Puck 'N Hockey

By now everyone has seen the 2011 Winter Classic in Washington, DC post by Kirk Luedeke at hockeyjournal.com.  The rumor follows the idea that the NHL wants to further capitalize on the Ovechkin/Crosby and Washington/Pittsburgh rivalries by hosting the 2011 Winter Classic at Nationals Park.  This has been the typical scenario speculated on by countless writers and fans, where DC ends up hosting the Classic.  Let’s explore this rumor a little.

Anyone that grew up in the Baltimore-DC metropolitan area knows, it’s very difficult to play hockey outdoors here.  We get maybe two or three weeks a year where temperatures are consistently cold enough to skate on the C&O canal or any of the shallow ponds throughout the area.  Typically, our Winters are very wet.  This year has been the exception.  Most of our precipitation has fallen as white stuff.  However, if you have grown up or spent any significant time living in this area, you know more often than not, that double blizzard would have been a soaking rain event.  Even with all of the experts and equipment the NHL brings in to make the Winter Classic ice, it would be very difficult to keep NHL quality ice.

Now, I am a fan of most of the local professional sports teams.  I grew up watching all of the Washington teams and the Baltimore Orioles.  I heard all of the stories about the Senators from my grandfather and father.  I enjoy watching the Nationals.  But I just can’t see how the NHL would put Nationals Park up there in the same category as historic ball parks like Fenway and Wrigley.  Part of the interest in the Classic is that hockey is being played in venues rich with history.  Previous venues are civic institutions and part of the sports cultures in their respective cities.  With all due respect to the local Major League club, the Nationals and their Park have a long way to go.

So, this leaves us with the match up.  I think this is spot on.  The NHL would be neglect if they did not include the Washington Capitals and most importantly, Alexander Ovechkin in the next Winter Classic.  What better opponent for the Great 8 and the Caps than arch rivals, Sid the Kid and the Pens?  The interest and hype around this game would be exactly what the league and the sport needs to grow and remain sustainable.

I really do want to see the Caps in a Winter Classic.  Just not at Nationals Park and probably not in Washington, DC.