Week 4: NHL documentaries for the win

This week I turned my attention to NHL documentaries.

Why? Because going into week four of my NHL journey I realised that despite watching games, admiring players, goal scoring, saves and plays I was not making a real connection with any of the teams.

When I talk with NHL fans, especially my friends, about who they follow you see the passion they have for their team. Literally see it. It is in their eyes, their facial expressions and the actual way they talk when explaining, describing or reliving a moment.

I’m missing any sort of emotional connection. It is one thing to see a game in action, but right now just watching games isn’t getting me to a stage where I really want to commit to any one team.

So, on the suggestion of my friend and Grassroots colleague, Beth, to watch team documentaries to get more of a feel about the culture, players etc. I decided to do exactly that. And already it has made a big difference in the way I view teams.

This week I watched the All Access Quest for the 2016 Stanley Cup series. For those who haven’t heard of it (which was me before I googled ‘NHL documentaries’) it is a series that follows the four teams – Pens, Sharks, Tampa Bay and St Louis – that played in the 2016 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

There can be argument as to whether it’s really a documentary or not, but either way, it was fantastic to watch because it allowed me to get closer to the teams, to really see what they’re all about, and form a connection.

As an overview, the series is a behind the scenes look at the final four teams. It includes footage of players on the ice, in the locker rooms and narration that paints a wonderful picture about what the quest for the Stanley Cup is really all about. What I enjoyed the most about the series was that it was raw. Swearing and all.

After watching All Access I know so much more, and have a stronger connection with, the four teams that were featured in the series.

I’m not about to declare my love for any four of those teams based on one documentary. But from it I got a really good sense of who Tampa Bay and the Pens are.
If anyone has any suggestions about what documentary you think I should watch next, please send me your suggestions via Twitter.

Also, how’s about the Vegas Golden Knights?

It’s really exciting to be on this NHL journey at the time I am because I get to see the league expanding to include the Golden Knights. Did you know (I’m sure you did) the Golden Knights are the league’s first expansion team since 2000? They’re also the 31st team. Just putting this out there – the 31st is my birthday.

Don’t worry. I respect myself more than just falling for the new kid on the block who just so happens to have the same birthday as me. Well, not really, but you know what I mean.

On the back of the unveiling of the Vegas Golden Knights name, the NHL released a super cool article called ‘NHL team nicknames explained’. I don’t think I need to explain what the article is about – the title says it all. But, it explains something that I questioned in my week two blog post – how the hell did the Columbus Blue Jackets get their name?

I wasn’t too far off the mark when I asked whether they got their name from someone looking at a blue jacket. Because wouldn’t you know, they were named in reference to the Civil War Union soldiers (who wore blue coats).

As the NHL article explains: “Not only did Columbus produce most of those blue coats, but Ohio had more soldiers in the Union Army nearly than any other state. The name and logo are reflective of the area’s pride in its place in American history.”

So. There you go.

If you want to read more about how NHL teams got their names, click HERE.

Just going back to the Golden Knights announcement. Something pleasantly unexpected that came from the unveiling of the Vegas franchise’s name on Wednesday (Aussie time) was seeing all the other teams’ social media prowess.

Some teams, like the Arizona Coyotes, LA Kings, St Louis Blues and New York Islanders found fun ways to welcome Vegas to the NHL fold. Others, like the Anaheim Ducks, San Jose Sharks and Dallas Stars, were kind of boring. My statements are backed up by this NHL article ‘Social media welcomes the Vegas Golden Knights’.

You also got to see how social media savvy Vegas will be. It looks like the Golden Knights are going to be fun on social media. Mainly Twitter. Because that’s where it counts.
Being a journalist, I really enjoy seeing how sports teams interact with each other and fans. Social media savvy will undoubtedly be one of the big things that will eventually draw me to a team.

No game impressions this week. It was all about the documentaries. Have a doco you think I should watch? Tweet me – E1MaWa.

Til next week!