HOCKEY NIGHT IN CANADA

First off, I would just like to say that HNIC has scored, and in big ways, for broadcasting their Saturday night double-headers in Punjabi.

As a Canadian born Indian this is really a treat.

When I first heard of HNIC Punjabi, I expected the worst. After hearing the first broadcast, the two commentators Parminder Singh and Hunarayan Singh did a fantastic job of calling the game. They were on queue with the play and provided so much detail that a first time Indian viewer of an NHL game could understand exactly what was happening and follow the game.

The elderly Indian market is untapped, and HNIC is winning more and more viewers.

It looks like hockey has added a new voice.

As for the HNIC broadcasts, I believe they haven’t been that good this season, so far.

One of the main things that need to be fixed is the starting. The new theme song isn’t good, and the video is horrible. I think HNIC should’ve used Nikelback’s rendition of the Hockey Tonight theme song, which is really energetic, has a good beat, great video, and gets the viewer’s pumped.

When the video starts off, they show the NHL’s two historic teams, the Leafs and the Canadiens. After that, it begins to suck, because the whole video is choppy, blurry and blocky and you could hardly see any of the players’ faces properly. The Gretzky versus Crosby face-off during the video is so lame. And at the end of the video, Niklas Lidstrom’s face is so damn blurry.

One thing I don’t get is why is there a helicopter in the background which flies into an arena? How the hell does a helicopter relate to hockey?

The pre-game show Hockey Tonight, used to be good, now it’s just plain and boring. Why the hell did they change the name from Saturday Night to Scotiabank Hockey Tonight? The CBC is already loaded, how much more money do they need from naming rights and sponsorship deals?

The in game broadcasts are still good, as they provide good commentating, nice picture and sound. The CBC has the best in game coverage in Canada.

Coach’s Corner with Don Cherry is the same thing over and over. Can Cherry talk about something other than North American players over Euros, and his package of weekly fights? I feel sorry for MacLean who has to hear the same shit week in and week out.

The Satellite Hotstove is still good and provides great insights into the game, and the latest news from the league. It’s always fun too see Al Strachan and Mike Milbury get into it with each other.

One guy who needs some serious help is PJ Stock. It is really sad to see this guy struggle to speak and stutter on air when updating the viewers about the other games. At the same, you cannot help but laugh at the guy. I don’t know how Ron and the others keep it inside.

Overall, HNIC has lost something and don’t provide the complete broadcast like they used too. They have some strong points, but the other points are just a complete bore.


The opinions and thoughts expressed in this or any other article written by 12nadnuk are of his thinking and what he thinks is correct or close to it in the sporting world. If there are any problems by anyone, 12nadnuk is open for rebuttal and what not, and honest criticism. There is also a comments section, so feel free to post what is on your mind about the article. Thank you for reading.