Welcome

As Atlanta's Phillips Arena sits vacant in the wake of the re-location of its former National Hockey League tennant and with the long term viability of franchises in Florida, Dallas, Columbus, Nashville, and Long Island very much in doubt, hockey "insiders" and fans alike have been provided with considerable ammunition to assert that hockey will never become more than a regional sport in the United States.

The American Sunbelt might never become a true hockey hotbed (pardon the pun). The NHL might never rise to the level prominence attained by the NFL. The nicknames "Sid the Kid" and "Alex the Gr8" might never hold the same reverence as "Air Jordan," "Tom Terrific," and "Hammerin' Hank." However, I remain, and always will be a staunch believer in the growth potential of a game that combines the physicality of football with unmatched speed, skill and dexterity.

I've created this blog as a space to share anything and everything related to the growth-marketing of professional hockey - from macro-level NHL initiatives like the Winter Classic to game-experience enhancements such as the recent installation of lightning-shooting Tesla coils in the St. Pete Times Forum. With the compilation of marketing techniques and innovations highlighted in this space in mind, perhaps a formula does exist to successfully weave the sport of hockey into the fabric of American society in a way in which few of us could imagine while sitting in a half empty arena, wondering why nobody seems to care about a Coyotes-Stars game.

Yours in hockey,

JK