Hockey’s Living On

(Photo: Melissa Kania)

Although the NHL lockout is nearly four weeks old, fans will really start to feel the effects of it today, as regular season action was scheduled to open tonight. Before the league started the cancellations, four games were on the schedule for today – Boston vs. Philadelphia, Montreal vs. Ottawa, St. Louis vs. Colorado and Calgary vs. Vancouver.

Have no fear, hockey fans, because despite the ongoing negotiations between the league and the players that’s keeping games out of NHL arenas… hockey’s still going on.

• AHL: The American Hockey League is composed of 30 teams, with many clustered in the northeastern portion of the United States. There’s also two teams located in Canada (Hamilton and Toronto). Preseason action is over, with the regular season beginning tomorrow with seven games. Check out your NHL team’s prospects. If you’re close to a market, you might even be able to find some of them on television. If not, check the team’s website for radio info.
• OHL: The Ontario Hockey League is already well into its season. The twenty teams in the league hold some NHL prospects, as well as some players who have yet to reach draft eligibility (but might be on YOUR team in just a few years!) Youngest players in the league include ’97-born Connor McDavid of the Erie Otters (one of a few American teams in the league). Although games are hard to find to watch, a little digging around on the team’s website will typically unveil a radio station that broadcasts the games. Alternately, you can also visit hockeywebcasts.com, which links to radio broadcasts of each game nightly. There’s four games tonight, so check them out.
• WHL: The Western Hockey League is also well into its season. Five teams in the league stem from the United States, with the other 17 in Canada. Prince Albert leads the league at the present time with 15 points in eight games. There’s no action tonight, but 10 games tomorrow. Be sure to look at the time zones to line it up with YOUR time zone. Again, visit hockeywebcasts.com for radio broadcast links.
• QMJHL: The Quebec Major Junior Hockey League could be a bit tricky to follow if you don’t speak French, but.. it’s hockey! Again, no action tonight, but there’s eight games on Friday with another five on Saturday. Eighteen teams in the league are partly composed of NHL prospects, with many undrafted players also suiting up. All three CHL leagues (OHL, WHL, QMJHL) are made up at least partially of future NHLers, so why not watch them and get a glimpse at future stars, and follow them through the journey? Again, QMJHL radio broadcast links are available at hockeywebcasts.com.
• Other leagues – There’s plenty of other leagues out there, including the ECHL, OJHL, NCAA/college hockey, and international leagues. Don’t let the NHL lockout get you down or be an excuse to not have hockey in your life – if anything, use it as a reason to get into other leagues!