Michael Smith discusses why people should begin to watch the NHL this year
By MICHAEL SMITH
Staff Writer
PUBLISHED OCTOBER 25, 2011
 The NHL season has started. And nobody knows it.
Baseball fans have a pass right now, the World Series is wrapping up what has been a very good post-season for the sport, but it will be over by Thursday.
The NFL is continuing its unprecedented growth this year, but it only takes up one day of the week, as does its college counterpart.
The NBA’s best players are closer to a courthouse than a basketball court because that sport is dealing with a lockout. However, this lockout does not appear to be heading to the happy ending that the NFL lockout had, two weeks worth of games having already been cancelled.
The NBA’s signature Christmas Day games are even starting to appear in serious jeopardy. There is still going to be college basketball, but with 68 teams getting a chance in the NCAA tournament in March, finding consistent viewers in November, may prove to be tough.
It is time for American sports fans to forgive the NHL for the lockout of 2004-05. It is not just Canada’s sport and it is not a European sport, it belongs to us too. Think back to the Winter Olympics in 2010, the excitement and pride as we Americans felt for our national hockey team going into that thrilling gold medal match that was won in overtime by Canada. That team showed that we belong on the national stage and that there is a place for the United States in hockey.
They stepped up and now it’s our turn, we can’t just turn it on every four years and blindly root for the guys with the “USA” across their chest. Do yourself a favor and give hockey a chance. Hockey has the speed of basketball, with the puck constantly on the move, up and down the ice.
It also has the physicality of football, at any moment you can see a bone crushing hit that you usually only see when a wide receiver tries to come across the middle of the field on a guy like Ray Lewis.
The three local teams, the Islanders, the Rangers and the Devils are a combined 8-4-2 on the young season far and all three are looking poised to have big seasons, possibly adding fuel to the rivalries they all share with each other.
Stretching a little further out, the Sabres are 5-1, and despite early exits they have earned their way into the playoffs the past two years. Even to add in the Bruins, they are off to a rough 3-4 start, but they are coming off a Stanley Cup Championship last year.
The NHL has a lot of young standouts, Sidney Crosby in Pittsburgh, Alexander Ovechkin in Washington, and Steven Stamkos in Tampa Bay are three of the biggest in the game right now.
The Islanders have a rising star in John Tavares, the Devils have two proven young stars in Zach Parise and Ilya Kovalchuk, and the Rangers have a star standout goalie in Henrik Lundqvist. Ryan Miller, the U.S. hero in goal, plays in Buffalo, and his U.S. back up plays in Boston, Tim Thomas.
The NHL has a very bright future in front of it and if you’re not watching right now, you’re missing out.
