I spend a lot of time at metro St. John’s arenas. Here are some things that are impressing me of late, on and off the ice.
Note – I rarely operate outside a 10-mile radius of my home, so this article may have a hint of “homer” in it.
#1 – The Eastern Ice Breakers U18AAA Program
I caught my second EIB U18AAA game of the season at the CBS Stadium last night – I’m unsure if every game is like this, but what an atmosphere! The lights were out for the intro, got the “Junior Ice Breakers” involved which looked like a successful venture for the team this season, and there was a mascot buzzing around the building! The Ice Breakers sent the crowd home happy with an 8-3 victory over the Central IcePak, and are currently sitting atop the standings in the U18AAA Female League. Kudos to some ‘Pak alumni for coming out and supporting their old team last night, too. I saw a couple familiar faces in the stands.
The team has massive 50/50 cash payouts (I saw upwards of $10K last draw), active social media accounts (more on that later), and a major sponsor in Sportscraft that has given back to the local female hockey season for many years now (article on Sportscraft here). Package it all together, and the overall ‘Breakers franchise – from U13 and up – has done a fine job.
#2 – Team Social Media Accounts Are Killing It
In 2024, “killing it” is a good thing. I do some coaching for the U13AAA Hyflodraulic Eastern Rangers (good luck at the Spud b’ys) and our social media is clean as hell. Our team has virtual hockey cards (a little upset I don’t have one yet, but hey), cool in-game graphics, birthday announcements… impressive. Capital I.
This quality work is not limited to the Rangers, though. Every team that we follow on social media has some great graphics, up-to-date click-through links, hell I went to a make-up game between the Blizzard and Growlers U18AAA Male the other night because of a ECB post that I saw on Twitter.
While technology is improving and making graphics has gotten a lot easier, anyone who operates a business/sports/etc social media account knows that it’s time-consuming, monotonous work for $0. Kudos to the teams across the province for putting in the effort!
#3 – Photography Has Upped Its Game
Coaching the Eastern Hitmen U15 team pre-COVID, we were always very lucky to have one of our parents taking high-quality action shots – but we were an outlier it seemed. Fast forward 4-5 years and everywhere you look, there’s a great action shot! At VHG we have done some collaborations with a couple of photography companies, all of which have been professional in their work. I’m a sucker for a good action shot; maybe it’s what fueled my love for hockey cards as a child.
See ya around the rinks and be sure to say hey. RIP Carl Weathers, apa Apollo Creed and Chubbs Peterson. Finally in heaven with the alligator and Abe Lincoln (Happy Gilmore reference)
AP