-3 in LA to win the series 4-1. Amazing.

Whodda thunk?

[Yank Mike]

Would love so much to see the Caps blow a 3-0 first round lead after winning the Presidents Trophy and then Russia crash out in the World Cup to the U-23 North America team.

[wellfan09]

Looks like another cracker for STL-CHI, CHI were 3-1 down and are now 4-3 up halfway through the 3rd

[Zanetti]

Would love so much to see the Caps blow a 3-0 first round lead after winning the Presidents Trophy and then Russia crash out in the World Cup to the U-23 North America team.

 

To be fair the 'World Cup' is a bit of a joke. Teams North America and Europe are embarrassing ideas for a tournament which wants to be seen as legitimate, and people who genuinely care about international hockey aren't going to take it particularly seriously. 

[Yank Mike]

To be fair the 'World Cup' is a bit of a joke. Teams North America and Europe are embarrassing ideas for a tournament which wants to be seen as legitimate, and people who genuinely care about international hockey aren't going to take it particularly seriously. 

I'm assuming that Scottish folks aren't that plugged into the European hockey scene, but do you know what type of buzz the hockey World Cup is getting on that side of the world?

I laughed at the initial announcement of a U23 North America and a Europe Team. But it seems like this tournament has more buzz amongst the general public than the World Baseball Classic or the Basketball World Cup by way of comparison.

Obviously this is an attempt by the NHL to replace the Olympics. I doubt they will succeed. The Russian players keep promising to skip out on the NHL season if an Olympic break is not allowed and Olympic hockey is the number 1 draw for both the US and Canada for the Winter Games. I guess we will see how it works.

[Zanetti]

I'm assuming that Scottish folks aren't that plugged into the European hockey scene, but do you know what type of buzz the hockey World Cup is getting on that side of the world?

I laughed at the initial announcement of a U23 North America and a Europe Team. But it seems like this tournament has more buzz amongst the general public than the World Baseball Classic or the Basketball World Cup by way of comparison.

Obviously this is an attempt by the NHL to replace the Olympics. I doubt they will succeed. The Russian players keep promising to skip out on the NHL season if an Olympic break is not allowed and Olympic hockey is the number 1 draw for both the US and Canada for the Winter Games. I guess we will see how it works.

No idea why you'd assume that I don't know much about European hockey, I follow about 5 or 6 domestic leagues fairly closely not to mention the CHL and I'd consider myself reasonably knowledgeable about the sport. Hockey is by far my favourite sport, and I much prefer the European game to the NA one.

The fact is that nobody is going to care about this anywhere near as much as they do the Olympics. I'd be surprised if this tournament got as much attention as the World Championships to be honest, at least in places like Russia, Sweden, Finland and Czech Republic. North America is obviously different.

It's a money making venture and people recognise this.

Edited April 27, 2016 by Zanetti

[Yank Mike]

No idea why you'd assume that I don't know much about European hockey, I follow about 5 or 6 domestic leagues fairly closely not to mention the CHL and I'd consider myself reasonably knowledgeable about the sport. Hockey is by far my favourite sport, and I much prefer the European game to the NA one.

The fact is that nobody is going to care about this anywhere near as much as they do the Olympics. I'd be surprised if this tournament got as much attention as the World Championships to be honest, at least in places like Russia, Sweden, Finland and Czech Republic. North America is obviously different.

It's a money making venture and people recognise this.

Sorry, I just assumed that the hockey World Cup isn't the water cooler talk in Scotland and assumed that British people wouldn't be following hockey news out of Slovakia closely. Guess I was wrong.

 

I'm not sure about Canada, but the World Championships are a non-event in the US. It's profile is rising a bit, but they haven't broken out beyond the really hardcore hockey fan audience. It won't be hard for the World Cup to top the World Championships here. The question is whether it can pass the Olympics. I was in Georgia during the 2010 Olympics and I remember the bars being packed standing room only for the USA v Canada game with all the people hanging onto to each moment, even in the South. I doubt the World Cup will be able to match that, but I suspect that the casual hockey fan will follow and some of the general sports fans who only follow big events in each sport.

 

Slovakia and Switzerland were the countries replaced. I guess the question is putting a competitive product on the ice and getting the most deserving players in the tournament vs promoting growth of the game in countries outside the big 6. I'm honestly fine with trying it this way since the other countries still have the Olympics and World Championships.

 

Since you follow the European leagues, I have a question about the relationship between the KHL and the lesser leagues. How do the fans in smaller countries react when the KHL moves in?  Do they support the KHL team and then also their local team in a similiar way that US fans would support a local college team and then an NHL team as well? Or are the fanbases separate?

Edited April 28, 2016 by Yank Mike

[Zanetti]

Sorry, I just assumed that the hockey World Cup isn't the water cooler talk in Scotland and assumed that British people wouldn't be following hockey news out of Slovakia closely. Guess I was wrong.

 

I'm not sure about Canada, but the World Championships are a non-event in the US. It's profile is rising a bit, but they haven't broken out beyond the really hardcore hockey fan audience. It won't be hard for the World Cup to top the World Championships here. The question is whether it can pass the Olympics. I was in Georgia during the 2010 Olympics and I remember the bars being packed standing room only for the USA v Canada game with all the people hanging onto to each moment, even in the South. I doubt the World Cup will be able to match that, but I suspect that the casual hockey fan will follow and some of the general sports fans who only follow big events in each sport.

 

Slovakia and Switzerland were the countries replaced. I guess the question is putting a competitive product on the ice and getting the most deserving players in the tournament vs promoting growth of the game in countries outside the big 6. I'm honestly fine with trying it this way since the other countries still have the Olympics and World Championships.

 

Since you follow the European leagues, I have a question about the relationship between the KHL and the lesser leagues. How do the fans in smaller countries react when the KHL moves in?  Do they support the KHL team and then also their local team in a similiar way that US fans would support a local college team and then an NHL team as well? Or are the fanbases separate?

 

I just read my reply back and I probably sounded a little defensive, sorry! You might be surprised anyway, hockey isn't anywhere near as popular as football in Scotland, but after that and rugby it's still the most watched sport.

 

Despite how critical I am about the World Cup, I'm probably still going to semi-follow and watch it. I mean, it's still hockey, and I'm sure it'll still be quite entertaining. I just don't see it as anywhere near as prestigious as the Olympics of World Championships (which are a HUGE deal in a lot of Europe). The sad thing about countries like Slovakia and Switzerland not being represented is that you're talking about places where hockey is the number one sport. They might not be quite as competitive, but it still detracts from the event hugely IMO.

 

The KHL is a funny one. I personally love it for what it is, but I want it to stay in Russia and Eastern Europe. Just look at the situation in Sweden right now to get an idea of what it's like, the Swedish hockey association is completely against the idea of a team joining despite the KHL's best efforts, and most fans support this. It looks like they're now going to start a brand new club from scratch who won't be members of the association and as such can't be blocked. The problem is that people in Sweden all already support clubs who they're dedicated too and have been for years, and once the novelty wears off this could be a financial disaster. 

 

A similar thing happened in the Czech Republic too with Lev Praha, after two seasons in the KHL sponsors completely pulled out leaving the club to die, and in the end nobody really cared. The Czech people are far more interested in following their own domestic league, which although isn't up to KHL standards, is still very, very strong. A 2 year old club isn't going to come before an 80 year old club for anyone, even if the hockey is pretty entertaining.

 

There are rumours of a Swiss club being invited to join too, and I think that'd be really disappointing because they have the most interesting domestic league in the whole of Europe (in my opinion, anyway). If it's a new club, I'd expect it to follow in Lev Praha's footsteps, if it's a club which already exists their fanbase will of course keep following them even if I don't imagine they'd all be hugely fond of the change. 

 

I seriously hope that the KHL never expands to the UK. I think British hockey needs to make a few changes, but that's not the right idea. The EIHL is already expanding, with a new team in London probably going to join in the next couple of years, and I'd be really disappointed if this was just a tested for a potential KHL team as some people seem to think.