USA Hockey player memberships down 19%
Last Friday, USA Hockey released their membership statistics for the 2020-21 season, and the results were not pretty. After years of small but steady growth, USA Hockey player memberships were down 19 percent over last season. 47 states saw declines with only two...
Round 2 – NHL Expansion Draft: Would you rather?
Last week we played a game of “Would you rather?,” where we hid team and player names of a few squads participating in the NHL Expansion Draft and then asked the readers to submit their preferred selections based on the information provided. We had an overwhelming...
Data Dump: Penalties called in the Stanley Cup Playoffs
One of the points of discussion during the Stanley Cup Playoffs is the quality of officiating. We have heard from columnists, coaches, and plenty of fans complaining about the calls going against them this year. This is a common complaint every year. A few months ago,...
The NHL Playoffs in a nutshell, Expansion Draft exercise results – Weekly One-Timers
It turns out the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs really are exciting after all! Who knew?! What a wild week it has been in the NHL, as all four second-round series of the Stanley Cup Playoffs were put to rest without a single Game 7 being reached. While it was a bit...
Matthew Beniers could be the Seattle Kraken pick during NHL Draft
Last summer, Matt Beniers was preparing to play hockey for his freshman NCAA season with Harvard University. It was his first year of NHL Draft eligibility and one loaded with high expectations for the center. Then Covid-19 became an issue as hockey leagues around the...
Sound Of Hockey Podcast Ep. 141 – The Sound Of Hockey Cup
An epic battle is brewing on the ice between two Sound Of Hockey hosts. You can cut the tension with a knife on this latest episode, as John and Darren break down a beer league matchup for the ages. Once that elephant in the room has been addressed, the guys...
Get to know a Seattle Kraken rival: Los Angeles Kings by the numbers
When the NHL puts the Pacific Division back in place for the 2021-2022 season, the Seattle Kraken will see a lot of the once mighty Los Angeles Kings. It seems like just yesterday they won two Stanley Cups in three years – the last win was 2014 – but since then the...
Expansion Draft selections: Would you rather?
If you were responsible for the Seattle Kraken Expansion Draft selections, what would your strategy be for selecting the team? Would you draft young to build for the future or grab a bunch of veterans to compete in year one? Would you draft lower-paid players to use...
Expansion Draft Projections: Playoff Edition Part 2
Earlier this week I did a deep dive on the Expansion Draft protections for four of the remaining eight teams in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Today, I am going to look at how the other four teams might approach the NHL Expansion Draft next month. If you did not read the...
The Seattle Kraken have the No. 2 pick in the NHL Entry Draft – Now what?
On Wednesday, during the NHL Draft Lottery, the Seattle Kraken learned that they will have the No. 2 overall pick in the NHL Entry Draft on July 23. The fledgling franchise was the only team to move up at least one spot compared to where it stood in the odds entering...
