Welcome to THWL’s new interview series: On the Other Side, where we interview people on the other side of things (get it, haha).
Our first interview is with THWL’s Aquarius King*, Arpon Basu. Arpon is the Managing and Senior Editor covering the Montreal Canadiens at the Athletic and helped put together the PHWA x THWL Mentorship Program.
*We gave him the title Aquarius King because the chaotic good energy is strong, and a meeting with him will always be interesting. We didn’t know his birth date, but we guessed his sign and turns out we were right, lmao.
Disclaimer: We know it’s a long piece, but we swear it’s worth it. We had a blast interviewing him, and hope you have too while reading it, so enjoy!
N.B.: Some questions and answers have been edited for length and clarity.
Tell us, how long have you been covering hockey?
Do you want the long version of this story?
Well, I've been doing this for 22 years. I decided at some point that this is what I love to do. When you choose to become a sports journalist, it's seen as a bit of a dream. You often think it's unrealistic. It's not a real career option. However, you reach a certain age, and you realize that you still like it, and then you're like, okay, well, why not? Why don't I try to do this for a living? So I did!
A couple of mildly cool moments that were important in my career.
The first happened after I finished my bachelor's degree (Queens in film studies). I took a year off, I went to India, I traveled around, and that's when I decided I would try sports journalism. I applied to Concordia Journalism School, but I was rejected. When I returned from India, I found out my parents had the letter and didn't tell me.
So, I got back and then called the head of the department. I was like, "Can I speak to you about what my options would be? Can you just provide some guidance as to what else I could do?" I went in there, talked to him, and when I left the meeting, I was like, "Well, thank you for your time. And when I win the Pulitzer, I'll dedicate it to you." The next day, he called and offered me a spot in the journalism program. I probably would have gone to journalism school elsewhere, but that worked well. And then, out of that, I got an internship at the Gazette. My cover letter for that position was like my induction into the Basketball Hall of Fame's media wing for my critical work in attracting an NBA franchise to Montreal. After the internship and sometimes as a columnist at the Gazette, I got a freelance gig at Canadian Press covering games because I was bothering the sports editor every day to give me a job.
Why did you decide to do film studies instead of journalism?
When I went to CÉGEP, I didn't know what to study; I didn't want to do science and didn't have the prereqs, anyway. It seemed fun to do films, so I did what's called Creative Arts, which had a lot of film courses. And then I started liking it. The Queen's Film Studies Program is very much based on analysis and theory, more so than production, and that's where I became a good writer because I wrote a lot about the film. I learned a lot of tools throughout the degree, so it's not like I've wasted that degree. I found my writing voice to a certain extent. I strengthened my ability to write and make an argument based on a film I watched, a technique I still use in my work.
You've been writing about sports for a long time; how would you say the Internet has influenced your job?
Well, for starters, I would never have had a job if it weren't for the Internet. My local paper, as I mentioned, never hired me, and the newspaper industry across Canada stopped hiring people. I made a name for myself because I got on Twitter relatively early, which was another big influence. What the Internet has done in the current landscape is created an environment where people need to stand out. To stand out, you're almost encouraged to come up with the spiciest take imaginable and not have any reason to back it up.
Back in the day, the only people's opinions you heard were from newspaper columnists. They had gotten to that position where they had a lot of baggage to inform their views. And it's not to say that they were infallible and always had good opinions, but there was, as I mentioned earlier, a technique behind it. There was a way to back things up. And that backup process doesn't exist anymore.
Some of the opinions that get thrown around create pressure on writers. But you have to make your decision as to how you're going to stand out. Am I going to be intentional? Am I going to be as provocative or controversial as possible so that it gets engagement, or will I be more reasonable? I always tell young reporters, wow, you're growing up in a great time. There's so much access to publishing platforms that I didn't have, but at the same time, because there's so much access to publishing platforms, you better come up with something outstanding to get attention, which can be difficult. In some ways, I'm lucky to work in a place that gives me a platform where I don't necessarily have that pressure. I do have to come up with something different. I think about that all the time because of how crowded the marketplace is, but starting the business now is very challenging. You have to pick a lane a lot earlier than you used to and try to excel in that lane.
You wrote two books earlier in your career. Now that you have much more experience, what would something you would love to write about?
Uh, yeah. I mean, I've thought about it.
I want to write a book at some point, but I still don't know if it would be hockey-related or another topic. You reach a certain point in your life where you realize you're writing about a game, and there are serious problems in the world, and you could use your talents to help those problems and try and advance things. And so I've thought about that over the last few years. I'm still very happy writing about hockey, and I love it. But this idea comes into my head now and then, like, Would you like to do something a little more serious or impactful in the world?
Anyway, I want to write a book because I'm not particularly proud of those two books. They're not bad, but it's like the fact that those are the only two books with my name on them is something I'd like to change that before I die because it's not representative of what I can do, even though I've gotten great feedback for them, especially the Enforcers.
THWL has the Definitive Hockey Hotties List. You have a book called Hockey's Hottest Players. So, tell us who would be your number one on the hotties list, and why is it Anthony Duclair?
Editor's precision: As you know, we have a rigorous academic process. What we meant by hottie is, yes, someone who looks great but also has a great personality and whom they enjoy interacting with/interviewing.
Hmm. Let me think about this. There are a lot.
Erik Karlsson's one of them. I love interviewing Eric Karlsson. He's just a chill guy and doesn't take himself too seriously, even though he has every right to take himself too seriously. And so I appreciate that.
Lars Eller was a player that I enjoyed talking to when he played for the Canadiens. I don't know if I would put him in the hot category, but he's a good interviewee. Eric Karlsson could pass for hot, I guess. He improved his hair game of late, so I guess he could.
And, well, Jonathan Toews. He's always been one of my faves in terms of interviews. Gaby's face of disdain got caught by Arpon. (oops, lmao - Gaby)
He's an excellent interview, though. Recent things made my admiration for him drop slightly lately, but he was so engaging when I covered the 2015 final. And I had the advantage because he would do interviews in French every day, and there were only four or five of us talking to him, and he was so into it because he wanted to improve his French. And honestly, as the playoffs went on, it improved every day. By the time the finals arrived, he was flowing information in French stuff that no one else was getting. I always have a soft spot for him because he takes pride in his French heritage.
Well, he's not a player, but the best interview in the league is with Jon Cooper. I covered the Lightning throughout the playoffs and very early in the playoffs. I told myself in the second or third round, "I cannot write a story based on something Jon Cooper said today." It had been five days in a row when my lead quote was from him. The other day, Tampa was in town, and I got three stories from his five minutes of media availability just because he's so good at it.
Rapid fire questions
If you could cover any other sports, what would it be?
Basketball
What is one rule you would change in the league?
I would eliminate offsides and being allowed to ice the puck during the penalty.
What's the one stadium every hockey fan should try to visit?
The Bell Center! I've been to all of them now, and I still think the Bell Centre is the best game experience in the league.
Tell us more about your colonizer vs colony strategy. Which NHL team has the least colonizer energy?
My tried and true World Cup rooting philosophy is to go for colonies over colonizers. I find it works very well.I'm from an Indian background. My parents come from Kolkata, which used to be the capital of British India before Delhi was. The British built Calcutta; it wasn't a city until they arrived. My parents' family are members of social clubs that used to be only open to British people. Up until the 1970s, the last names were Thompson and Johnson. Then all of a sudden, it's Kumar. It just flips at one point. The state that India is in is 100% because of being colonized, and that was ingrained in me at a very young age. There are certain cases where it gets complicated, but I find it's an excellent way to have a rooting interest in every World Cup game.
Yeah, the least colonizer vibe in the NHL is definitely not the team I cover or any of the original teams - I would say Nashville.
I try to think of a team that embraces its unique identity and doesn't give a shit and be like, "this is us, and we're going with it, and we don't really care what you think." You leave the arena, you're on Broadway, and you're automatically getting the Nashville experience right outside the game. They try to recreate that experience and energy in the game, and I greatly respect that.
Faves
Fave Beyonce Song?
Her new album is killer, but my favorite Beyonce song is "Single Ladies" because of my oldest daughter. It used to play a lot, but when she was three, every time she heard it, she would say her own version of all the single ladies and do the choreography, so that's the memory I associated with the song. But honestly, I love her new album and find it so different from anything else she's ever done. It's already on my regular rotation on my Spotify app, so I'm a big fan.
Fave self-care activity? (No fishing, no golfing per THWL rules)
Oh, I'm not a golfer or a fisher, so that makes it easy. It's kind of sad, but can I say eating? I find it relaxing to go to a new restaurant alone and have a delicious meal. When I'm on the road, I will splurge on a meal for myself, which I justify by saying it makes me happy.
Fave (non-serious) hockey scandal?
I have a non-serious hockey scandal every day in this city, haha. My all-time favorite non-serious hockey scandal was the whole Listerine thing with P.K. and the final of 2017. When I was covering that series, it grew to such huge proportions, and I felt like at one point I was like, what are we doing? Why are we playing a role in making this a thing? I know there are people on that team who did not appreciate the way P.K. handled that whole thing, but I thought it was hilarious.
Fave sports movie or TV show?
My favorite sports movie when I was younger was Field of Dreams. Even though it's a little cheesy, I still get emotional when the doctor walks off the field and becomes a doctor again.
Fave THWL article?
Now, you nailed me. I didn't know there would be a gotcha question at the end, and now our relationship is forever changed.
That’s a wrap for our first interview; we’ll let you know if we get past the betrayal. Until then, tell us in the comments who you want us to interview next!
With love,
Perrye & Gaby