2012 NHL Draft would bolster Pittsburgh’s hockey town credentials
By Matt Gajtka
by Matt Gajtka
Although it hasn’t yet been officially announced by the National Hockey League, multiple signs and reports point toward Pittsburgh’s CONSOL Energy Center hosting the 2012 NHL Draft next June.
If the suspicions prove accurate, it will be another step in Pittsburgh’s progress from a Penguins-centric city to a true “hockey town.”
Of course, the catalyst for western Pennsylvania’s long-blooming hockey love is the Penguins, although there were other pro teams than preceded them. But even when the Penguins captured back-to-back Stanley Cups in the early 1990s, it would have been a major stretch to place Pittsburgh in the same class as Boston, New York, Detroit, Buffalo and even Philadelphia, a fellow benefactor of the NHL’s 1967 expansion from six to 12 teams.
In the past few years, though, there is mounting evidence that the “Burgh is rising to the level of those aforementioned havens for the sport.
Start with local television ratings, for both the contending Penguins and games of leaguewide importance, which are consistently amongst the top handful of hockey-loving metropolitan areas in America. In fact, the Penguins drew the best regional ratings for their cable telecasts in the entire NHL last season.
Obviously, the region fell hard for the Penguins prior to their third league title in 2009 and continuing now and into the foreseeable future at least. A significant sellout streak that began at now-defunct Mellon/Civic Arena and has carried over to the sparkling CONSOL Energy Center is significant evidence of that.
Hockey’s overwhelming momentum reached a crescendo this January as Pittsburgh and the Penguins hosted the popular NHL Winter Classic and its accompanying hoopla. Palpable buzz enveloped the area in the run-up and the aftermath of what has quickly become as much of a highlight on the NHL calendar as the Stanley Cup Final.
The good feelings continued this June at the NHL Draft in St. Paul, Minn., with six Pittsburgh natives going in the first two rounds. For perspective, the entire Russian Federation produced the same number of young hopefuls in the top 60 selections.
All of which brings us back to next year’s draft festivities, which would provide another showcase event for hockey that has emigrated to Pittsburgh in recent years. The Penguins have hosted the NHL Draft once before in the late 1990s, but with a new arena (and convention center) at their disposal, one of pro sports’ top franchises will be able to put on a truly high-class presentation.
With the NCAA Frozen Four already lined up for CONSOL in the spring of 2013, Pittsburgh continues to show that its passion for hockey now extends well beyond the Penguins and deep into the grassroots. If you can find better criteria for becoming a bonafide “hockey town,” let me know.