Over the past few weeks I’ve had the pleasure of witnessing
some incredible hockey - fast, physical, agile, and skillful, with intense
rivalries, upsets, and edge-of-your-seat overtime heroics. NHL playoffs you
ask? Sadly the answer to that is no. Since my beloved Vancouver Canucks barely
even made an appearance in the playoffs (*moment of silence *) I have found the
NHL’s post season quite difficult to watch. Between the diving and embellishing
to try and draw penalties (yes I know my Canucks are guilty of that), the line
brawls breaking out at every whistle, and the potentially career-ending head
hits being delivered on a daily basis I was starting to wonder where the pure,
skillful hockey had gone. Luckily I didn’t have to wait long for my answer.
Women’s hockey doesn’t get a whole lot of air time.
Particularly in Vancouver where we don’t have a CWHL team and our CIS team the
UBC Thunderbirds aren’t exactly stellar (they finished the season with a 1-21-2
record), if we want to watch high-level women’s hockey we have only limited
opportunities to satisfy our interest. Luckily this season SSN Canada live
streamed every game of the Clarkson Cup tournament and TSN showed most of Team
Canada’s games at the 2012 Women’s World Hockey Championships. Of course TSN
did not show the gold medal game live. Those of us without TSN2 were forced to
follow along on USA Hockey’s live blog for updates from the gold medal game.
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| How I found out who won Gold at the
Women’s World Championships
Thanks USA Hockey for the live blog!
|
It was a good thing women’s hockey got the exposure it
did this year because I found myself thoroughly enjoying the action and
appreciating the brand of hockey that was being played. In my opinion, the NHL
was at its finest when it was being led by people who loved the game for what
it was. When it wasn’t about multi-million dollar contracts, TV deals, and marketing
the game to people in places who don’t understand it anyways. The game was the
finest when it was about homegrown heroes; superstars who came from humble
beginnings and were cultivated in their own backyards. Women’s hockey is right
now where the NHL used to be back in the 70’s and 80’s. There is no hype and
fanfare surrounding the players but there is passion – passion for the sport
and for the cause – and the players are playing for the right reasons. Because
body checking is illegal in women’s hockey the players defend against opponents
the right way – with their speed, positioning, and defensive awareness. Players
are being able to make beautiful plays with the puck. Goals are no longer the
result of a fluky bounce - they are works of art. The players are skating
faster, shooting harder, and making stronger plays. And almost every team in
the CWHL and on the National Teams has a goaltender that is capable of putting
the team on her back and leading them to victories. There is a genuine understanding and
appreciation that is evident when the ladies play. They are appreciative to be
there, to have support, and to be playing the sport they love at a high level.
They don’t complain about the fans or the media pressures being too demanding
mainly because they don’t have those pressures. These ladies have real
pressures such as how to keep their league running on a season to season basis,
how to incorporate their careers, families, and educations into a very busy
hockey schedule, and how to ensure that their sport continues to grow
worldwide. And there is an underlying respect between the players. There are
bitter rivalries, sure, but they never spill over into line brawls, cross
checks, deliberate collisions, and blindsided hits that result in one player
being carted off the ice on a stretcher. Scores are settled the right way – on
the ice, during plays, between the whistles.
The NHL is losing respect from its loyal fan base every
time Brendan Shanahan has to suit up and record another suspension video. There
were years past where the couch in front of the TV would be my perch for hours
at a time while I watched game after game after game of the Stanley Cup
playoffs. This year I’ve watched maybe 3 games of the first round because the
antics of the league and its players is so demoralizing. And I can’t be the
only one. But yet I watched every Clarkson Cup game and every Team Canada game.
There is a great opportunity looming for women’s hockey. If the sport and its
players continue to develop the way they have so far, and if the national teams
can continue to bridge the skill gaps between the nations, even the sport’s
toughest critics will have no choice but to tune in and recognize that this is
the way hockey was meant to be played. This mission could be given a further boosted
if there is an NHL lockout next season. Major networks like Rogers Sportsnet ,
TSN, and CBC will have large time slots available with no NHL games to
broadcast. What a perfect opportunity for the CWHL, CIS, and NCAA to showcase
their skills to fans in Canada and/or the US. It could be the one thing the
sport has been looking for to give it a real boost.
Honest hockey is still out there folks, we just have to
embrace it. The NHL’s loss could be women’s hockey’s gain. One thing is for
sure: we are approaching a pivotal time for the sport of women’s hockey. One
more Raffi Torres knockout hit in the NHL and it might just send fans flocking
in our direction as they crave to watch hockey in its purest form, and the way
it was always meant to be played.
