Now is the perfect time to play a drinking game as the off-season drags on. Also, who wants to remember a weekend without hockey anyway?

I’ll be the first to admit that I have never played any sort of drinking game, but if I could find people to play this game with, I would attempt it.

What You’ll Need:

- This game is best played with hockey fans. So I guess hockey fans would be something you’d need.

- Copious amounts of alcohol.

- A computer (preferably a laptop), hockey reference book or someone with completely accurate, encyclopedic knowledge of the game and its stats.

The Rules:

- To establish an order, have one person volunteer to be the computer operator (this means they will go last). At this point have someone blurt out a year, followed by someone saying a team. The CO looks up the team’s record from that year and the other players guess how many points the team finished with. Order is established from closest guess to furthest away from the actual number.

- Once an order is established, everyone pours their drinks. It doesn’t matter if it’s full beers, red plastic cups or shots. The important thing is that all playing feel that the drinks are even in terms of likelihood to make you intoxicated.

- The computer is then handed to the person going first. They can name any statistically category, from any year (including all-time). It is then up to those playing to name the players at the top of that category. For example, if there are six people playing, they must name one of the top seven on that list.

- Those answering can only give one response. If their answer is not on the list, they must consume all of their drink.

- In the event that all parties response with correct answers, the person who gave the category must drink everyone’s adult beverage.

- This isn’t really a rule, but a suggestion: If everyone in your group is a fan of the same team, it may be more fun to make the game about that team instead of all teams in all seasons.

- Every person is allowed a “shootout” during the game. This is when a player can call out another. The one initiating the challenge has one of two options for what it can be:

1. They can each take one turn trying to sing the American/Canadian National Anthem.
2. Allow the group to pick the stat (it must be an all-time statistic, not for just one season.)

- In both cases, the one who has been challenged goes first. If the national anthem option was picked, the one attempting the anthem must sing the other country’s song. Meaning: If you’re American you’re singing the Canadian National Anthem and visa versa.

- Both parties get a chance to belt out the anthem. It is up to the group to give no indication if one got it correct or not. After both renditions have been sung, it is revealed who used the correct lyrics. If one was correct and the other wrong, the incorrect party must consume everyone’s drink. If both got it right, all others playing must consume one drink for everyone playing. If both are incorrect, they must have a drink for everyone playing.

Pro Tip: Canadians should always use option 1. Americans have no idea what the hell the lyrics are to that song. Trust me, I’m the only American I know that can sing it in its entirety.

- For option 2, after a category is named, the two involved in the shootout rotate back and forth naming the top twenty in that statistically category. The first one to miss must partake in everyone else’s drink. If both players successfully name the list without error, these two are named the winners. If a desire for a true winner is wanted, continue with other stats until someone misses one. Then inform the two “winners” that they need to get lives.

- Outside of a shootout, a winner is determined when there is only one left standing in the game. This can either be through players quitting or passing out.

Although, the true winner is the one who upon waking up the next morning remembers nothing, for they just saved themselves from memories of a hockey-less night.

The story in short form is as follows: PPP posted an article that contained an interview from Czech magazine on their site. Since the interview was in Czech, a reader of PPP translated it for them. Along comes Dave Fuller of the Sun who reads the PPP article and takes the translation directly from them and uses it in his article for the paper. PPP at no point is given credit/citation for the translation and when the blog contacts the paper, they are told “get over it.”

Here’s the issue, the Sun claims they used Google Translator for their article. I can speak and write in two languages. I have used Google Translator at times when I have difficultly understanding something written in my second language. Therefore I am obligated to raise this:

For those of you not from Indy, this is cover art from the band Phoenix Bodies. The name of this album is “Raise the Bullshit Flag.” That is precisely what I am doing.

I find it hard to believe that Google Translator created a translation of an interview that was exactly the same as the one featured by PPP. Here’s why, in my years of doing translations and listening to others perform them, I have never seen two people create EXACTLY the same translation from dialogue such as an interview. Yes, the meaning of what was said is the same, but wording and sentence structure is sometimes moved around at the translator’s discretion. Not to mention the fact that translations from computer programs are almost always screwed up in some manner.

If this was an English language article that Mr. Fuller had seen on their blog, then there is no need to cite PPP. The issue is that the translation was an original work of PPP and therefore the Sun should be obligated to credit them as the source of it. I understand that papers for the most part don’t want to acknowledge bloggers, but we do work that I honestly believe is better that what most newspapers give us half the time. The Sun needs to give credit where credit is due.

To follow this on-going story, check out Pension Plan Puppets here.

Also, if you’d like to give Dave Fuller a piece of you mind, click here.

I, being a male and not constantly reminded of this, sometimes fail to understand what women go through. In fact, I probably do not even remotely understand what it is like to be a woman in a society such as this.

Yesterday I got a glimpse into it.

My place of employment was holding a pre-season camp for youth hockey. As part of my job, I was running check-in and directing people to their respective dressing rooms. The first camp went well with no real struggle. Then came a moment I will honestly never forget.

In the second camp was a female hockey player. A lone girl. As per the rules and just common decency, I took her to a separate locker room.

As I showed her to the room and unlocked it for her, I walked into it to do a basic sweep to make sure everything was clean.

What I was looking at was an empty locker room.

I then turned to walk out while she came into the dressing room. For some reason at that moment it clicked in my head that I had already checked-in a lot of boys for this camp session, meanwhile she was the only girl.

The phrase “empty locker room” now took on a new meaning. From bare to isolated.

I wish I could explain the sadness that instantly filled me, but I am at a loss for words. Most people that play hockey or really any sport will tell you a lot of comradery takes place in a locker room. Sure, I understand why the separate dressing rooms were needed and I get that this was just a youth hockey camp. Yet, I could not help myself from feeling a slight sadness for this girl.

While the boys got to talk and be silly in their locker room, she got dressed by herself in the silence of her thoughts.

This situation was not the fault of any person. Merely it was an unavoidable, sad circumstance. While I’m sure many will claim that moments like that will make her strong and to a point I agree, it is just one of those cruel, consistent moments in life that proves it is anything but fair.

I’m sure she is used to the separate locker room treatment by now, but something deep within my soul claimed I had unfairly separated her from those locker room experiences based solely on her gender. I felt like I was guilty of sexism in some way. Now, I know I did no such thing, but it was just what was going on in my mind at the time.

Hell, if I did anything, I probably spared her. Anyone that has been in a men’s locker room knows that it’s an assault to your eyes and nostrils.

I digress.

The point of all of this was that it gave me a look at what a girl has to go through in a completely male dominated culture. Like I pointed out earlier, no one is to blame for this situation. It is just the way the cards fell. This isn’t a post about “male guilt” or anything of the sort. Instead it just made me see the world in a different light. If anything, it made me respect female hockey players a lot more.

In my time working at an ice rink I’ve watched a pretty good amount of adult league games. In every one that featured co-ed teams, the women always out-played the men. I don’t know if this is due to these female players just being better or if it’s because they feel like they have something to prove. Regardless of the reasons why, in the past months my opinions of female hockey players has risen. Although honestly, they were never low to begin with.

People that look at women players and think they are inferior to their male counterparts are idiots. As my weekly hockey group likes to frequently say, “It doesn’t matter what’s in-between your legs. The second you start playing, you’re nothing more than a hockey player.” Classy, I know, but the point is evident. In the end, your gender doesn’t mean a thing. We’re all hockey players/fans here. That’s the only label that should matter.

I guess in the South they’re pretty hyped on their brand of football, that’s nice. Give me Ohio St. v. Michigan. Hell, give me the Battle for Paul Bunyan’s Axe.

Regardless of the trash talking storm I’m sure to be starting, I am a completely biased Midwesterner that loves the Big Ten.

Now we all know that I love hockey. What if there was a Big Ten hockey conference? Well, first I think I would start by doing a little jig. Then I would probably make Big Ten hockey a large focal point of this blog or my upcoming podcast.

Yet, it’s not going to happen. At least not any time soon.

It seems that speculation about Big Ten hockey comes up every year anymore. This year’s talk arose from the news that Penn State will be building a hockey arena and starting NCAA hockey programs.

For those of you that do not follow college hockey, I’ll make a quick designation. A high amount of NCAA Division I universities have hockey teams, but most of them do not play in the NCAA because the standards required by the governing body are too demanding for most programs. Due to this, most schools have club teams that function essentially at a relatively high level of play, but don’t have the NCAA seal of approval. These teams play in the ACHA. Although all 11 Big Ten member schools are represented by a hockey team, only five play in the NCAA.

Penn State would be the sixth Big Ten team in the NCAA and thus, the speculation began.

Let’s first start with the potential conference’s size of six teams. There currently is not a conference in NCAA Men’s Hockey that operates with so few members. It is completely possible for a conference that small to exist, but it seems rather unlikely as the scheduling would become rather repetitive.

Big Ten hockey teams already have their games broadcast on the Big Ten Network. There wouldn’t be any additional money coming in from that source, as things currently stand. In fact, the only way there could be a further gain is from making the network focus on the newly created conference. Furthermore, most of these teams have established fan bases that fill their stadiums. It’s been said that the Big Ten programs in the CCHA control the conference because of their cash cow status. If Big Ten teams flocked together as they are now, I couldn’t foresee enough of a gain as compared to the potential damage they could do to smaller universities.

In fact, as it stands, the only way a Big Ten conference could happen in hockey is by inviting in other established programs.

This would be an interesting dilemma.

While most college hockey fans probably wouldn’t care, I’m sure you’d have some blowhard that needs to fill a column writing about how adding universities like Miami of Ohio hurts the sacred Big Ten name. Then comes the ensuing debate. Hockey fans immediately go on the defensive. People say stupid things, etc, etc.

Well, I suppose that added publicity would be good for getting word out.

Don’t get me wrong, I believe a Big Ten hockey conference would work. The issue is that at its current state, it will not happen.

Another issue comes from trying to sever Minnesota from their natural rivalries they have in the WCHA. Trying to pry the Golden Gophers from frequent contests against in-state schools and the University of North Dakota would be difficult.

I am in love with the concept of a Big Ten hockey conference, but we need to stop talking about it. Every year it comes up in speculation and although I hope it does happen one day, it’s not this year.  It may not be for a while, or ever. So stop getting my hopes and the hopes of every other true blue Midwesterner up. It’s not fair.

I recognize this design as there is also a United States of Baseball map that exists. Apparently Nike commissioned the map at some point, but I do not recall ever seeing this before.

Personally, I believe that the Blue Jackets’ “nation” is quite too large and Florida is essentially completely incorrect. In my massive amount of time I’ve spent in that state, I do not recall ever meeting a Panthers fan. I could be wrong, but I’m thinking that most of those living north of Tampa are either Lightning, Thrashers or Hurricanes fans. Although, I will say that I believe Indianapolis is well represented as most fans in this area are either Blackhawks, Blue Jackets or Red Wings fans. Also, great call on making Northwestern Indiana and the area stretching to South Bend as Blackhawks fans. That I know is 100% accurate.

What about you guys? Thoughts? Areas that are either completely correct or off-base?

Shockingly, relatively few of us actually play the sport.

A few days ago this question came up from a supervisor of mine, to which I responded, “I used to, I plan on starting again in the fall.”

To clarify, the actual answer is that I play street hockey with a group of friends every week and once in a while play on roller hockey with a friend in the local high school’s parking lot. I stopped playing ice hockey when I was 13 for reasons that are both long-winded and boring. Therefore, I’ll spare you the details.

After informing my co-worker of this factoid, he then tells me I should play pick-up hockey with him on Tuesday night. When I tell him I lack any of the needed equipment, I’m told he’s a goalie most nights so I can use his spare set. I think it was my desire to get back on the ice, but regardless of whatever reason my brain formulated, I without hesitation accepted the offer.

Then a problem arose in my head, I have a show on Tuesday night with my band. After checking that my show starts at 6:30 and hockey started at 9:30, I completely committed to what I was sure was a bad idea from the outset.

Tuesday night arrives and I get to the show. For some reason I completely neglected to realize this show would definitely run on “punk rock time*.” It was at this point I realized I was screwed. I then spend the next twenty minutes trying to inform my bandmates that I need to be out of the building by 8, if I want any hope of making it to the rink in time to get geared up and out on the ice surface in time. Finally, after much sarcastic complaining from my fellow band members, they decide we’ll start our set at 7:50 (this is fine seeing as our set is only five minutes long).

One thing of note is that this show is going on in a garage that is separate from the house it sits behind. For those finding this odd, house shows are quite common amongst this type of music. They’re cheap venues that will fit a solid number of people and create a more intimate, fun environment.

This is a garage in the middle of a Midwest summer with a closed door and one lonely fan working quite hard to create some sort of cross ventilation. It also doesn’t help that Indy was experiencing near-record humidity on this day. Long story short, it’s quite hot in this building.

At about 7:48, my band starts playing. One really negative aspect to playing in a place like this is the way the sound will bounce around the room. A concrete floor and drywall are not super conducive to absorbing noise. We play a decent set, one where there was a lot of non-verbal communication between the musicians due to the fact it was hard to hear any of the instruments clearly from the “stage**.”

After seven minutes, our set ends. Everyone in that room is dripping with sweat, even if they weren’t moving. Of course since I’ve made a vow to honor the connection between punk rock and hockey by wearing a sweater for every show, I’m drenched. I apologize to my bandmates for having to rush forward the start of the show, collect the few obligatory “nice job” remarks from people, say my goodbyes to some friends that came out and make plans with a female for dinner after my game. When I remark that I will be covered in both show and hockey sweat by the time I get to see her next, she simply replies, “I go to shows, I think I’m used to people covered in sweat.”

Good answer.

I then begin the frantic drive to the suburbs in hopes to make it in time to get dressed and ready for this game. At this point I begin to come to terms with the fact that I’m quite nervous. Although I acknowledge it is a pickup game and therefore how well I play has no real meaning, I’m still uncomfortable. Perhaps it’s the fear of looking like a complete fool as I try to shake off nine years of rust or perhaps it’s the fear of the unknown. I realize at that point, I really have no idea what I’m walking into. I begin desperately hoping for a bunch of beer leaguers that I can blend in with as I make mistakes. Yet, I remember it is the summer and figure I will be with guys trying to stay in shape during the off-season.

As I arrive at the rink, I begin to look for my co-worker to his location. After I place a phone call I realize that he’s at a softball game and he’s left his gear for me to use. I’m now more panicked. Perhaps it is because I was hoping to know someone out there with me. Regardless, I figure I’m already here, I might as well play hockey.

I walk into the locker room and sit down to dress. Looking around the room, I see a ton of very young faces. It occurs to me that most of these guys are either my age or slightly younger. At this point I start noticing logos on everyone’s equipment. Some have local high school logos, meanwhile others have USHL emblems on their sweaters. I then look down at the guy next to me and see a symbol that makes me mutter obscenities under my breath. Staring back at me from this guy’s bag is the logo of the Miami Redhawks. I realize I am going to be playing very far out of my league.

Meanwhile I continue dressing. This is either because I really wanted to play hockey and no one was going to deprive me of that, or because I’m a complete idiot. I think the romantic answer is the prior, but the realistic truth is the latter.

We all leave the locker room and venture out onto the ice, the moment my blades cut into the surface I sort of forget how outclassed I’m about to be and just focus on the happy fact that I’m about to play ice hockey again. The game starts and minutes into my first shift I record an assist on a well-aimed pass. Upon returning to the bench, a co-worker of mine, one that is playing, congratulates me. Before the game I had told him about the fact I hadn’t played in a while, but decided to come out and play anyway. After another shift he asks if I’m tired. I respond with an honest, “yes.” I always tend to forget how much the sport takes out of you.

Although my first shift went rather well, my second shift or third or fourth did not. I began routinely making mistakes and was getting blown away by guys in better shape and overall better at hockey than I am. As I clumsly hopped over the boards, a kid on our bench asked my age. When I told him I was 22 he just started laughing. I laughed back. I knew how ridiculous I looked out there, but I really couldn’t care less. I was having a ton of fun. He ended up asking why I was playing and as we waited for another shift I told him why I was there. After some banter with generally everyone on the bench, they tended to all be very supportive and encouraging. Honestly, I really needed that. I often claim that hockey is one gigantic family and in that moment, my faith in that belief was rewarded.

As the game progressed, I began to feel more comfortable. I was nowhere near the level of play that the others on the ice were at, but I was significantly better than I was when I started. When it ended, I smiled. Thankful that I was able to play hockey again. That evening confirmed to me that playing hockey is completely worth the amount of money it costs to participate.

I quickly changed into an extra pair of clothes, returned the equipment and left for dinner. During the meal I’m rather quiet, but I have an uncharacteristically large smile on my face. Although I watch hockey in some facet on TV almost every day, I read blogs dedicated to it and write in one myself, I tend to forget just how happy a simple children’s game makes me.

So yes, I did look like a clown out on the ice and I’m sure I smelled like roadkill, but it was completely worth it. It’s rare that a person gets to participate in two of their favorite things in one day, but on Tuesday night I did and it was fantastic.

*- Punk Rock Time is around 2-3 hours behind schedule. More or less, the show will not start until there are enough people there to start the concert. Since punctuality is not a value adhered to by any group of people involved in the scene that I’ve known, nothing starts at its posted time.

**- We set up on the floor, there isn’t actually a stage.

Every once in a while you’ll see something that you just cannot help, but remark how awesome it is. A few months ago someone on Twitter sent me a link to this video. After doing some research on what I had just seen, I found that I was watching The Briggs play “This Is L.A.” before a Kings’ playoff game.

From my eight months of documenting the connection between hockey and punk rock, I’ve started to notice a pattern. It seems that the Kings are the ones that either have the strongest connection between the two cultures or they just highlight it more than any other team. My only explanation for this is that Southern California is a punk rock mecca and there’s going to be bleed over between the two communities.

Regardless of why the connection is emphasized as much as it is in Los Angeles, The Briggs’ “This is L.A.” has become the Kings’ fight song in a sense. The song is played every Kings’ home game right before the team hits the ice.

With my research completed, I sought out an interview with the band. Joey Briggs was kind enough to take time out of his schedule to answer a few questions for me.

Hoosier Hockey: The obvious and annoying starter question, where did the band name come from?

Joey Briggs: It doesn’t have any real epic meaning. We needed a name quick and I lived off a street called Briggs and we thought it sounded cool and it stuck.

HH: Your music has a mixture of Celtic and street punk sounds. It all blends together to make music that sounds American in the “melting pot” sort of sense. What would you say are some of your biggest influences as a band?

JB: Well musical influences vary quite a bit for us. As far as the sound goes I’d say it comes from our original love for our forefathers of punk rock, the Clash and Ramones mixed with I think a little bit more of a heavier and aggressive sound of more modern punk bands. But us being music nerds and loving to mix it up and throw other shit in there such as more folk à la Bob Dylan or Leonard Cohen which might not come across as that but they are some among many undertones to our music.

HH: Besides playing in your hometown of Los Angeles, what is your favorite city to play in?

JB: Berlin, Germany is probably one of my favorites because it’s always so damn insane and fun.

HH: Your song, “This is LA” is the introduction song for the Kings. During the playoffs you were invited to perform before every home game. How did the band get in contact with the team? Were you guys approached by them or was this something you sought out?

JB: They approached us. I would have never thought to contact them or any sports team for that matter because to me this song wouldn’t have even gotten on their radar. Us being this underground punk band it never dawned on me that it would land in those ears, but somehow it did and I’m very grateful it did.

HH: What has been the reaction by Kings fans to the song? Is it being embraced as a sort of “fight song”?

JB: It was very surprising how many people knew who we were and were excited to see us there performing the song. Families, older people, kids coming up taking pictured with us. We weren’t used to those kind of people coming up to us, it’s usually some kid with colored hair and a Dropkick Murphys shirt on. It was pleasingly well received by all kinds of people.

HH: Before the connection with the Kings, how many of you were hockey fans? Is the entire band now hooked on the game?

JB: I’d say originally only 2 members followed that game at all and we are all pretty religious now with keeping up on it. As much as one can when you’re on the road and in a different city every night doing shows.

HH: I’m going to assume everyone is a Kings fan?

JB: Of course.

HH: Anyone in the band have a great hockey-related story?

JB: I wish I did, the closest I ever got to hockey was wobbling around in rented skates at the local ice rink in North Hollywood growing up. Don’t think I could do any better today.

HH: Do you know if the Kings are going to continue using “This is LA” at their games or if you guys will be brought back at some point next season?

JB: I hope so, I don’t see why not but you never know.

HH: Would you say that there is a connection between punk rock and hockey?

JB: Totally, they’re both aggressive, mean and in your face. It’s a match made in heaven.

HH: Anything else you would like to add?

JB: 2+2

HH: Thanks.

The Briggs are preparing to embark on an European tour. Their music can be found here.

It only makes sense that someone that writes about the connection between punk rock and hockey also plays in a band. Well, this weekend I play my first show with my new band and I have a difficult decision to make.

I decided that for every set I play with this band, I want to wear a hockey sweater. Well I decided for this first show, I’d let my readership choose which crest I wear over my chest.

Below are the options with a poll.

Blackhawks Red/Blackhawks White/Original Blue Jackets Blue/

Original Coyotes White/Devils White/CHL Indianapolis Ice/

Original Lightning Black/Panthers Red/Original Predators Blue

Finally, if you’re in the Indianapolis-area this weekend and you’d like to come out, all the info can be found here. My band, Indianapolis Forever, plays at 2pm.

So is Sunbelt hockey working?

I would say, yes. Honestly, when I started this process, I didn’t expect to see much information that would produce any sort of meaningful conclusion. I figured the numbers would either prove nothing was changing or would be inconclusive. Instead, what I encountered was a lot of evidence that seemed to be proving that these teams were leading to a rather large increase in interest.

For those of us north of the Mason-Dixon Line, it can be rather easy to dismiss low attendance numbers and declare that our commissioner is an idiot for keeping teams in the South. Yet, we’ve had the game with us our whole lives. For most of us the game, in some sense, is part of our region, our state, our community. Sure, before “The Trade” there was Sunbelt hockey, but never to this scale, never like it has been since teams started coming South.

I know there are communities that are angry and/or hurt due to the loss of their beloved franchises (see: Hartford, Winnipeg, Quebec City). Trust me, I get it. My hometown of Indianapolis has been without any level of pro hockey since 2004 and it still pains me. I can only imagine what it’s like to be stripped of an NHL team. It’s easy to be upset at the South with teams while your town is devoid of a franchise.

Yes, the NHL is a business. I completely understand that. Yet if any team is to survive there has to be a public wanting the product initially, followed by a community that wants it to stay.

Do I think it’s stupid that a lot of teams coming South decided to place most of their hopes in a snowbird population to support their team? Yes. In fact, I recently read a Sports Illustrated article about the Lightning from 1993 and all I could think about was, “Who in the hell green-lighted this idea?”

There’s something bigger going on here. Bettman’s goal from the beginning has been to sell the game to U.S. markets. If you’re going to try and bring the game to a place where ice does not occur naturally, you have to give it time to grow. The NHL took a sport with almost no visibility in the South and they transplanted it there. In a place where there was no hockey, kids are now growing up with it. About half of those children will grow up to live within 50 miles of their birth place. As adults they will be the ones buying tickets, merchandise, etc. They will reproduce and share the game with their offspring. This the same thing that’s been going on up North, but it’s in the early stages.

Although for a lucky few, they’ll play in the NHL. America is a country that is obsessed with sports. Think of all the athletes in earlier eras that grew up in the South and played other sports. Now think of how many kids in the South are playing hockey. Sure this may be a small amount in terms of global population, but after time it adds up. Sunbelt hockey is growing the game, it’s introducing the game to the whole country instead of just us Northerners. We love the greatest game in the world and the South is starting to catch on.

Yes, there is a point where we do have to acknowledge that certain markets just aren’t cutting it or a point where no proper ownership group means that a franchise needs to be relocated. Yet, those are things we have to deal with on a case by case situation. Don’t dismiss the Southern markets, the first generation of fans are just now coming into adulthood. The cycle that’s helped to build successful franchises throughout the league is now starting to complete its first revolution in these markets.

So yes, the more established hockey cities are going to outdraw them, but they’re buying into the game. They have the potential to be strong hockey cities. Go easy on our brothers and sisters below the Mason-Dixon Line, we’ve had one hell of a head start.

Since I’m on the topic of the “Sunbelt Era”, which I’m counting from August 9th, 1988 to Present, let’s examine the makeup of the NHL since “The Trade.”

“The Trade” is often considered the event that really pushed Sunbelt hockey really into being. That moment seems to be the point where people began to believe that hockey could survive, if not, thrive below the Mason-Dixon Line.

Using this date as a guideline, I decided to see if this era has produced more Southern NHL players than previously in the league’s history.

To collect the information for this portion of my study, I used the data made available from hockey-reference.com. I took the birth place of every player that made their NHL debut in the pre-Sunbelt Era (1918-1993) to those who played their first game in the Sunbelt Era (1994-Present).

Now at this point you’re probably wondering why I just claimed the Sunbelt Era started in 1988 and then used 1994 as the start date in my data collection. Well, I accounted for the development of youth.

Let’s be honest, if a kid from Texas suits up for his first NHL game in 1988, it isn’t because of the chain of events caused by “The Trade.” What I did for this portion of the information was I took the oldest possible age I could conceive someone starting to play the game and actually making it to the NHL. I determined that 12 was a fair number. So let’s claim that a 12-year old in 1988 watches Gretzky play hockey for LA and is swept up in the spread of hockey down South. The earliest that child enters the league is 1994. Therefore if we’re trying to gauge an effect from “The Trade” and its repercussions, this wouldn’t be seen until at least 1994.

Before I get to the results, one problematic part about this data deals with the fact this only accounts for birth place, not hometown. While it would have been more accurate to find where these players lived the majority of their lives, I was unable to find any such database and had to work with what I had.

For the pre-Sunbelt Era, these numbers were pretty much what you’d expect. Massachusetts, Michigan and Minnesota were the only states that contributed 1% or more of all NHL players, with a combined 6%. This is more than all other states combined (3.88%).

Since the Sunbelt Era began there’s been a slight shift in the American makeup of the NHL. Yes, Massachusetts, Michigan and Minnesota still produce the most pros, but instead of producing twice as many players as the rest of the country, it’s only half of the Americans in the league.

Meanwhile for Sunbelt states, they went from producing less than one percent of the league’s players (.60%) to now being responsible for 1.44% of the league. While that sort of sounds unimpressive, in terms of real numbers, they went from having 25 players over a 75-year span to since producing 28 NHLers in only 16 years. That’s a massive improvement. In fact every state in the South that has an NHL team, with the exception of Tennessee, has sent forth at least one native son to play in the NHL.

This definitely says something about Sunbelt teams getting people involved with the sport.

Now this is not to say that my work is a definitive piece of evidence proving that the move South by the NHL was a great idea, nor do I intend it to be. Instead it was a thought that has been in the back of my mind for some time now, and I decided to explore it further. I am always open to critique and a link to my work can be found here.

One note about my spreadsheet: I had intended to find someway to work Olympic and World Championships rosters into this post, but found no meaningful way to display the data I collected. Although, I decided to leave it on the document for those interested in the information.