Las Vegas Review-Journal (Sunday)
Don’t laugh, but updated ‘glow puck’ could return
Hi-tech tracking of players, puck being considered
The 1990s were a funny time for the NHL. Neutral-zone traps. “Burger King” jerseys in Los Angeles. Craig Ludwig’s swollen shin pads.
Now, it appears the decade’s biggest dumpster fire — the “glow puck” — could make a comeback.
After being inducted into the Broadcasting & Cable Hall of Fame last week, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman hinted during his acceptance speech at a possible return of glowing pucks and comet tails streaking across your TVs and mobile devices.
“Actually, we are working on dramatically updated versions of that technology, and we have plans to roll out updated player and puck tracking,” Bettman said. “We are literally going back to the future.”
For those who don’t remember watching hockey on standard-definition TV, or simply purged it from their memory, the “glow puck” was developed by Fox Sports after it won the broadcast rights to NHL games.
The technology – officially called FoxTrax – debuted at the 1996 All-Star Game and was used though the 1997-98 season. LED lights were implanted inside the puck, and special TV cameras were used to pick up the signal.
The result was a light-purple cloud that surrounded the puck and a red comet tail that appeared whenever it traveled faster than 70 mph.
The “glow puck” was intended to help casual fans keep track of the action and has been widely criticized as one of the worst innovations in sports history.
But as Bettman pointed out in his speech, the technology was the precursor to the first-down line that has become commonplace in football broadcasts. So, it wasn’t a total waste.
The NHL previously has used infrared sensors in the puck and on player jerseys at the All-Star Game to gather information such as puck velocity, skating speed and player ice time.
Similar technology for puck and player tracking also was used last year during the World Cup of Hockey.
“Whether it’s digitally enhanced dasher boards or puck and player tracking, we’re ready to embrace new technology that isn’t a gimmick,” Bettman said at the time.
Still, with HDTV commonplace nowadays, viewers don’t need the benefit of a frozen, grape SweeTARTS candy floating across the ice.
Unless the NHL brings back the fighting robots to its broadcasts. Then it might be a fair trade-off.
RIP, Gord
Gord Downie, the frontman of The Tragically Hip, died last week at age 53, and the Canadian folk-rock icon and devout Boston Bruins fan was honored across the NHL.
One of the signature songs by the Hip, as they’re commonly referred to in Canada, is “Bobcaygeon.” In the summer of 2011, the band played a concert in Bobcaygeon, Ontario, on a farm owned by Peter Neal, the father of Golden Knights forward James Neal.
The show drew more than 25,000 fans and was made into a popular documentary.
“The best part about him, besides his music, is just how good of a guy he is and how many people he touched, the way he lived his life. He was pretty special to Canadians,” James Neal said. “For me, when you think of The Tragically Hip and you think of their songs and them as a band, you think of good times, hanging out at the campfire at the cottage on the lake. That’s when we were smiling, laughing, having fun.”
Olczyk back in booth
NBC hockey analyst Ed Olczyk made an emotional return to the broadcast booth last week to call two games for NBC Sports Network.
Olczyk, 51, was diagnosed with colon cancer in August, and the former Blackhawks player received a standing ovation from the crowd in St. Louis on Wednesday. He also was in the booth Thursday for Chicago’s game against Edmonton.
“Eddie is a friend, and I played against Eddie, and it was great to see,” Golden Knights coach Gerard Gallant said. “He’s a good person, and he’s working hard. It was awesome.”