What kind of coverage do you want from Puck Worlds?
by Bruce Peter on Sep 10, 2010 12:58 AM EDT
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PrintI don't know how many people will see this post, but as the European club seasons are all launching this week and next, I figured it was a relevant question to ask. Right now, Puck Worlds is a one man operation, with help on the way on one front. Trying to cover all the professional hockey going on in Europe, plus international competition (which I won't compromise on, it's the #1 reason for this site), is quite a formidable challenge. So how exactly would you like to see the content presented?
The KHL is the big fish of European hockey, and I feel if any league will be getting priority, it will be it. It also involves the most clubs, and the highest quality of players outside of the NHL. There's a lot of material there, and while there is some decent coverage of it to be found, there's not a lot being covered on English language sites considering the influence the league has on the game worldwide. The teams in Belarus, Latvia, and Kazakhstan are considered key to promoting hockey development (and national team competitiveness) in those countries.
I'll ultimately try and divide up the coverage on my own, but I'm up for ideas. How much interest is there for the Elitserien on Puck Worlds? SM-Liiga? Czech/Slovak Extraliga? The DEL or NLA (Germany/Swiss)? What about lower level international club competition, like the IIHF's Continental Cup? Or women's club hockey, like the newly organized Canadian Women's Hockey League and the Western Women's Hockey League?
Ideally, Puck Worlds will grow with new writers designed to cover specific leagues/countries. If someone out there wants to contribute to one of these areas (or you have a recommendation), give me an email, it's at the bottom of the webpage. I've got some ideas for help, but I'm opening to casting a wider net. As the season moves on, I'm looking at posting some kind of coverage every day, or close to it.
And yes, I realize I'm still due the final edition of the European Hockey for Dummies series on the SM-Liiga. It'll be up within the week, before the launch of their season on Thursday. And also, just so you know, SB Nation is looking into adding CHL blogs, so Canadian major junior hockey won't be a focal point here. I'm also planning on doing a couple of posts regarding international content in the NHL as the season launches, but that's kind of an added bonus more than anything.
I'd post a poll, but it's kind of a layered question, so I hope you leave your opinion in the comments.
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Personally, my interest is about 25/25/20/20 for SEL/SML/KHL/NLA, with the rest being evenly split between “everything else hockey”. I’m just getting into European hockey for the first time though, after only really being aware of it peripherally in how it relates to the NHL. Maybe some in-depth articles focused on specific teams covering their history, statistical look at the current roster, what’s going on with them, challenges facing them (rebuilds and such), etc. This gets touched on in the EHFD articles, but I’m talking like full length articles for one team. Maybe looks at some of the top players, again possibly with a statistical eye. And obviously, IIHF news of tournaments or politics that will affect the game. And maybe a once a week article with a schedule for games the North American fan might not otherwise know about?
Looking at this list, it reads like “saskhab, do a bunch of work, entertain me”, but I’m enjoying what I’ve read so far so any more is gravy. But I’m personally very interested in the Swedish and Finnish leagues, and only slightly less so in the Swiss league, so I hope coverage of those leagues will continue alongside the KHL.
I’m definitely going to run a ‘games of the week’ series. I should get something together today, as North American readers might be able to catch some games at home on Saturdays.
Team features are something I’d like to do, but I’ll probably need some help on that front.
I really do want to grow this site into a hub for the game outside of North America. Thanks for the suggestions on starting points for this season.
Puck Worlds: Chasing Pucks from here to Turku.
For Twitter Updates on Puck Worlds, follow @puckworlds. For updates plus additional witty banter from yours truly, follow @saskhab.
by Bruce Peter on Sep 10, 2010 12:32 PM EDT up reply actions
Well, if I can find streams, I can usually watch at work. Though I suppose that’s not something I should be admitting or encouraging…
by despisethesun on Sep 10, 2010 3:23 PM EDT up reply actions
Heh, and I won’t be encouraging such behaviour. But if there are some key games during the week, I can post them.
Puck Worlds: Chasing Pucks from here to Turku.
For Twitter Updates on Puck Worlds, follow @puckworlds. For updates plus additional witty banter from yours truly, follow @saskhab.
deepisthesun is right on
I am also mostly interested in the Swedish and Finnish leagues, along with the KHL, of course. Top players with a statistical bent. Growth prospects for prominent clubs. Also, I find any news on the cultural role and influence of professional hockey in Europe and Asia to be very interesting.
I have also enjoyed what I’ve read so far – the league overviews have been very interesting. To a lesser extent, I am interested in any news relating to the potential for the sport the expand its presence in countries that are not recognized as hockey powers (lower division countries in international play). I would love to find links to jerseys of some of the less prominent countries (I remember the Hockey Hall of Fame has hockey jerseys for tons of countries), although I’m sure if I was posting at a normal hour I would just Google those things.
I’ll have to organize a schedule, but I was thinking of a weekly/bi-monthly piece on some of the more curious leagues out there. The lesser European leagues would get a voice, the Continental Cup can tie in with that, as well as the Asian league. Mexico is launching their first ever semi-pro league this year, and I’m going to write something on that.
As for national teams/programs, I have an idea on how to present those, but want to get a rhythm down before throwing that in there.
Puck Worlds: Chasing Pucks from here to Turku.
For Twitter Updates on Puck Worlds, follow @puckworlds. For updates plus additional witty banter from yours truly, follow @saskhab.
by Bruce Peter on Sep 10, 2010 12:27 PM EDT up reply actions
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