OT: Around Hockey and the NHL

[Major4Boarding]

No one even offered him a ride. Cold. Literally and figuratively.

 

[Felonious Python]

No one even offered him a ride. Cold. Literally and figuratively.

He did.

"As I got closer, I was starting to walk because my legs were exhausted from running up the hill. They asked if I was going into the game and I said I’m the emergency backup goalie and I’m trying to get to the rink because I have to get dressed for the team.

“They told me immediately to jump in. I got in with them and three minutes later they got me to the rink because traffic opened up. They were the saviours of it because it helped a lot because my girlfriend didn’t get there until just before the puck drop and I was there before the warmup even ended.”

 

[Felonious Python]

Turnover Rates and Offensive Efficiency:

Dump-and-Chase Outcomes:
Teams utilizing dump-ins lose possession in 70-80% of cases when engaging in board battles (so-called "50/50 battles").
Controlled entries lead to significantly more scoring opportunities, with shots on goal increasing by 45% compared to indirect entry methods.

I have noticed an uptick in prolonged board battles this season.

 

[TheDaysOf 04]

Rangers currently getting shutout by the last place Predators mid way through the third.

If you asked today can things get worse? Yes, they can.

 

[Felonious Python]

Ken Holland was able to preside over turning the core in Edmonton around, so I don't think that the Sabres need to totally start over.

I respect Lindy Ruff for his dedication to the Sabres, but I'd be thinking about a shock to the culture. Fire both the GM and all the Sabres coaches, hire an experienced GM (maybe even Holland), and let him cook. No sense of continuity or business as usual. Any old promises disappear, and now it's about cleaning up the mess. It's up to the players to decide what part they want in that.

Coach tenures are getting shorter, which makes the NHL more of a GMs league.

 

[Felonious Python]

re: discussion on opening up NHLers with Italian heritage to play for Italy.

Having a more competitive hockey tournament is good for entertainment, but I feel that it's all window dressing to the lack of actual international investment. It's putting on a costume, not representing the country. It's the sketch that got cut from last week's SNL.

Italy or Poland could win some games, and it doesn't move the needle in the slightest. I don't think that international audiences (any audiences) are that malleable.

The USA could suddenly start winning at cricket, and it wouldn't matter. There's no real presence in the US. I wouldn't even know where someone could play organized cricket.


edit: I remember back in like the 2006-2012 era, where every international game that even slightly resulted in an unexpected outcome was getting billed as that country's 'Miracle On Ice'. Austria-Slovakia is tied through two periods in a round-robin game. Are we seeing Austria's Miracle on Ice?

Switzerland only lost by two to Canada, Swiss Miracle on Ice?

It's got to be condescending.

 

[Felonious Python]

An interesting conversation between Jeff Marek and Anton Thun


I think a Euro tournament is interesting, and big time soccer teams will go to other countries to help grow their brand, but we need rinks at home, too. The amount of soccer in Europe is immense, and it may actually make more sense to make the game accessible to the nearest elementary school, than to worry about Copenhagen.

FIFA publishes Professional Football Report 2023

FIFA has published its Professional Football Report 2023 that provides a comprehensive overview of men’s professional football across all 211 FIFA Member Associations (MAs) and launched an online database to encourage clubs to seek out best practice.

inside.fifa.com

Based on the report, there were 128,694 professional male footballers at 3,986 clubs in 135 countries around the world. Mexico had both the most professional players (9,464) - with Spain (8,560) and England (5,582) next - and the most clubs (244), followed by Türkiye (136) and Argentina (118).

The issue I see with China is that the government is too big of a factor. It was maybe like 2016ish when movies, the NBA, etc. were all trying to get into China. Whenever John Cena spoke Mandarin. Around that time.

Every company would desperately twist and contort themselves to appease the Chinese government, but China has an entire economy at its disposal. They can just make their own movies that meet their own standards, and be even bigger hits than Hollywood imports, with all the money going to China. No 25% cut to the west. They can conscript the best entertainers in the country to make sure it happens. The NHL or NBA would more than likely just create a LIV situation.

Why Hollywood’s China Syndrome Is Both Meltdown and Opportunity

Hollywood's share of the Chinese box office has collapsed, but local authorities may now be offering a helping hand.

variety.com

Any investment into building the NHL in another country also increases the likelihood of a competitor who understands their home audience better. I think we should just embrace it. The NHL wants to be the NBA, and the NBA wants to be the NFL, but the NHL might want to become the Premier League instead. Public subsidy for hockey isn't going to happen. If we won't do healthcare, hockey rinks aren't going to make the cut, so it's got to come from private investment and using capitalism to delegate growing the game.

Pro soccer in Mexico isn't threatened by the EPL or Ligue 1. They can coexist.


If each and every NHL team would send all their draft picks to TB, they can be disposed of. A player will have to be picked, of course, with each of those picks, but that will be our burden.

 

[Felonious Python]