Despite ending up a professional football player, Pat McAfee has always been a hockey fan. While the NHL doesn’t dominate the discussions on The Pat McAfee Show, Pat and his crew have never shied away from talking puck. NHL commissioner Gary Bettman was a guest on McAfee’s show on Wednesday, and he recognized the ESPN host for his efforts in giving the league a platform on his airwaves.
“I love the fact that you have your ‘Hockey is Awesome’ segment,” Bettman said.
Much of the discussion was focused on continuing to grow the game of hockey within the United States, but Bettman said the league is positioned well domestically right now.
“Actually, the attention that we’re getting, particularly from ESPN, both for the promotion and production of our games and how they’re being carried and scheduled has been great,” he said. “The Frozen Frenzy was a good element to that. Our attendance — we’re tracking for a record year for attendance, and we try to do things, whether it’s at the grassroots level — or I just came from a press conference announcing the public sale of one of our outdoor weekend events. We’re going to put on two outdoor games at MetLife Stadium on Feb. 17 and Feb. 18 — tickets went on sale this morning.”
“The Giants and Jets have been great in sharing their home with us, and so we want to continue to create ways for fans to connect with our game and have a great experience,” he added. “In addition to that, we’ve been using technology — puck and player tracking in particular — to bring people closer to the game; inside the game; and create more data around the game, but things like today and what you do with the ‘Hockey is Awesome’ segment; that helps grow the game and we really appreciate it.”
McAfee was flattered by Bettman’s comments.
“No, I am a small doofus in this entire thing who happens to love the sport,” he said.
Gary Bettman was asked about star players in the league and elevating their visibility among fans old and new. The feeling was like part of the reason hockey players are more reserved is because it’s a team-first culture.
But Bettman continued to praise McAfee for inviting current players on his show previously but also pointed out that younger players are tending to be more social media savvy and put themselves out there that way.
“I think historically, the culture of our game was more team-centric than individual-centricity, and our guys are great on and off the ice,” Gary Bettman said. “The younger ones, and our teams are supportive of this as is the league, younger players understand the importance because they are Gen Zs, and they are now putting themselves out there on social media more than ever before, and it’s something that we encourage.”
“When you look at the things we’ve been doing — Road to the Winter Classic; the Stanley Cup videos behind-the-scenes, we know that fans, particularly the younger fans, want more insight into the game; behind-the-scenes; and more about our athletes and how great they are and how personable they are, and that’s something we’re encouraging and emphasizing,” he added. “And I think in that respect, the culture of the game is changing, and that’s going to help grow the game as well.”
