4 nations

[wdlfbio]

We didn’t pay attention until all the social media blew up down here due to the fights. Glad we watched that last game. I thought it was well balanced and well played. Very enjoyable to watch.

 

[sly_karma]

The NHL is trying to build its brand, grow its market share, call it what you will. Olympics is a wonderful showcase for them, people tune into all kinds of sports they don't normally view. But the team owners for the most part view it as two weeks of injury risk to key players with zero return to them. So the league decides on their own version, a scaled down international tournament where they share the revenues and (mostly) control the messaging. They still got the injuries, but there's at least some compensation.

Personally, I think the NHL should continue to promote the sport of hockey in general, and I'm very happy to see them releasing athletes for next year's Olympics. I'd certainly watch another Four Nations tournament. But I can't help thinking they could just work on expanding their reach in markets that already understand hockey. Just watch a few Raptors games and observe the ad content and general presentation of that sport and you'll see what I mean: hockey seems pitched at old white people by comparison. I happen to be one of those, and I can still see it. We have diverse populations in all the big market cities, but hockey isn't reaching them.

 

[Gong Show]

I think Hockey Night in Punjabi, shows that this is changing.

 

[sly_karma]

Not an NHL initiative, but rather an outreach by CBC. There's more cricket fans than hockey fans in the south Asian community.

 

[RalphH]

When my kids were in hockey and ringette there were quite a number of kids from that community and there are now players in the NHL. Field hockey is also popular among them. My son played a season or 2 fo that and was almost always the only non-asian on the field.

Bettman talked about the 4 Nations cup for some time. It took a while to happen. With some key players injured in the tournament some of the owners and management may not too enthusiastic about a rematch. Next year there will be NHL participation in the Olympics. After that who knows. One thing international games with NHL participation does is show the NHL is not the best the there is. They don't like that either.

 

[sly_karma]

The feeling i get is the NHL doesn't want to be in the Olympics. They dont see the chance to promote the game to a wider audience being worth the risk exposure. But the players totally want to the chance to represent their country. The NHL hopes that over time, the Four Nations will satisfy that desire and the NHLPA won't push as hard about Olympics. We will see.