Around the League '18-'19

[kingsholygrail]

Don't like the leafs but got to give props to this quote after hiring Wickenheiser, "If you're only hiring white males, and I'm saying that as a white male, you're probably leaving a lot on the table in terms of how your organization can development."

A tip of the hat to Dubas.

I'm more interested in what teams he thinks have a policy of only hiring white males, speaking as a white male myself.

 

[Stimpythecat]

Can we start a Karlsson to LA rumor?

I'm bored.

Ask and ye shall receive.



4:38

Edit: The guy on camera is a writer for the Ottawa Sun.

 

[YP44]

Tim and Sid annoy the bejesus out of me.

 

[KINGS17]

Don't like the leafs but got to give props to this quote after hiring Wickenheiser, "If you're only hiring white males, and I'm saying that as a white male, you're probably leaving a lot on the table in terms of how your organization can development."

A tip of the hat to Dubas.

...or you can just hire the most qualified person regardless of skin color.

 

[Herby]

...or you can just hire the most qualified person regardless of skin color.

It's hilarious, sometimes in our quest to force diversity we forget that this is a sport played mostly by affluent men in Canada, the northern United States, Scandinavia and Eastern Europe.

It's not shocking that the vast majority of people involved with hockey are white males.

 

[Nickster]

It's hilarious, sometimes in our quest to force diversity we forget that this is a sport played mostly by affluent men in Canada, the northern United States, Scandinavia and Eastern Europe.

It's not shocking that the vast majority of people involved with hockey are white males.

The NHL must correct this. The next expansion team should be in Djibouti.

 

[johnjm22]

I think hockey and the NHL should make an effort to expand the game into different communities, but hiring should be a meritocracy. Wickenheiser sounds like a good hire regardless of gender.

 

[KINGS17]

I think hockey and the NHL should make an effort to expand the game into different communities, but hiring should be a meritocracy. Wickenheiser sounds like a good hire regardless of gender.

Agreed, a woman with championship experience at the highest level can probably evaluate talent.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

It's hilarious, sometimes in our quest to force diversity we forget that this is a sport played mostly by affluent men in Canada, the northern United States, Scandinavia and Eastern Europe.

It's not shocking that the vast majority of people involved with hockey are white males.

Yeah, random diversity hires for the sake of diversity hires at the highest level is a bad idea.

To me, it's a grassroots issue rather than an NHL issue; get more diverse crowds playing the game at a high level, and you'll get more talented staff of all sorts.

 

[johnjm22]

The thing is hockey is popular in cold weather areas. Cold weather areas are primarily populated by white people so the vast majority of people involved with the game are going to be white.

It's difficult for the game to expand into areas with a warmer climate. You kinda need access to ice to get into the game as anything more than a casual spectator.

 

[Ziggy Stardust]

You guys remember when the Kings hired Cammi Granato to replace Mike Allison as radio color analyst?

This was back in '98. I think it was more of a PR thing than her being qualified because she wasn't very good at it and they pretty much put her in a position to fail. Daryl Evans took over the color analyst gig shortly thereafter.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

The thing is hockey is popular in cold weather areas. Cold weather areas are primarily populated by white people so the vast majority of people involved with the game are going to be white.

It's difficult for the game to expand into areas with a warmer climate. You kinda need access to ice to get into the game as anything more than a casual spectator.

The teams exist, the infrastructure/support doesn't, and the growth is tough to facilitate from a different continent. That being said, obviously Asian countries are starting to come along and develop and the NHL is getting its feet wet there. Was always a little surprised the UK's leagues don't have much of a chance for homegrown talent. But then there are other countries that DO sent contingents to international tournaments, including 2nd-3rd tier teams like Italy, Turkey, Serbia. And that's before the fledgling teams that do struggle because of lack of facilities that you note, like Iran/UAE/Israel as examples (having been there to see). Beyond that, women's hockey is kind of stuck in women's soccer status where it just doesn't rack in enough advertising dollars/interest to get the promotion cycle really going, but at least it gets a huge amount of respect within the hockey circle, allowing someone like Wickenheiser to step forward into a prominent role...so that's a huge step in the right direction.

 

[johnjm22]

The teams exist, the infrastructure/support doesn't, and the growth is tough to facilitate from a different continent. That being said, obviously Asian countries are starting to come along and develop and the NHL is getting its feet wet there. Was always a little surprised the UK's leagues don't have much of a chance for homegrown talent. But then there are other countries that DO sent contingents to international tournaments, including 2nd-3rd tier teams like Italy, Turkey, Serbia. And that's before the fledgling teams that do struggle because of lack of facilities that you note, like Iran/UAE/Israel as examples (having been there to see). Beyond that, women's hockey is kind of stuck in women's soccer status where it just doesn't rack in enough advertising dollars/interest to get the promotion cycle really going, but at least it gets a huge amount of respect within the hockey circle, allowing someone like Wickenheiser to step forward into a prominent role...so that's a huge step in the right direction.

But I'm not even talking about other countries.

You can put an NHL team in Carolina (which is almost 30% black), but how do you get the people there actually involved in hockey outside of just being occasional spectators? People have to play the sport. For that to happen the sport has to be accessible, but there's no backyard rinks in Carolina because there's no ice. It's a warm weather climate.

The game is the most accessible in cold weather areas, which are primarily white areas. So no matter how much the hockey world tries to diversify it's probably always going to be a sport predominately played and run by white people.

 

[kingsholygrail]

But I'm not even talking about other countries.

You can put an NHL team in Carolina (which is almost 30% black), but how do you get the people there actually involved in hockey outside of just being occasional spectators? People have to play the sport. For that to happen the sport has to be accessible, but there's no backyard rinks in Carolina because there's no ice. It's a warm weather climate.

The game is the most accessible in cold weather areas, which are primarily white areas. So no matter how much the hockey world tries to diversify it's probably always going to be a sport predominately played and run by white people.

We'll see what happens in Minnesota which has a growing black population.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

But I'm not even talking about other countries.

You can put an NHL team in Carolina (which is almost 30% black), but how do you get the people there actually involved in hockey outside of just being occasional spectators? People have to play the sport. For that to happen the sport has to be accessible, but there's no backyard rinks in Carolina because there's no ice. It's a warm weather climate.

The game is the most accessible in cold weather areas, which are primarily white areas. So no matter how much the hockey world tries to diversify it's probably always going to be a sport predominately played and run by white people.

Same answer as California--roller hockey!

It's all still cost prohibitive though. I know many rinks now have various ways of subsidizing equipment for beginners but it's always going to be a higher bar than grabbing a soccer ball.

But mostly to circle this back around to the original conversation re: team hires I think a team in Carolina is important for that reason--exposure to the sport and teams taking on local employees. Obviously the higher level hockey ops folks need an understanding of the game at a high level (which I personally feel you need to play to get--but I can see the argument that being around it is sufficient), but one can start with other levels of the org.

 

[KingsFan7824]

You don't need ice or roller blades to play hockey. Don't even need all the gear. Stick, gloves, you're good. The first thing I ever did when I was a kid was play street hockey. Even in the summer. Can't do organized sports in the street, but I'm sure the league could pay to throw up a few boards for a rink outside somewhere that you just run on. In terms of getting kids the initial access to play, that would be enough. It doesn't have to get crazy. Goalies would need a bit more, but again, if the league wants to grow, street hockey equipment isn't going to dent those league pockets too much.

 

[lumbergh]

But I'm not even talking about other countries.

You can put an NHL team in Carolina (which is almost 30% black), but how do you get the people there actually involved in hockey outside of just being occasional spectators? People have to play the sport. For that to happen the sport has to be accessible, but there's no backyard rinks in Carolina because there's no ice. It's a warm weather climate.

The game is the most accessible in cold weather areas, which are primarily white areas. So no matter how much the hockey world tries to diversify it's probably always going to be a sport predominately played and run by white people.

Says a LOS ANGELES Kings fan.

 

[YP44]

...or you can just hire the most qualified person regardless of skin color.

which is what he is saying. Just nice to hear executives say it

 

[johnjm22]

Same answer as California--roller hockey!

It's all still cost prohibitive though. I know many rinks now have various ways of subsidizing equipment for beginners but it's always going to be a higher bar than grabbing a soccer ball.

But mostly to circle this back around to the original conversation re: team hires I think a team in Carolina is important for that reason--exposure to the sport and teams taking on local employees. Obviously the higher level hockey ops folks need an understanding of the game at a high level (which I personally feel you need to play to get--but I can see the argument that being around it is sufficient), but one can start with other levels of the org.

Roller Hockey hasn't worked here so I don't see why it would work elsewhere. (By "work" I'm mean making the sport as accessible and as commonly played as the other major sports).

Every year there's a thread on HFboards about why hockey and the NHL isn't more popular. People blame Bettman, marketing ect. But the truth is obvious. Hockey is popular in cold weather areas and less popular in warm weather areas. Most of the US is the latter. That's why hockey will never be as popular here and why it always primarily be white.

I agree having teams in Carolina/Atlanta/Florida/LA and others is good for exposure, but beyond spectating it will only get a minuscule amount of people involved in the game. These areas are warm weather and not conducive to playing the game.

 

[YP44]

cost of equipment and ice definitely help play a part as well

 

[Brodeur]

You don't need ice or roller blades to play hockey. Don't even need all the gear. Stick, gloves, you're good. The first thing I ever did when I was a kid was play street hockey. Even in the summer. Can't do organized sports in the street, but I'm sure the league could pay to throw up a few boards for a rink outside somewhere that you just run on. In terms of getting kids the initial access to play, that would be enough. It doesn't have to get crazy. Goalies would need a bit more, but again, if the league wants to grow, street hockey equipment isn't going to dent those league pockets too much.

I help run a street hockey league down here and even today I got a puzzled "what do you mean you don't wear skates?" comment from a coworker. It's a bizarre sentiment that happens more often than not, with the implication being that it's a lesser form played by people not coordinated enough to skate (abrasive coworker also tried to make that implication, but he was unaware that I played ice as well).

Unfortunately with roller hockey drying up, the number of outdoor rinks has dwindled so it's a bit tougher to find places to play.

 

[redcard]

Says a LOS ANGELES Kings fan.

LA's as good an example as Carolina though, the team's been here since 1967, but there are still very few California born-and-raised players in the NHL. I'd guess there aren't a whole lot of Californians being hired to these high level positions either.

The team's profitable, the building sells out, and I assume the youth programs are better now than ever, but its taken 5 decades to produce a handful of solid players.

 

[deeshamrock]

Florida Panthers signed Troy Brouwer to a 1 way/1 yr deal, 850K. Nice pickeup for them.

Now if the Habs would just trade Patches there, as has been rumored for months...

 

[YP44]

Florida Panthers signed Troy Brouwer to a 1 way/1 yr deal, 850K. Nice pickeup for them.

Now if the Habs would just trade Patches there, as has been rumored for months...

I was surprised he wasn't a PTO player. He didn't appear to have much left here in Calgary but this is a low risk signing for the Panthers.

 

[Brodeur]

Do the Panthers have a spot for Pacioretty now? They took a chance on Mike Hoffman at a discount which I thought took them out of the Pacioretty running for now.

Huberdeau-Barkov-Dadonov
Hoffman-Trocheck-Bjugstad
McGinn-(McCann/Borgstrom)-(Malgin/Brouwer)
(Vatrano/Haley)-McKenzie-(Sceviour/Brouwer)

I didn't watch a ton of Florida down the stretch, but I thought Bjugstad (presumably who Montreal should target) got some traction in the 2nd half when he was moved to RW (27 points in 35 games post-All Star break).