Ever wonder what it's like to be a reporter for the NHL? How's the strike affecting the beat? Meet hockey journalist Mike Morreale. Mike is also the author of a great book for high school hockey coaches, The Scholastic Ice Hockey Playbook, a must read for every high school hockey coach, player and parent! Today on the Syracuse Hockey Mom's Network, Mike shares his thoughts on the lockout, fighting, youth hockey and reminds us why we're so passionate about this sport! How long have you been writing for NHL.com and what's it like to write about this fast paced sport? Is this your dream job? How and where did you get your start?
Prior to joining the National Hockey League, I worked 17 years at a daily newspaper in New Jersey (The Star-Ledger), covering all high school sports. While that was certainly a lot of fun, my passion had always been hockey -- at any level. I enjoyed reporting on high school hockey, in fact, and was fortunate to come into contact with many great people. At about the time I applied for the position as staff writer at the NHL, the internet was taking over. Print media was becoming obsolete and all the advertising revenue was going into online websites -- at least that was what I thought.
I was hired by the League in January 2008. I have really enjoyed my time with the League. In addition to covering the New Jersey Devils on a game-to-game basis, I have been working closely over the last three seasons as the League's lead writer for the NHL Draft. It's a lot of fun because it kind of brings me back to my roots as a high school reporter with The Star-Ledger. I enjoy working with the people at the NHL and dealing with the athletes and executives on a daily basis. Everyone is just so down to earth and humble for the most part.
I firmly believe that the hockey player is a unique athlete in that he is nurtured and comforted not only outside the playing field, but on it as well. From the time they were young tots, players and their parents needed to wake up in the early-morning hours and travel, sometimes over two hours to reach a hockey rink. Wherever the destination was, they'd sit there, whether it was a practice or game, and watch their child compete. It's unlike any other sport growing up, because in football, baseball or those other team sports, where fields are more prevalent in those areas, parents are usually just driving their kids to practices, dropping them off and then returning to pick them up a few hours later.
Today's NHL players are always thanking their parents for those times. I've never met a hockey player who didn't mention some family member as being a huge part in making their dream become a reality.
The NHL has already missed more than 400 regular season games. How frustrating is the NHL lockout for you as a writer? Do you think is the sport going to lose fans over this?
Because I am one of the primary writers for the NHL Draft, I'm basically reaching out to those draft-eligible prospects and writing stories just about every day, so while I wouldn't say it's been frustrating, I think I speak for everyone at the League when I say we all hope a new labor agreement is reached soon. I think everyone is itching for some NHL hockey. I don't believe the lockout will cause those die-hard fans to not watch the games when it does return because it's just too addicting and special a sport. Hockey fans are lifers. I suppose there's a chance the average fan might not view it that way, but I feel once the game resumes, even those fans will eventually return.
Our youth hockey players look up to these guys, do you think it's sending a bad message to our kids?
The NHL and the players never wanted this labor dispute to take place. Both sides want to be playing hockey, but I suppose this is the nature of the business. I feel our young players can still look up to these NHL players because they reached the ultimate level of competition through hard work and determination. That's something you can always appreciate and admire in any human being -- battling and working hard to reach a goal. I believe in setting goals every season so this way you always have something to strive for and attain. Those players in the NHL did just that. The lockout has nothing to do with the work that was put in by these athletes. I have and always will have a tremendous amount of respect for the players and executives working to help grow our League.Everyone knows this is an aggressive sport, but do you think it's time to retire the nasty fighting?
I was actually asked this very question when I wrote for my college newspaper -- I graduated Rider University in Lawrenceville, N.J. in 1990. Back then, I said that if fighting were abolished completely, I think you would start to see more cheap shots taken. Fighting hasn't been as prevalent in the League as it was in the early 1970's. There were rules implemented to help curtail the amount of fights, but, for the most part, it hasn't been a hindrance or distraction to our game. If an opposing player knows that a big, tough player is on the ice alongside a star player, maybe he would think twice about checking that star player into the boards or raising his stick or throwing an elbow.
I was actually asked this very question when I wrote for my college newspaper -- I graduated Rider University in Lawrenceville, N.J. in 1990. Back then, I said that if fighting were abolished completely, I think you would start to see more cheap shots taken. Fighting hasn't been as prevalent in the League as it was in the early 1970's. There were rules implemented to help curtail the amount of fights, but, for the most part, it hasn't been a hindrance or distraction to our game. If an opposing player knows that a big, tough player is on the ice alongside a star player, maybe he would think twice about checking that star player into the boards or raising his stick or throwing an elbow.
You mentioned that it is an aggressive sport and because it is an aggressive sport with guys skating on a blade of steel and going at 60 miles-per-hour, bodies will collide and tempers might flare as a result. Fighting has always been a part of the game, but players, for the most part, are respectful of each other.
Former NHL player Brendan Shanahan was once asked, "Is hockey hard?" His response: "I don't know, you tell me. We need to have the strength and power of a football player, the stamina of a marathon runner, and the concentration of a brain surgeon. But we need to put all this together while moving at high speeds on a cold and slippery surface while five other guys use clubs to try and kill us. Is hockey hard? I don't know, you tell me. Next question."
You've authored The Scholastic Ice Hockey Playbook; Strategies of a High School Coach. What's the common mistake our high school coaches make with our kids?
That's a tough one because I feel high school coaching has really come a long way in ice hockey. You look at the amount of talent coming from the high school ranks and into college… it's pretty impressive. But, if there was one thing that bothers me it's when a coach fails to put in the time with some players who might not be as good as his star players. There were some coaches, from what I remember, who always had six players that they would throw out there for 45 minutes of a 60-minute game. Really, that's not only unfair to the guy playing 15 minutes, but the guy skating for 45 minutes. Yes, I understand that winning is important on the high school level and teaching teens that winning attitude comes with the territory, but let's not forget that hockey is a team game and a team is only as good as the sum of its parts. What are coaches teaching those players that remain out for extended shifts? That
Really, that's not only unfair to the guy playing 15 minutes, but the guy skating for 45 minutes. Yes, I understand that winning is important on the high school level and teaching teens that winning attitude comes with the territory, but let's not forget that hockey is a team game and a team is only as good as the sum of its parts. What are coaches teaching those players that remain out for extended shifts? That teamwork isn't important? How about taking the time to teach and motivate those third- and fourth-line players as well. I think it would not only benefit those kids, but the overall feeling of the team both on and off the ice.
I like the old Japanese Proverb that states: "A single arrow is easily broken, but not ten in a bundle."
Sadly, two of the most established ice hockey programs in Central New York have just folded due to costly ice time and dwindling numbers. Do you see this as a trend, nationwide, that this is a sport that continues to contract?
It's always sad to hear that news but I don't believe it's happening with regularity on a national scale-- not at all. In fact, I learned last year that participation throughout the U.S. had increased from 195,000 male and female players of all ages registered with USA Hockey in 1990-91 to 475,000 in 2009-10. Earlier in 2012, USA Hockey registered its 100,000th player at the 8-and-younger level.
The 214 U.S.-born players in the NHL last season were born in 28 states and the District of Columbia. USA Hockey provided the following information for me last season -- Leaders by state were Minnesota (46), Michigan (34), New York (29), Massachusetts (15), Wisconsin (13), Illinois (11), Pennsylvania (10), Connecticut (9), Alaska (7), California (5), Missouri (4) and New Jersey (4). In 16 seasons, the Dallas Stars have gone from having almost no amateur hockey presence in the area to possessing six different clubs at different age levels advancing to USA Hockey's national championship tournaments.
7. What advice would you give to youth hockey players who dream of someday being in the NHL? My advice is simple. Stay the course, and always play the game the way you were taught and enjoy the time with your teammates. I think it's important to listen to your coaches and always strive to be your best in practice. One of the greatest cliché's is 'Practice makes perfect!' I couldn't agree more. Always be humble and respectful of your peers and coaches, and remember to play for the logo on the front of the jersey and not the name on the back.
For parents?
Encourage and compliment as often as possible. No player wants to know how bad they did following a game, whether it's true or not. Constructive criticism is one thing, and constant criticism is another. Parents need to remember that hockey is an emotional game and coaches will yell during practices and maybe even yell at your kid, but so long as there's teaching involved, don't worry. It's important for parents to teach their kids to be respectful of their peers and the game. Don't boast or humiliate a teammate or a player on the opposing team. Celebrating with teammates is one thing, but doing a dance and five consecutive fist-pumps might be taking it to the extreme.
Finally, please don't offer your children cash for goals. What positive message could that possibly send?
In my years of being around hockey people, I've found them to be earthy, willing to lend a hand and all around good people. Have you found that to be the case too, and what about the professional players? Who do you think is a stand-out, someone who just gets it right?
Let me share a story, which kind of sums this up.After the Chicago Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup in 2010, each player on the team was given an opportunity to spend 24 hours with the Cup and do whatever their heart desired. I had an opportunity to document Duncan Keith's day with the Cup in the summer 0f 2010. I was very much looking foward to it because Keith would spend the day in his hometown of Penticton, British Columbia. It;s just beautiful there,
Anyway, when Keith arrived to get the Cup at the airport after we landed, the reporters and videographers were invited to join him and his family on a mini-bus to the few destinations he had planned for that day -- July 17, 2010.
When I walked onto the bus, Keith saw me and said, "Hey Mike, glad you can make it. Do you need anything?"
Now, keep in mind that I met Keith just twice prior to this big event -- and it was as a reporter. The first time I spoke to him was during the 2008 NHL All Star Game when he was invited to play despite being a rookie.
I took my seat in the back of bus and thought long and hard on how Duncan remembered my name without hesitation. It was baffling to me. So I documented, wrote stories and blogged about Duncan's big day over the next six-plus hours and posted to our website on NHL.com.
At the end of the day, Duncan invited friends and family back to his house -- a beautiful place on a bank of a picturesque lake. He was doing some follow-up interviews for the television camera and then, before heading back into the house, saw me and stopped.
I thought to myself, 'OK, here it comes. Maybe he's going to tell me how he knows me.'
Sure enough, he said, "You know what Mike. I never thanked you.
"Two years ago when I earned a spot in the All Star Game, reporters were coming over and asking me if I felt I deserved to be there since I was only a rookie. If I told them yes, I'd be cocky. If I told them no, then that might have meant I didn't feel I did belong there. But when you came over, you just started talking about my season and how great it must feel to be rewarded in this way. And, really, I was relieved. So I just wanted to say Thank You."
Yes. Some hockey players really do get it!
I took my seat in the back of bus and thought long and hard on how Duncan remembered my name without hesitation. It was baffling to me. So I documented, wrote stories and blogged about Duncan's big day over the next six-plus hours and posted to our website on NHL.com.
At the end of the day, Duncan invited friends and family back to his house -- a beautiful place on a bank of a picturesque lake. He was doing some follow-up interviews for the television camera and then, before heading back into the house, saw me and stopped.
I thought to myself, 'OK, here it comes. Maybe he's going to tell me how he knows me.'
Sure enough, he said, "You know what Mike. I never thanked you.
"Two years ago when I earned a spot in the All Star Game, reporters were coming over and asking me if I felt I deserved to be there since I was only a rookie. If I told them yes, I'd be cocky. If I told them no, then that might have meant I didn't feel I did belong there. But when you came over, you just started talking about my season and how great it must feel to be rewarded in this way. And, really, I was relieved. So I just wanted to say Thank You."
Yes. Some hockey players really do get it!
The Scholastic Ice Hockey Playbook: Strategies of a High School Coach
offers a unique approach at dissecting the game in a way coaches, players and fans will appreciate the fundamentals of hard work while understanding the vast array of systems and formations used in today's game. I co-authored the book with Chatham High School coach Harvey Cohen.
The book reminds us that ice hockey players are also people and must be treated as such. Players must learn to respect their peers to improve their game and their overall character. The book is a guide for all skill levels and gives the reader a better understanding of the sport, its concepts and that The book reminds us that ice hockey players are also people and must be treated as such. Players must learn to respect their peers to improve their game and their overall character. The book is a guide for all skill levels and gives the reader a better understanding of the sport, its concepts and that interpersonal relationship between coach and player. The relationship between coach and player should not be taken for granted. Players must listen to their coaches and coaches must find time for their players to establish a mutual respect.
http://www.amazon.com/The-Scholastic-Ice-Hockey-Playbook/dp/059540927X#_
Special thanks to Mike for taking time out for this Syracuse hockey mom. An excellent writer, parent and hockey journalist who gets it right!
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