If you’re reading this, it’s probably safe to assume that you love the sport of hockey. And thus, you want to see the glorious game continue to rise up the ranks and become globally recognized and accepted.
We’ve recently seen a whole new wave of (mostly younger) fans begin to appreciate and embrace the sport, oftentimes thanks to applications such as TikTok and Instagram. In a world where attention spans continue to shorten, it’s vital for the NHL and its players to supply future consumers with trendy and compelling content.
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Thankfully, both the players and the league have started to understand that and embrace it. Some players are trying to rewrite the narrative that hockey players don’t have personalities. Here are just a few recent examples that have given the league some much-needed positive attention:
Jake Walman’s “Griddy” Dance
The viral “griddy” celebration was started by Justin Jefferson of the National Football League’s (NFL) Minnesota Vikings. Very quickly, it became a viral sensation, with hundreds of thousands of fans attempting to recreate the dance.
On Dec. 2, Detroit Red Wings forward Jake Walman scored an overtime winner against the Montreal Canadiens and immediately did the griddy celebration. It took the world by storm and was soon shared countless times, even by people who were previously uninterested in or unaware of hockey.
When searching TikTok for “griddy”, multiple videos of Walman’s funky celebration are immediately visible on the top page. Many of them have hundreds of thousands of views. He then did the celebration again on Feb. 10 against the Vancouver Canucks following his game-winning penalty shot. But this time, he pointed at a child in the crowd first. It got a ton of buzz on social media.
At a quick glance, eight of the videos on TikTok’s top “griddy” page are of Walman. That’s a page that is being searched and viewed by millions daily. A couple of the videos are even of his other celebrations, as people have become interested in all of his recent unique celebrations.
Personality, personality, personality. It’s what the NHL needs more of.
Tate McRae + Justin Bieber at All-Star Weekend
The only idea that might be better than embracing viral trends? Embracing popular influencers and celebrities. That’s exactly what the NHL did en route to a very successful All-Star Weekend in Toronto, Ontario.
Tate McRae has quickly taken the internet by storm with her popular music. Between her social platforms, she has amassed over 16 million followers. By bringing her in to be a celebrity co-captain at the All-Star Game, as well as perform at the event, the NHL started to tap into an audience they hadn’t reached previously. Think Taylor Swift and the National Football League – but on a somewhat smaller scale.
Her recent popular album Think Later features her in goalie pads as the cover. The album peaked at #4 on the Billboard 200 – with over 76 million on-demand streams. It was a slam-dunk opportunity for the NHL, and they capitalized. A TikTok she posted of her in her custom All-Star jersey received a whopping 10.8 million views and 1.2 million likes – which is phenomenal for the league, considering her follower base is made up of plenty of people who don’t follow hockey.
A large portion of her fanbase is female, which only makes up 37% of the NHL’s total fanbase. McRae’s least viewed video from that entire weekend still got over 2.2 million views. In contrast, the last 36 videos the NHL has posted have not even hit a million.
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Similarly, Justin Bieber is a household name in pop culture. His first performance in two years was at the All-Star Game, which raised eyebrows all over the globe. One example is the famous pop culture Instagram account ‘pubity’ who posted the video to their follower base of over 36 million people.
Since the NHL is sometimes viewed on a lesser scale than their rival sports: basketball, baseball, football, and soccer, opportunities like these allowed them to gain respect and (in some cases) kickstart a whole new generation of fans.
Nathan Bastian’s Celebration
New York Giants NFL quarterback Tommy Devito took over social media this past fall with his viral celebration – a pinching gesture with his fingers, an ode to his Italian heritage. Quickly, though, it became a sensation that people of all types were taking part in as he continued to find unprecedented success in the league.
When the New Jersey Devils took on the Philadelphia Flyers at a sold-out MetLife Stadium (Devito’s home field), Nathan Bastian ran with the opportunity to do something memorable. Following his late second-period goal, Bastian took off his glove, raised his hand in the air, pinched his fingers, and did Devito’s celebration. Needless to say, social media loved it.
The Devils and the NHL ran with it, and it rightfully got attention from various media outlets. Devito himself even replied to the Devils’ post on Instagram.
It was the perfect New Jersey-esque finishing touch on a near-perfect day for the Devils, which started off with them entering the stadium as the cast of The Sopranos. That did well to spark conversation in its own right.
This Instagram post from “Jersey Talks,” one of the largest NJ-based Instagram accounts, set the video of Bastian’s celebration to the Italian song Mambo Italiano. Obviously, not every New Jersey resident (or NFL fan) follows hockey, so this is a great opportunity to start. Furthermore, outlets like ESPN and Sports Illustrated wrote about Bastian’s celebration, which brings more eyes to the sport of hockey.
Bottom Line
Unless someone of Taylor Swift’s caliber hops on board the hockey bandwagon, it will be very difficult to grow the NHL to the level of leagues like the NFL. However, ultimately, hockey is a business. And by embracing these trends and influencers, they put themselves in a much better spot to grow in popularity and add to their success.
In the age of social media, young people are very impressionable. Embedding hockey into their lifestyles will eventually translate into plenty of business for the NHL down the road.
