March is here, and with it comes one of the best times in the great sporting calendar. We get March Madness and the Masters, two of the most extraordinary events in sports, back to back. Furthermore, the NBA is in the home stretch of its season, and MLB is just getting started. But, there’s a sport from the Great White North that everyone seems to forget or overlook. That’s right. I’m talking puck.
Hockey has always been an enigma: an exciting sport with passionate fans and top-tier talent that never seems to overtake the other members of the “Big 4” (basketball, baseball, football). This is for many reasons, but I’m not here to decry hockey. On the contrary, I’m here to celebrate it and encourage you, reader, to take a chance on an underrated game.
Hockey is great for three main reasons: the moves, the players and the playoffs. Let’s start with the moves. The jukes in hockey will leave even the most apathetic sports fans impressed. There’s nothing like a good toe drag or backhand deke to get a defender lost in space. The difference between juke moves in hockey and other sports is the pace and motion they are achieved with. These moves are done at full speed, often with a crowd of defenders around, and require ultimate dexterity from every body part. There is no margin of error, which makes a properly executed deke that much more satisfying.
The talent level in the NHL right now is astounding. In the past, there have been plenty of greats (Lemieux, Gretzky, and Yzerman, to name a few), but the concentration of stars currently has never been greater. From the top (David Pastrnak and Brad Marchand for the Bruins) to the bottom (Johnny Gaudreau for the Blue Jackets), every team in the NHL has at least one player that can take over a game. That is rare in such a team-oriented sport.
Finally, there is nothing like playoff hockey. While playoffs in sports typically amplify the competition and breed great moments, it seems that great, quality games are a given with hockey. Games are tighter, there is less room for error, and home ice is just a different breed. I remember, as a young kid going to an Atlanta Thrashers playoff game, where the defunct team played host to the New York Rangers in April of 2007. Despite the team being in the heart of the South, the environment for a foreign sport was comparable to a primetime SEC football game. Ilya Kovalchuk scored in the third period to tie the game 1-1, a beauty that scooted past “King Henrik” Lundqvist. I screamed louder than I ever have at one of my first memorable sporting events, along with thousands of possibly intoxicated fans who couldn’t tell you two things about hockey. That is the power of playoff hockey: creating magic even in the most unlikely places.
Overall, it’s time for hockey to be more appreciated. I know plenty of other sports are vying for our country’s attention, but hockey deserves some shine for its incredible moves, stellar players and unparalleled playoff atmosphere.
Sports Editor
