Offseason: What Can a Hockey Fan Do? 11 Ideas to Get You Through the Offseason

When the EIHL season ends, I normally look forward to watching the Stanley Cup for the next couple of months and then within no time the EIHL preseason and Champions Hockey League would be back. With so much uncertainty this year, it’s hard to tell just when hockey will be back. So, here’s just a few ideas of what we can do to get our hockey fix:
(This post is just for a bit of fun!)


1. Re-watch old games

I’ve already started this! I don’t know if you’re like me but I have a couple of games recorded from the last couple of years that I haven’t got the opportunity to watch/re-watch. Now seems like a pretty good time to do this. If you’re looking for ideas, why not watch the 2019 Stanley Cup Final Game 7- the highlights still make me emotional! Belfast Giants have began uploading old games onto YouTube so there’s another way you can check out a few games. Also, if you buy webcasts, look back at and re-watch old ones. Pretty soon you’ll realise there’s still PLENTY of ways to watch hockey.


2. Rewatch the highlights

There’s loads of these available online! Whether its rewatching your favourite team win or your not so favourite team lose, I’m sure we can find something.


3. Find another league to watch

I know most, if not all, leagues have been suspended. But, with the vast volume of highlights available online, why not look at highlights from teams in different leagues around the world? It's fascinating to note the difference between styles of play in different leagues. If you’re looking for somewhere to start, why not look for highlights of teams who your favourite players have played for in the past? We probably all started off cheering for just one club. After a while I’d say many of us EIHL fans have an NHL team too. Why not add to this, even just as a casual fan?


4. Go learn some hockey history

I’m a bit of a nerd for hockey history. I absolutely LOVE reading about the great moments and players in our game, past and present. There’s lots available on the NHL, teams and the league itself. Learn about the great players in the past eg Gretzky. If you want a place to start, you could always read some of my NHL history blog posts:

The Story of the Original Six
The Second Six (1967-1970)
To 30 in 30, and What Else?


5. Be creative

In my spare time, I find it quite relaxing to blog and do some hockey drawings (I don’t claim to be any good at drawing, its just very relaxing!).


6. Make a hockey playlist (if you haven’t already!)

There are songs we can all relate to certain seasons, certain games. Why not create a playlist that reminds you of these? Some of my personal favourites to choose would be Zorba the Greek, Bits n Pieces, We Like to Party and Gloria (of course!).


7. Rearrange your hockey collection

Like me, you may have a puck collection or a trading cards collection or maybe you’ve got something else? I know I like to rearrange my puck collection from time to time. I found that I can usually only stack them two rows high (Tried three, doesn’t work for me!). So, I like to rotate the pucks around from time to time, group them into themes- NHL row, Giants row etc. And when it comes to trading cards, I like to look though my collection every so often- it’s nice when you see NHL players that are maybe in the EIHL that season and it also helps you look back at hockey legends.


8. Quiz your friends

With all this hockey history you will have had time to watch and all these other leagues you may have explored, see how much your friends know about these things!

9. Research draft picks

With the NHL draft (potentially) coming up, have a look at highlights of the players likely to be drafted:

• Projected #1- Alexis Lafreniere- playing in the QMJHL, Lafreniere had 112 points in 52 games this season with Rimouski Oceanic and represented Canada in the WJC. The last player to be drafted 1^st overall that played for this team was Sidney Crosby in 2005. For St Louis fans, goalie Colten Ellis also played for this team this season, so that’s another player to look out for on the highlights! 
• Projected #2- Quinton Byfield- playing for the OHL’s Sudbury Wolves, Byfield had 82 points in 45 games and also represented Canada in the WJC.

Have a look at some players your team has already drafted eg St Louis Blues:

• Nolan Stevens (2016 round 5, #125 overall)- I remember Stevens in the NCAA Friendship Four tournament in Belfast in 2015 and now he is with the AHL’s Santonio Rampage.
• Niko Mikkola (2015 round 5, #127 overall)- Mikkola has played 5 games for the St Louis Blues this season and was very impressive when called up to replace the injured Colton Parayko. Mikkola was very exciting to watch and looks set to be an excellent defencemen in the NHL someday.
  

 

10. Associate hockey players with numbers

I'm sure this is something most of us already do but it can be quite a fun game. Can you count down the 30 seconds left on the microwave in hockey players? (...27 Schulte, 26 Benny, 25 Brookwell, 24 Elfring, 23 Swinny, 22 Raine, 21 Morgan...) *Other teams and players are available*. Or maybe it's % on your phone? Try and count 1-100 in hockey players, see how far you get and how many teams you have to use!

11. Play NHL video games

Why not challenge a family member at home to a game of NHL on Xbox? It’s sure to pass some time! Some EIHL teams are available on newer versions through the Champions Hockey League. It can also be pretty fun to search for players that have played in the EIHL in the past and make your own team of EIHL stars!

Some of these ideas may seem a little crazy. But it’s just a few ways we can get through the long offseason! Of course, there are lots of non-hockey related things to do as well but if you needed a bit of hockey, that’s just a place to start.