[Written: August 18th, 2017]
Many of you have probably heard someone say, “How can you like hockey? You can’t even see the puck or tell which player is which!” What builds a connection between the sport, the team, certain players, and the fans?
There is always a certain charm in fighting for and defending what you love, and for many, that choice has fallen on the sport of hockey and, by extension, the NHL. But why? Why even care? The simple answer is that it’s very different for everyone. Here’s an attempt to describe what draws people to the NHL and what makes it captivating. Then, the question goes to you, the reader.
It started in 1986 when I visited relatives in Toronto with my family. There wasn’t much more to it than that; I didn’t come from a hockey family and never played myself. As a child and later as a youth, I always felt there was a connection to Toronto and the hockey fanaticism there.
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The great hockey history continued, with Sweden winning the World Championship gold in 1987, 1991, and 1992. I watched “Sudden” majestically outsmart Trefilov in the 1991 final. Yes, Mats Sundin became a big figure for me along with Foppa. It took me longer to understand that Lidström is probably the greatest we’ve ever had. The old legends like Loob and Näslund were a bit before my time, but I liked Rundqvist a lot. He stayed in the Swedish Elite League and Färjestad for most of his career, so I could watch him on TV. Unfortunately, I didn’t have access to cable TV at my parents’ house, so I had to make do with minimal clips on sports news and teletext. This built up the mythology (much to Rundqvist’s dismay) of the NHL as the “league for the greatest.” My hopes were to one day follow the NHL more consistently. Fast forward to today, and my dream from the ’90s has come true. After dedicated and endless streaming late at night with poor picture quality, I finally have a subscription to a stable streaming service. Today, the entire NHL is just a click away, not to mention all the websites and forums that have sprung up.
I’ve lived with Sundin, Foppa, and later Lidström and Detroit’s Swedish army. The 2006 Olympic gold remains a crescendo that began with the 1994 Olympic gold in Lillehammer. In recent years, as a Swede, one can be proud of the Swedish defense miracle that has developed through Hedman, Ekman-Larsson, Hjalmarsson, and Karlsson. It seems to continue with Timothy Liljegren, who won’t return to Rögle, and Rasmus Dahlin, who will definitely go top three in the draft, if not first. Following the NHL makes one a bit more patriotic. It’s not just the Swedish stars that fascinate, of course, but also the act of collecting hockey cards, which gave an understanding of who the stars and the big teams were. Names like Mike Modano and Brett Hull, proud Americans who were followed through teletext statistics, breaking new ground until they retired. Wendel Clark, Tie Domi, and Dave Andreychuk were another group of “tough guys” who gave that truly Canadian aura, all dressed in the beautiful maple leaf. The unavoidable European players included Hasek, Jagr, and Selänne. Today, my biggest stars are Erik Karlsson, Nikita Kucherov, and McDavid. Mitch Marner is also incredibly fun to watch, and I hope the Nylander brothers, especially William, have long careers.
In the last ten years, my fascination has shifted from following players in the traditional way to focusing on the development of the game itself and the organisztional aspects of it all. Many hours have been spent watching old games and match sequences on YouTube. This has given me an understanding of how the game has changed as much as possible for a layman and fan without having played myself. It also brings a certain sadness — imagine if Foppa had played under today’s rules; he would have had an extended career by at least five years. What interests me most today, and somehow shows how small the margins are, is the very active coaching and “line-juggling.” Something I’ve always thought was lacking in Swedish coaches until Richard Grönborg in Swedish hockey.
The constant “matchups” mean you have to see the game differently, breaking it down into another type of structure. Parallel to all the rushing, shooting, and checking, there is a slow tactical process that might lead to a team winning in the last 30 seconds. It’s only then that you understand the point of teams hitting and trying to tire out Doughty, slashing, and bothering Getzlaf or Kane throughout the game. This also shows the importance of a good third and fourth line. The goal is for these players not to be on the ice in the last shift when it’s 2–2. Equally impressive is the fact that the same players still jump over the boards, even though they’ve played five minutes more than most. Or in Erik Karlsson’s case, ten minutes more than everyone else. Today’s NHL is so fast, creating a sport within the sport of trying to understand the small nuances. Going from almost tone-deaf when I started watching hockey to now being able to perceive key changes in the quiet melody played from the beginning to the end of the match without exactly knowing what is the bridge, chorus, or intro, or if and when these will come. This makes it worth following a player’s slowly rising faceoff percentage, as that percentage puts the final nail in the coffin in the last faceoff and gives Ovechkin or Stamkos the chance for their one-timer from mid-range, and then the match is over!
Finally, I’ve always thought it was a shame that the Quebec Nordiques didn’t stay and keep the players they had when they moved to Colorado in 1995. Therefore, it’s high time to prioritize what is valuable hockey-wise over economics. Then it would have been Quebec that was the next team and not Las Vegas. When the Nordiques were sold, one of the main reasons was low attendance, and the team couldn’t sustain itself financially. Today, these are issues that those wanting to see a new team have addressed, and there is now a well-established fan club of about 90,000 already without a team, and the city has a modern arena.
Text: Linus Fast Source: HockeNews.com, The Canadian Encyclopedia
