The Bolts
In our final installment of what we want to see out of the Tampa Bay Lightning next year is that we want to see them hoist the damn Stanley Cup afterwards! [Raw Charge]
The fruits of his labor are now ripe for the picking. Sure, Yzerman was gifted with already having two, young corner stone pieces in Steven Stamkos and Victor Hedman. But you have to look at the amazing job he has done in drafting, acquiring, and developing prospects like Nikita Kucherov, Andrei Vasilevskiy, Ondrej Palat, Tyler Johnson, Brayden Point, Yanni Gourde, Anthony Cirelli, and Mikhail Sergachev. Through that drafting and developing, you recognize the core of the team.
Andrei Vasilevskiy has a new mask, and it glows blue when it’s cold enough!
After being named best paint for the NHL Fan Awards, Andrei Vasilevskiy knew he had to step it up.
Thanks to the amazing work of @Sylabrush, this @TBLightning masterpiece features many of what Vasy had last year… but all in SubZero paint! pic.twitter.com/rqJa4iZRTI
— NHL (@NHL) September 3, 2018
SubZero ❄️ paint on Vasy’s ⚡️🦁mask!! The design revealed on the ice at cold temperate. To accelerate the process we spread some cold water 💦on it!! pic.twitter.com/FYMrqZwiYZ
— Sylvie Marsolais (@Sylabrush) September 3, 2018
On Twitter, Eric Blankenship, the Vice President of Marketing for the Tampa Bay Lightning, shared a quick four-tweet thread on the thought process behind the Bolts’ new 2018-19 TV campaigns. I think fans would really appreciate the team’s intentions. Eric also wrote some mini sub-threads and replied to his followers who posted questions, which were also great to read.
A little @TBLightning marketing insight about our tv creative strategy… in case you were wondering.
We are fortunate to be in a place where we can use tv to really communicate our brand message, rather than a hard sell, “Buy This, Get That, Tickets as low as…”
— Eric Blankenship (@eblankenship) September 3, 2018
Four years ago we went away from tv spots featuring hockey highlights & focused on what it was like to experience a @TBLightning game – everything from the march to the arena, the walk through the doors, the anticipation of the next goal & the high 5 from the stranger beside you.
— Eric Blankenship (@eblankenship) September 3, 2018
This season we take it a step further – what is it like to be @TBLightning fan in your everyday life? Our first two tv spots for this season gives a glimpse into that fandom & shows how it transcends the game itself – a little slice of life, as we have referred to it internally.
— Eric Blankenship (@eblankenship) September 3, 2018
You will probably notice that there is no hard sell message, no offer, no phone # & no website. (We use other mediums for the hard sell).
These spots are simply meant to evoke some sense of emotion, maybe even a connection to something bigger than the individual.
— Eric Blankenship (@eblankenship) September 3, 2018
The Prospects
Sorry, Crunch fans. Things have been a little barren here. 🙁
The Game
Players are found in the deeps recesses of Europe’s junior league. England is developming prospects. What about Canadian universities? [Mile High Hockey]
When the Avs rookies hit the ice later this week, we will see forwards R.T Rice (University of PEI), and Matthew Bouchard (University of New Brunswick) as well as defenders Matthew Pufahl (Acadia University) and Alex Breton (Concordia).
Have the Avalanche found a market inefficiency?
Probably not, but it’s never a bad thing to be thinking outside of the box.
You know you’re a playoff team when the rookies are forced to wear their hockey gear on the plane. Maybe.
Supporting our favorite hockey team!#RookieDressUp
(📷: @MattCarp13) pic.twitter.com/tLb5zrWKid
— St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) September 3, 2018
With the news of Nate Schmidt getting caught for using PEDs (which people are still debating) Yahoo! Sports looked at other cases found in the NHL. An interesting list. [Yahoo! Sports]
On May 15, 2014, the NHL announced that Zenon Konopka was suspended 20 games. Much like with Schmidt, the precise substance wasn’t disclosed.
There were some key differences in Konopka’s case, however.
While Schmidt (and his team) release statements disagreeing with the NHL’s verdict, Konopka instead apologized for his failed test, stating that he took “full responsibility for this error.”
