We made it, y’all! As much as this season was fun, it was a long one (said with Gaby’s exasperation). In the end, evil didn’t prosper, and the Colorado Avalanche became the 2022 Stanley Cup winners.
We wanted to review the 2021-2022 season à la mode THWL. We’re giving awards to the pioneers of the community all while making better jokes than Kenan Thompson hosting the NHL awards. It’s a win-win situation for everybody.
Let’s begin, shall we?
Hockey Fandom
In our (always correct) opinion, the best part of hockey is the fandom that exists on Twitter. The numerous hours we spent during the season cackling at tweets, admiring artists’ work and researching the latest gossip in the sport wouldn’t have been without the members of the fandom. Everyone deserves their flowers, but unlike parents, we do play favourites (jk).
Best Hockey Twitter moment:
Kodak Black at the Panthers game
Like Beyoncé’s self-titled digital drop, we all remember where we were when we saw THE video of Kodak Black’s at the Panthers’ game and all the tweets that came from this incident. The rapper may not have entertained the NHL, but the rest of us were. It was a night for the history books.
Side-note: We enjoyed the ZoneTime segment discussing the moment. It was a runner-up for the best media piece award.
Runner Up: The pissy moment
We already discussed this moment between Leon Draisaitl and Jim Matheson on a previous issue, but when we were debating who should win the award, it was a toss-up between Kodak Black and them, so we had to give them the runner-up's place.
Chicago Bulls fan
It's not a hockey moment per se, but this Tik Tok went viral and made us chuckle. We also thought it was hilarious because we’re big believers that the NHL is closer to its downfall than they seem to realize.
Best Fan Artist of the Year
Hockey’s strong presence is bolstered by the incredible work shared by artists who happen to be dedicated fans. From drawings to memes to fancams, these artists provide an invaluable experience for the online community and new fans.
Illustration:
Dave (@hockeyenjoyer) has only been a part of hockey twitter since 2021, but the amount and the quality of work he’s put out are truly impressive. He most recently completed a Pride series featuring all the teams that are a) amazing and b) for a good cause. All prints can be found here, and all profits will be donated to various LGTBQ+ organizations. His player drawings are fantastic to the point that we almost bought into the Auston Matthews is hot propaganda, smh.
Fancams:
Sanika (@oilygifs)
It’s impossible not to have seen the excellent work of Sanika on your Twitter timeline since she had multiple fancams going viral. Do you know how hard it is to make us feel some type of way about the Oilers? Yet, she succeeds, making us reconsider our allegiance to the Flames for the Battle of Alberta.
Best Journalist of the People
Tumblr Girlies:
As fans of the OG hockey Tumblr accounts that reigned from 2010-2017 (when hockey players finally learned how to use social media properly, smh), we’re living for the re-emergence of various accounts. There isn’t one particular account we’re going to highlight, but they sure gave us the most recent debacle in hockey featuring Connor “Yep, that’s me!” McDavid. They can take full credit for the hijinks that ensued.
Hockey Media
This section highlights work or people that have had an impact on the sport’s culture, whether they cover light or serious topics.
Best Journalist of the Year
There isn’t much we can say about Katie that her colleagues haven’t already said. She’s a fantastic writer, and her profound commitment to giving a voice to victims is apparent in the quality of her work. We admire her ability to share an engaging story without compromising the dignity or humanity of those involved. As hockey faces another reckoning with their culture, she is definitely a guiding light.
Best Media Piece
The NHL style power rankings by Sara Civian
Sara started this ongoing series highlighting the league’s best fits throughout the year at the beginning of this season. Civ's work has been a breath of fresh air in a league where trying to create fun content feels like pulling blood from a stone. If the liberal use of #drip by team social media accounts to describe a plain suit is any indication, her work has had quite the impact. We hope this trend continues and we get more creative looks next season.
The Steve Dangle Podcast - Rocky Words (2/4/2022):
This episode came out after the infamous Blackhawks’ town hall. Hockey is notoriously insular, and people working in the field have historically shied away from rocking the boat too much. However, Steve Dangle and his co-host certainly did not shy away from it. Their analysis and insights on the situation were excellent, but what was most significant to us was their ability to capture the anger and frustration so many of us felt in light of the Kyle Beach case. It felt cathartic to see what we were all feeling.
Hockey Teams
Although this league annoys us most days, we wouldn’t be their prominent (and most dedicated) haters without their existence. However, we’re in our positive-only era, so we’re giving awards to the best parts of the league - vibes, chaos and pettiness!
Team with the Best Vibes
Florida Panthers
Anthony Duclair. That’s it; that’s the vibes for the whole team, haha! With the news that came out yesterday, we want to wish him a speedy recovery. However, more seriously, we just loved their team’s chemistry, and their social media accounts are entertaining but not cringe. Plus, a team that goes to strip clubs together stays together (or however the saying goes).
The player with the Best Vibes
Brady Tkachuk
Brady Tkachuk is, as they say, “a whole mood.” We would argue that aside from Maya Angelou and Jenifer Lewis, Brady and Matthew are among the few enjoyable things to come out of Missouri. Brady upended hockey’s conservative (read: boring) expectations on how a player should support a player from another team. His open support for his brother or close friends on other teams is mad cute, and the fact that he is all out living his best while doing it warranted him the award.
A player who caught our attention
It won’t surprise any of y’all that we’re giving this award to two members of the Detroit Red Wings. Over the past few months, we succumbed to the propaganda and accepted that we’re becoming part of #LGRW fam.
Gaby’s Pick: Moritz Seider
I knew we were goners when we heard “the sun was shining, and so was Moritz.” Seider has a natural charm and charisma that we rarely see in the sport. He’s genuinely funny, and his willingness to go along with the Wings’ marketing tactics bodes well for the organization. Also, his captain is Dylan Larkin, so.
Perrye’s Pick: Lucas Raymond
Y’all already know I’m obsessed with the MoJoe videos, especially when Lucas Raymond guest hosts. However, I also took him on as a client on my fantasy teams, and he performed well, in my opinion. I know stats ppl might disagree with me, but I don’t care. I won 2 of my leagues and finished second in the 3rd one, so now what? #humblebragging. Anyway, I felt I needed to give him a personal award for being the best rookie on my roster.
Most entertaining games of the season
No Explanation, Just Chaos
Detroit Red Wings vs Toronto Maple Leafs (Feb. 26) - 10-7
Pittsburgh Penguins vs New York Rangers (May 3) - 4–3 3OT
Battle of Alberta (Calgary Flames vs Edmonton Oilers) (May 18) - 6–9
We should probably mention the series between the Colorado Avalanche vs Tampa Bay Lightning, but since we didn’t watch the first game, we didn’t tune in for any of them for superstitious reasons. But, shout-out to Artturi “Big Goals” Lehkonen, who made Perrye proud!!
Best moment of the season
Nazem Kadri - He’s an icon, he’s a legend, and he is the moment!
We’re big Nazem Kadri supporters here at THWL, so seeing him winning the Stanley Cup after his journey and being constantly counted out was such a joyful moment. During his interview that evening, he even had some words for his haters, which made the moment even more satisfying. Good for him! He and his family deserved nothing but the best.
We hope y’all enjoy your long weekend!
With Love,
Perrye and Gaby
Thanks for all your newsletters! They were some of *my* favorite hockey media pieces.