FanPost

NHL Summer League

Bear with me here, people. It's early August. We have not witnessed NHL level hockey in months. A time when Nick Spalings' arbitration hearing generates headlines. What I am about to propose is a fun and compelling idea that could help grow the game of hockey. It is a model closely based on NBA Summer league, an event that recently generated 70,000 attendees during an 11 day period, along with 116,000 TV viewers and 513 credited media members while accomplishing several objectives:

  • Helping younger players develop, from the 1st overall pick to a player in a minor league hoping to earn a big league job next year. Adversely, players looking to gain leverage in their current situation (Colin Wilson, Nail Yakupov etc... ) could use a successful Summer league to showcase their skills and earn the trust of their coach in an upcoming year.
  • Acclimating European players to the NA style game, and Elite competition.
  • Generating revenue and interest in the NHL.
  • Giving older players and FA's a platform upon which to showcase their skills in order to gain a job next year.
  • Allowing the NHL a safe space in which to experiment with any new wrinkle (Shootouts, 3 on 3 OT, etc... ).

It could function as a two week long tournament in early August where the teams are captained and picked (playground style) by a beloved veteran player. Every game would end with a shootout (youtube views!) and the winning team would receive a trophy. The tournament would either take place in a large city or, if possible, could take place in a series of hockey markets (Think Binghamton-Rochester-Syracuse in upstate New York).

1. Team Teemu Selanne

LW C RW Selanne (C) Ryan Strome Teuvo Teravainen Kevin Fiala Sam Reinhart Mikhail Grigorenko M D'Agostini Ryan Carter Devante Smith-Pelly Jordan Nolan A Cracknell T Pearson
D Alex Sulzer M Marincin Shane O'Brien Matt Gilroy Mark Fraser Tim Erixon
G Jhonas Enroth Dan Ellis

2. Team Saku Koivu

LW C RW F Forsberg S. Koivu (C) Emerson Etem Nick Ritchie Leon Draisaitl Rielly Smith M Bournival Calle Jarnkrok J Sekac Jeff HalpernTom Pyatt Anders Lee
D Ryan Ellis Tyson Barrie Cory Sarich Brandon Gormley Radek Martinek Mike Komisarek
G JS Giguere J Gustavsson

3. Team Ray Whitney
LW C RW Ray Whitney (C) Colin Wilson Dustin Penner A. Kohklachev Sam Bennett Ryan Spooner Jeremy Morin M Arcobello J Joensuu Adam Hall B Pirri Jimmy Hayes
D Seth Jones Ed Jovanovski B Lashoff D Dekeyser Carlo Colaiacovo Rusty Klesla
G Devan Dubnyk Niklas Svedberg

4. Team Martin Brodeur

LW C RW Todd Bertuzzi Anton Lander Devin Setoguchi J Schroeder Jason Zucker N Neiderreiter W Nylander Jordan Caron Z GirgensonsTaylor Pyatt M Samuelsson Chuck Kobasew
D Dougie Hamilton Brendon Dillon Michael Del Zotto Joe CorvoFrancis Bouillon P Larsen
G Martin Brodeur (C) Carter Hutton

5. Team Daniel Alfredsson

LW C RW Ville Leino Michal Handzus Daniel Alfredsson (C) Kasperi Kapanen Johnny Gaudreau Radek Dvorak Tomas Jurco Riley Sheahan J Andersson Dan Carcillo M Granlund Nikolaj Ehlers
D Rasmus Ristoloainen Sami Salo Nate Prosser Henrik Tallinder D Rundblad S Brookbank
G Martin Jones Tim Thomas

6. Team Ryan Smyth

LW C RW Ryan Smyth (C) Scott Gomez Ryan Malone Boone JennerCody Eakin Valeri Nichushkin Josh Ho-Sang Elias Lindholm Nikita Scherbak P Eaves A. Loktionov Colton Sceviour
D Joni Pitkanen Ryan Murphy Derek Morris Sami Vatanen Jamie McBain Anton Belov
G Cam Talbot Nikolai Khabibulin

Obviously, there a ton of details that need to be ironed out before this little bird can spread it's wings but this tournament could be a wonderful new part of the NHL. What do you think? What would be necessary to make this happen and is it worth it?