Sound of Hockey is still in quarantine, but that doesn’t mean it will stop putting out great content!
This week, John, Andy, and Darren welcome Jason Berger, Equipment Manager for the Tampa Bay Lightning, for a light-hearted look into his world working behind the scenes of an NHL franchise.
With Jason, the guys take a journey down the road that he followed to get to the NHL, which coincidentally led him to Seattle at one point. Along the way, Jason shares some funny stories of his experiences taking care of pro athletes, how Equipment Managers go about multi-stop road trips, and some of the trials and tribulations associated with “picking things up and putting them down.”
Brief segments this week include Goalie Gear Corner and Weekly One-Timers.
Sound of Hockey is still in quarantine, but that doesn’t mean it will stop putting out great content!
This week, John, Andy, and Darren welcome Jason Berger, Equipment Manager for the Tampa Bay Lightning, for a light-hearted look into his world working behind the scenes of an NHL franchise.
With Jason, the guys take a journey down the road that he followed to get to the NHL, which coincidentally led him to Seattle at one point. Along the way, Jason shares some funny stories of his experiences taking care of pro athletes, how Equipment Managers go about multi-stop road trips, and some of the trials and tribulations associated with “picking things up and putting them down.”
Brief segments this week include Goalie Gear Corner and Weekly One-Timers.
Welp… that escalated quickly. It’s a new world, and Sound of Hockey is here to just give you a bit of an escape from it. The guys recognize that there’s no longer hockey to talk about, so instead, they’re going to focus on interviews for the foreseeable future.
The first guest in this sequence of interviews is Kwame Mason, who directed and produced the documentary film, Soul On Ice, a story of inclusivity and the history of diversity in hockey.
John, Andy, and Darren discuss with Kwame his upbringing as a young, black hockey fan, and after a hiatus from the game, what got him back into it. They also consider what things NHL Seattle and the sport of hockey as a whole can do to be more inclusive, and Kwame gives an interesting take on the Don Cherry saga (who coincidentally appeared in Kwame’s movie).
Since the guys are changing things up to get through the days of quarantine, they would love to get your feedback.
Welp… that escalated quickly. It’s a new world, and Sound of Hockey is here to just give you a bit of an escape from it. The guys recognize that there’s no longer hockey to talk about, so instead, they’re going to focus on interviews for the foreseeable future.
The first guest in this sequence of interviews is Kwame Mason, who directed and produced the documentary film, Soul On Ice, a story of inclusivity and the history of diversity in hockey.
John, Andy, and Darren discuss with Kwame his upbringing as a young, black hockey fan, and after a hiatus from the game, what got him back into it. They also consider what things NHL Seattle and the sport of hockey as a whole can do to be more inclusive, and Kwame gives an interesting take on the Don Cherry saga (who coincidentally appeared in Kwame’s movie).
Since the guys are changing things up to get through the days of quarantine, they would love to get your feedback.
FULL DISCLOSURE – Sound of Hockey recorded this episode on Monday night, before the extra crazy and scary coronavirus news started hitting about leagues canceling, travel being banned, etc., so please take that into account when listening. That said, this is a good opportunity to mostly escape from the COVID19 talk, though it has to at least be briefly discussed.
On Episode 77, John, Andy, and Darren welcome Mike Snee, Executive Director of College Hockey Inc., to learn about his organization and talk all things college hockey. With Mike, the guys discuss such topics as what College Hockey Inc. does, the feasibility of adding additional Division I NCAA programs, and the famed Minnesota Moose SPAMboni.
Segments this week include (but are not limited to) Goalie Gear Corner, You Don’t See That Every Day, Let’s Get Quizzical, and Weekly One-Timers.
FULL DISCLOSURE – Sound of Hockey recorded this episode on Monday night, before the extra crazy and scary coronavirus news started hitting about leagues canceling, travel being banned, etc., so please take that into account when listening. That said, this is a good opportunity to mostly escape from the COVID19 talk, though it has to at least be briefly discussed.
On Episode 77, John, Andy, and Darren welcome Mike Snee, Executive Director of College Hockey Inc., to learn about his organization and talk all things college hockey. With Mike, the guys discuss such topics as what College Hockey Inc. does, the feasibility of adding additional Division I NCAA programs, and the famed Minnesota Moose SPAMboni.
Segments this week include (but are not limited to) Goalie Gear Corner, You Don’t See That Every Day, Let’s Get Quizzical, and Weekly One-Timers.
It’s been a weird week in Seattle, so the Sound of Hockey guys are here to hopefully brighten your day a bit with some mindless hockey talk (and yes, they do briefly discuss the coronavirus and the impact it’s having on the local area, as well as the hockey world).
In this episode, there’s a decent amount of NHL Seattle chatter, as ground has officially been broken on the practice facility, and a new partnership has been formed between Sound Transit and the team. There was also some news about there… not… being… news about ticket prices.
Aside from those things, John, Andy, and Darren take a look at some of the more impressive NHL performances from the month of February, give lots of shoutouts to loyal listeners, and re-think the re-thinking of the Weekly One-Timers sound effect.
Segments this week include You Don’t See That Every Day, Get Off My Lawn, and Let’s Get Quizzical.
It’s been a weird week in Seattle, so the Sound of Hockey guys are here to hopefully brighten your day a bit with some mindless hockey talk (and yes, they do briefly discuss the coronavirus and the impact it’s having on the local area, as well as the hockey world).
In this episode, there’s a decent amount of NHL Seattle chatter, as ground has officially been broken on the practice facility, and a new partnership has been formed between Sound Transit and the team. There was also some news about there… not… being… news about ticket prices.
Aside from those things, John, Andy, and Darren take a look at some of the more impressive NHL performances from the month of February, give lots of shoutouts to loyal listeners, and re-think the re-thinking of the Weekly One-Timers sound effect.
Segments this week include You Don’t See That Every Day, Get Off My Lawn, and Let’s Get Quizzical.
SEATTLE – While there is already a hole in the ground and construction at Northgate Mall, NHL Seattle was on the scene Thursday to officially break ground on its new training facility.
It will feature three sheets of ice, state-of-the-art locker rooms, a community theater and conference rooms, a park on the south end connected to rest of the Northgate development, a Virginia Mason medical clinic, and a bar that looks over the ice.
It is slated to be finished and opened in the summer of 2021, in time for the first NHL Seattle practices to occur.
“I say welcome to our home,” NHL Seattle CEO Tod Leiweke said. “Its home for our team, it will be home to our staff, it will be home to Virginia Mason. We will welcome our players in about 18 months. We will grow the game, we will celebrate the game, all in a completely redeveloped and envisioned Northgate.”
NHL Seattle CEO Tod Leiweke spoke to the new Northgate practice facility serving the hockey community. (Brian Liesse)
The $70 million, privately funded, project will be the anchor tenant of Simon Property Group’s redevelopment efforts in a new mixed-used development complex at Northgate. The new development will include housing, retail, and a new light rail station.
Leiweke was joined at the podium Thursday by dignitaries from Simon and Virginia Mason along with elected officials such as Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan and Seattle City Councilwomen Debora Juarez.
While the facility will be a practice arena for NHL players, and fans will be able to watch workouts and scrimmages, the other two sheets will be available to the public in an effort to grow the sport.
“This whole project has really been developed to serve,” Leiweke said. “And we start on that by saying we want to serve our players. We want to inspire players we’re hoping to recruit. We want to retain players and we want word to get out around the NHL that this, Seattle, is the place to play.
“We want to serve the hockey community. We are deeply committed to growing the game here in Seattle. From beginners to elites to everyone in between. We want to serve the figure skating community and the curling community.”
It’s something that youth hockey organizations like Sno-King are already bracing for as ice time, or the lack of, has been a hindrance to larger numbers of kids playing hockey. With two-plus sheets of ice being added to the mix at Northgate, that should allow for more skaters to take part.
“We’re hoping for about 1,500 youth skaters in our first year and we hope for that to grow annually,” NHL Seattle’s Director of Youth and Community Development, Kyle Boyd said Thursday. “We’re hoping for about 500 a year after that. Having the two sheets is really going to help move people through.”
One of Northgate’s three sheets will have 1,000 seats for fans to view practices.
Northgate will be the only sheets of ice within the city limits of Seattle. There are public rinks on the Eastside as well as North and South of the city.
The hope is that having rinks within the city limits will make hockey, and skating, more accessible to a diverse group of kids.
“I think the distance is one of the barriers,” Boyd said. ‘I think there are many barriers to entry in the game. I think in terms of the number of kids playing in and around Seattle, we have the number at about 3000 in the greater Seattle area. But a lot of them do reside north of Seattle in the Mountlake Terrace, Lynnwood area, Everett, the Eastside and south. We think that having rinks available will really make the game more accessible to kids living in Seattle.
The Northgate practice facility will be located on the east side of the mall. (Brian Liesse)
“Speaking to the hockey is for everyone motto of the NHL we want to make sure that our Seattle youth hockey population is diverse and representative of the city… So, that’s something that we’re working on and want to make happen and available to all kids of all backgrounds.”
After the remarks from the podium, pictures with shovels were taken, kids and NHL Seattle staff played street hockey, as one of NHL Seattle’s major developments was officially underway.
“When this thing is done, anyone who is here, the first round at the overlook bar is on me,” Mayor Durkan said to applause.
What a week it has been in the hockey world, from Alex Ovechkin notching goal number 700 to trade deadline madness to Zamboni drivers winning NHL games, and Sound of Hockey is here for all of it.
This week, John fills us in on the latest Seattle hockey news, which mostly revolves around arena stuff. Plus, a potential bid to bring the NCAA Frozen Four to the PNW.
Eventually the guys get to robust conversations about the EBUG situation and the trade deadline, for which you will definitely want to hang around.
Segments this week include Goalie Gear Corner, You Don’t See That Every Day, and Weekly One-Timers (but with slightly tweaked sound effects).
