On Thursday night, the sports world saw something special that doesn't happen very often on the same night. In the NBA, it was the Cavs vs. the Lakers, aka LeBron vs. Kobe. In the NHL however, it was the Penguins vs. Capitals, aka Sid the Kid vs. Alex the Great. Throughout the day, I was thinking about how lucky the NBA is. Not only do they have two marketable stars who are the faces of the league, but one is on the west coast and the other on the east coast, allowing TV ratings to really benefit in a double header situation. The NBA's northern ice cousin (I guess) isn't so fortunate. The two most recognizable faces in the National Hockey League, are both part of the Eastern Conference. This makes New York, Boston and Philadelphia very happy, as two of the biggest stars are playing in those big markets all the time, but it doesn't do anything for the West. So this got me thinking, the year that Sidney Crosby was drafted, the year before was the lockout. The NHL had formulated some sort of structure that allowed all teams to have somewhat of a chance to land the first overall pick, which would be undoubtedly Sid the Kid. Pittsburgh as we all know, won that draft, however its who came in second that is most interesting. The Might Ducks of Anaheim, as they were once upon a time called, picked second (which ended up being a U.S. Junior player by the name of Bobby Ryan). Now how much of the league's dynamic would have changed, if the picks would have been flipped? Lets analyze it shall we...
The Pittsburgh Penguins, coming off some very bad seasons always picking within the top five of the draft, had already in their system the rights to Evgeni Malkin and Marc Andre Fleury. Looking at those two players now, as they were instrumental in Pittsburgh two Stanley Cup runs have been great for them. However, we have to remember. Sidney Crosby flipped the whole team around, the reason why Pittsburgh still has a team, and a new arena to be opening up is because of 2005 draft. Further more, the franchise was in trouble. Nothing was going right, levels of government weren't approving anything for the Penguins, but opening new stadiums for the Pirates and Steelers. Hockey in Pittsburgh was dying.
The Anaheim Ducks, were coming off some years in which they were making the playoffs, and drafted quite well despite having mid level picks. Players like Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry were in the farm system playing Junior Hockey but Ducks property. Not only that but, in the summer of 2005, Brian Burke pulled off one of the biggest steals in franchise history by getting his hands on Scott Neidermeyer, by convincing him to play in Southern California with his brother. The Ducks were never playing second fiddle to anyone, as they were playing out of a great hockey only arena in Anaheim, and the closest competition for them was the Los Angeles Kings who were under some horrible management that could not attract any good players. Ownership in Anaheim was shaky, however after the lockout Disney sold off the team to the Samuelle Family (who are now serving time in jail, but that's a different story).
So what would have happened if the Ping Pong balls had a Ducks logo instead of a Penguins logo in the summer of 2005? The dynamic of the NHL would have changed drastically. Sidney Crosby would be the face of Southern California hockey. Lets face it, when he went to Pittsburgh, he was on GQ, Esquire and Reebok was taking off, now imagine all that, on the sunny beaches of California. Some of the epic battles Crosby would have against Calgary, Edmonton, Vancouver, Detroit Colorado and Chicago. We've seen the Gretzky result based on the number of U.S. players born in non traditional hockey markets in the states, and I think that if Crosby was playing hockey in Souther California, it would be just as great. Lets not lie, when we watch our Toronto Maple Leafs play some of these west coast teams, its fun to watch them, not just because we don't see them enough, but they play such a fast paced game that is just refreshing to watch. Its also safe to assume, that if the Ducks won that draft, the Pittsburgh Penguins would be playing out of Kansas City at this point. The team wasn't attracting fans, it wasn't attracting first class free agents, the death of the Pittsburgh Penguins would have occurred (and that's no offense to Bobby Ryan, who would have been taken second in the draft). I'm sure the NHL would have loved to have the New York Rangers win that draft lottery...market the best young player in the league in the biggest media market in the world. But the league would have changed if the Southern California Ducks landed Sid the Kid.
Imagine Crosby to Getzlaf for the win....oh wait...we might not have to wait that long, both will be representing Canada in February!!!
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Post by Bobby C
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