Who wins the NHL player battle online?
Goal!!!!!! The NHL is a quickly growing favorite in the field of professional sporting leagues. In the U.S. the northern half of the country may have more allegiance invested in the game itself. But like any popular sport it's the heroes of the league that get the most attention across the country and on the internet. Whether it's from spectacular wins that ignite watercooler conversations or less than sportsman-like behavior, the players steal the show. Wayne Gretzky and Bobby Orr are legends of the game, household names to most. But as time passes and younger generations take to the ice the fan base changes also. With current players like Alexander Ovechkin, Sidney Crosby, and Henrik Sedin tearing up the ice will these kings keep their throne?
The trends always tell the truth and never lies. So have a look in the graph below to see who is the most popular NHL player online at the moment.
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Old and new can co-exist quite nicely though. A recent trend by goalies is to have a custom mask created for Heritage Classic games to honor former players or entire past year teams. The results range from spectacular to slightly offbeat as in Carey Price's recent tribute to Jacques Plante, the painted eyes of Plante peer out above Price's own.
A tribute of another kind was held Feb 20th as The Boston Bruins Foundation hosted it's first annual Casino Night at The Westin Copley Place in Boston MA. Current Bruins players and alumni were in attendance acting as hosts while guests enjoyed Craps, Texas Hold'em, and Blackjack in the background. The event was to benefit local New England children's charities.
Inspiring acts come in all forms. During a recent Tampa Bay Lightning home game against The Detroit Red Wings, an octopus came flying onto the ice after a spectacular Red Wings goal. A common tradition on their home turf it's a rare sight during an away game. This boost of hometown support may just have contributed to their 6-2 win. In related news, Tampa Bay Lightning has recently taken aboard a new sponsor in e-wallet, payment soltion company Neteller. They have signed a multi million dollar deal over the next 5 years.
From octopi to whales. Fail whales that is. While the appearance of this creative error message isn't as active currently as in the early days of Twitter the presence of NHL players on the social networking site is bigger than ever. Like other celebrities, They use the network to update status, tweet appearances and sometimes give us "too much" information.
One of the Sedin Twins with two heavy trophies a player can win in the NHL.
It's possible that NHL owners leak too much info also. Atlanta Spirit Group has made it desperately clear they want to sell. It can't be much of a morale booster for an already struggling team. Will The Thrashers go the way of former state team The Flames, Or can a breakout player lend his celebrity to build a flagging fanbase? Lately, more team have been poting out of Canada and into the States. For some other industries, it has been going the other way due to legaslative issues. http://www.mummysgold.com/canadian/ is one of the latest online casinos to open in Canada.
If celebrity and the NHL don't seem a likely pairing, neither does hockey and golf. But actually they meld quite nicely. Various manufacturers pair the two sports by offering NHL team logos on golf bags. So avid Puck-heads can enjoy their weekend puttering and still show off their team colors. It makes sense. Same goes for gamlbing site which offer online casino chips with team logos on. After all, golf isn't a team sport.