![]() ![]() “We had an abundance of riches that was not sustainable,” BriseBois said. The NHL’s salary cap finally accomplished what the Bruins, the Islanders, the Stars and the Canadiens were unable to do the past two seasons. And, of course, Tyler Johnson has been traded after nine years and too many happy moments to recount.Īnd while none of those moves were preferable, they were inevitable. A couple of useful defensemen have left, too. So what’s different? The entire third line is gone, and that’s a blow. We still have Andrei Vasilevskiy there as the best goaltender in the world helping us win games. “We’re not going to be the same team,” general manager Julien BriseBois said. They might not be the complete diehard, all of them, but a lot of them will now be introduced to a sport that they wouldn’t have in the past.It’s the subtle difference between a team that’s supposed to win, and a team that’s able to win. “They’re not committing their life to it, but you can create a lot of casual fans that way and people that have a good interaction with hockey. “Hopefully getting a lot of the crossover athletes that look at it and see something cool and want to try something new,” Ference said. The idea is to create an enjoyable environment similar to flag football where the pressure is off but still open a new gateway to hockey. Basketball and winter sports have evolved as a result, and video games are a case of kids being able to try something without practice, to interact with friends and make mistakes more so than on the ice in organized hockey. “Instead, let the kids that are doing the program kind of figure out how they want it to look and feel: What kind of moves do they want to do on a breakaway? What kind of music do they want on the playlist?”įerence said the league drew inspiration from AND1 basketball, snowboarding and video games to try to see what elements of youth interest, culture and creativity could be derived from them. “We don’t have to try to just kind of take ice hockey and put it on the street - basically take the skates off and take the exact same culture and put it on the street,” said Ference, now director of social impact, grown and fan development for the NHL. But you can still love the game and play the game.” Certainly the cost of skates, sticks, ice time living in the city, it’s really tough. “It’s the easiest way to get into the game. “All I did when I was a kid was play ball hockey: literally get home from school, go outside, play with my friends,” said retired goaltender Andrew Raycroft, who joined Ference at an NHL Street event in Boston this past weekend. Still, he thinks many future pros logged more time playing street hockey in driveways and cul-de-sacs during their formative years. Stakeholders in the sport are trying many avenues to bring down those barriers, and street hockey is one of the latest attempts.įerence, who played more than 1,000 NHL games as a defenseman from 1999-2015 and won the Stanley Cup with the Boston Bruins, was lucky to have outdoor ice available to him half the year while growing up in Edmonton. There’s so many kids and families that aren’t going to have the ability to overcome some of those barriers that it takes in those cities.”īarriers range from cost and time commitments to the competitive nature of youth sports and even many families thinking they don’t belong in hockey. “It’s a great success story that we have some NHLers coming from those areas, but imagine how many kids are left out. ![]() “The influence of our teams going to the South, and you see the players getting drafted out of California, Texas and Florida, and you’re seeing that influence already,” said former player Andrew Ference, who is spearheading the NHL Street program as part of his job with the league.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |