Nashville Predators News & Notes:
Nashville Predators to Play in 2020 NHL Winter Classic – On the Forecheck
In case you missed it: OUTDOOR HOCKEY.
An Ode to Anthony Bitetto – On the Forecheck
The Minnesota Wild claimed Tony B yesterday, and Bobby sums up what we’ll miss about him. (If you want a laugh to distract from your sorrows, the comments at Hockey Wilderness have some fairly elaborate joke conspiracy theories going.)
He Said It: Best of Pekka Rinne from NHL All-Star Media Day – NHL.com
This being NHL.com and not The Athletic, all quotes are entirely SFW.
Rinne Held in High Regard Throughout NHL at All-Star Weekend – NHL.com
A fluff piece, but a nice one nevertheless.
Photos: Best of 2019 NHL All-Star Weekend – NHL.com
Not a slideshow, hurrah! I’m not exactly sure what Josi is wearing, but I ask that every year. I’m almost used to it by now.
Other News & Notes:
2019 NHL All-Star Media Day: Chatting with Karlsson, Burns, Bettman, and more – Fear The Fin
FTF got a quick interview with Roman Josi, which was mostly focused on Swiss hockey, in while making the player circuit.
2019 NHL All-Star Skills: Winners, funny moments, Gritty – ProHockeyTalk
If you missed the skills competition and want to catch up, this is a pretty good summary with links to video and tweets. Hardest Shot was a real let-down to me this year again, but what can you do without Shea Weber.
(I have to note that Brianna Decker of the Calgary Inferno, who demonstrated but did not officially compete in Premier Passer, finished it three seconds faster than Leon Draisatl’s winning time.)
Kendall Coyne Schofield speeds through NHL Skills Competition – The Ice Garden
Speaking of the women who participated in the NHL All-Star Skills Competition, Kendall Coyne Schofield, who replaced the injured Nathan MacKinnon in Fastest Skater, is going to be in Nashville for the NWHL All-Star Game just a few weeks from now!
Matthews wears Marleau jersey to delight of Sharks fans, players – NHL.com
This was great.
Avalanche’s MacKinnon unlikely to participate on-ice at All-Star Game – Sportsnet.ca
…so, Coyne Schofield again? Please? I’ve been really good this year…
Neither the ASG nor the Preds News:
Puck and player tracking coming to NHL next season
Pros: puck and player tracking!
Cons: the NHL is handling this so it’s going to be a mess; everything that they were talking about at the skills competition sounded like all the NHL cares about is how fast people and pucks go, not where they are. I want people to be able to write scripts to get locations for shot assists/passes, zone entries and exits, etc. so we can see them immediately instead of having to wait for manual tracking, dangit.