howeaboutthat

Whats not to love about Draper?

I'd buy that for a dollar.

This thread needs more Konstantinov.

Great picture.

Apparently the pilot of this RAF Tornado is a 'Hawks fan.

Fine by me so as long the boards are just as active. I love reading other teams' fans ***** about how active our boards are!

Indeed.

Forget all the technology, big screens, heated seats or whatever, the on-ice product is what matters. All the stadium technology in the world won't get you a Stanley Cup.

A dual-use arena. Jack of all trades, master of none.

$50 for a hockey team. Don't be too hasty, you might be able to pick up Glendale Coyotes for that when the NHL finally realises hockey isn't a desert sport.

I don't think TV ratings will be that high, however, since the games are being played on a different continent with incovenient times for the games.

I'd like to see NHL players there, but don't expect a repeat of exposure that these past Olympics got in the US.

But its not just about TV ratings in NA. The NHL has quite a large following across the globe, especially in Europe, and if Bettman wants to give the league even more exposure then he needs to allow its best players to compete in the Olympics.

The BBC coverage of the Olympic ice hockey was fantastic this year, decent commentators were employed rather than the "its a minority sport, get someone cheap and clueless" as has happened before with the BBC and it was well reported in the press. One thing very evident during the games though was the regular referring to the NHL team various players played for and their accomplishments in the NHL as well as wider hockey tournaments.

This kind of exposure on the UKs national, ad-free, media broadcaster is superb. Within the UK ice hockey coverage is generally restricted to ESPN subscribers for NHL or Sky TV for our own domestic hockey league (the EIHL).

The acid test though was the amount of people who I work with who, knowing that I'm a hockey nut, commented on how much they enjoyed watching the Olympic hockey and although they'd never thought of watching it before were getting a subscription to ESPN so that they could continue to watch the some of the best players in the world in the best league.