Other Thoughts: The Good and the Bad of Trying to Stay Culturally Relevant
Look at us, publishing
Hi folks,
As we sat down to write last week, details concerning the investigation surrounding the 2018 WCJ players came out. We didn’t feel it was appropriate to publish, and we’re reserving our thoughts until after the news conference next week as we get more info. Honestly, the amount of information being reshared can be quite triggering, so we want to be mindful of what we’re discussing.
Until then, here are some things we’ve been thinking about. Welcome to 2024’s first issue of Other Thoughts!
Oliver Kylington is back.
Flame’s D-Man Oliver Kylington is back with the Calgary Flames after stepping away in 2022 to deal with a personal issue. For a while, it looked like he might be stepping away permanently, so it is great to see that he’s been able to come back. Salim Valji at TSN wrote an excellent piece on his journey back to the NHL and the support he received from the team and those around him. Seeing a player get the care he needs and allowing him the adequate amount of time and space he needs shouldn’t be a novelty, but hockey has historically made it very difficult. One of the few things the NHL has been doing okay with is their mental health support, and we hope that this continues to push the idea among players that they’re workers and that their health and wellness shouldn’t come after their jobs. We wish him the best and are also sorry he’s returning to such a middling team.
Perrye’s bonus note: Unfortunately, with the Elias Lindholm trade to Vancouver, things aren’t about to get better. The Flames definitely said, “We ain’t getting another Huberdeau situation again this summer.” LOL - Anyway, let’s f-cking go Canucks!!
The PHWL understands Content™.
Listen, we may still have some questions about the organization and the long-term health of the league, but I - Gaby - will admit that there are some things the league is doing very right. They’ve made it easy to watch the games by putting everything up on YouTube, eliminating one of the most significant hockey entry barriers. The allowance of checking and the changes to the power-play rules have also made the sport a lot more fun to watch.
They’re also using this momentum by establishing a solid social media presence with tons of content generated for social media platforms. Players are allowed to have fun and have a personality! I try to keep the hockey content limited to my Twitter account, but quite a few TikTok videos have made it on my for you page, which have all been funny, so good for them. I loved this primer by one of my favorite women’s sports content creators:
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People are excited, and that’s always a good thing! Now, I just need the Wirtz Corporation to invest in a team in Chicago. My innate homer-ness balks at the idea of rooting for a non-Chicago team like Minnesota or, god-forbid, Toronto. Can you imagine?
NHL All-Star Weekend
Every year, I - Perrye - wonder who this event is for. Players don’t really want to go; the main demographic who would be geeked to see “the best players in the game” can’t afford to attend unless their parents have bands to spend. The current price for the resale tickets’ was going up to 2k, which left me baffled. I’d rather pay 2k to see a game that matters than players running in circles for a contest that means nothing in the grand scheme of things.
Does anyone even remember who the fastest skater was in 2014?? Crickets… exactly!!
This year’s NHL All-Star Game is being held in Toronto, and they decided to shake things up by reintroducing the players’ draft and revamping the skills competition format.
For the draft, the breakdown of each team will consist of a celebrity captain with a captain, an assistant captain, and players (nine skaters and two goalies in total).
In theory, adding a celebrity captain to the mix is an excellent idea. It gets traction from another fanbase, and players interact with people from other entertainment spheres. However, since things are mostly predictable in this league, the choices for the four celebrities were pretty underwhelming.
Justin Bieber - Team Matthews
Michael Bublé - Team Hugues
Will Arnett - Team McDavid
Tate McRae - Team MacKinnon
As soon as they announced the idea in early January, we knew Bieber would be in the mix, as well as Bublé, who constantly tries to stay relevant beyond his Bubbly commercials and his last big hit in 2013. Will Arnett has been in multiple commercials for the NHL and did the narration for the All or Nothing: Toronto Maple Leafs Amazon Prime documentary, so this choice makes sense. Tate McRae’s management team has been teasing her appearance for a minute. The visuals for her single Greedy and her current era give a “hockey aesthetic” due to her former relationship with Columbus Blue Jackets’ Cole Sillinger and her embracing her Canadian heritage (whatever that means). She will also headline the second intermission performance during the All-Star Game, which, again, was predictable. Although I think pop songs shouldn’t be sung in cursive (I genuinely thought we left that trend behind in 2018) and have a lot of thoughts on the girlie career’s decisions, at least Tate is a popular artist trending on the charts and TikTok, so they got this right.
As you can see, my expectations for this weekend are not high, but I’ll enjoy it nonetheless (if I remember to tune in).
Happy Black History Month!
To celebrate, we are resharing our first “Definitive Hockey Hotties List,” considered a classic in our books. Enjoy!
With love,
Perrye & Gaby
As someone in the UK who doesn't subscribe to the stupidly expensive service the NHL is streamed on here, the PWHL putting games on youtube is the first time I've been able to watch a whole, live hockey game since the winter olympics.