Training camp doesn't start until September

Photo from the Dan Hamilton, USA Today, via CBC

 I'm sure many of you Canadians checking the CBC website for hockey news are trying to get your heads to stop spinning at the news that Nick Robertson re-signed with the Maple Leafs this year. If I am to judge by his picture used on the site, he will also need to learn how to hold a stick and not be afraid of it. Fortunately for Robertson and many other stick averse hockey players out there, the other part of the headline is that training camp is starting as soon as TODAY for some organizations. In my head, I KNOW that training camp always starts in September, but I rarely have the awareness that it actually is September. 

Utah should learn a lesson from the PWHL

The PWHL went without nicknames for the entirety of their 2023-24 season, and going into year two, they announced nicknames for all 6 franchises. Remarkably, all 6 are not found anywhere else that immediately comes to mind, and none of them are particularly bothersome for being too kitschy, too cute or attempting to be too cool.

If you haven't heard, the team names are the Boston Fleet, Minnesota Frost, Montreal Victoire, New York Sirens, Ottawa Charge, and Toronto Sceptres. I like that Montreal's team is in French, and Toronto's is in Canadian English. I'm not sure that "Frost" or "Charge" reflect the culture of a place, but since when has that ever mattered in naming a team?

Women's hockey is on the rise in North America, and it is hard to drum up support for a league from scratch. All of these things are true, and against all odds, the PWHL found a marketing team to, at the very least, come up with some solid nicknames.

Sure, the NHL has named a couple of teams lately - the Kraken and Golden Knights. But these teams aren't going to do what the Utah Hockey Club is about to - Play an entire season without a nickname. There is time to hire the PWHL consultants!

Since I myself am not able to hire this group, but do have laziness and access to ChatGPT, I decided to take things into my own hands. I asked our future robot overlord to come up with a team name for Utah that would fit with the PWHL names. 

For a Utah-based hockey team that fits the theme of the league, you might consider the Utah Spires. This nickname references the iconic spires found in Utah's mountain ranges and natural formations, evoking strength and grandeur. It also ties into the rugged, elevated nature of the state while fitting well with the other team names in your league.

Well, shoot. I like that better than any of the other 5 names (or the 6th choice, Utah HC) that are finalists: Blizzard, Mammoth, Outlaws, Venom, or Yeti. I'm not going to be happy with any of those names.

That just means that the PWHL is going to have to expand to Salt Lake City.

It's not fair

 It seems that the hockey community is perpetually bonded by common traumas. For as much as we love it, hockey is the smallest of the North American sports, and it seems celestially unfair that this small group keeps undergoing heartache, seemingly at a steady rhythm. Yaroslavl, Humboldt, Adam Johnson and now, the Gaudreaus. I've left out too many, but for now, I offer condolences to the Gaudreau family, both the blood relatives, and those that loved them through the game. 

It seems gauche for the hockey world wo move on so quickly, and turn the collective attention to things like Leon Draisatl's record breaking contract extension, but this is where the tighter community comes in handy. We're still all supporting one another. Matthew Gaudreau's family has had $500,000 raised on their behalf, and neither Gaudreau will ever be forgotten, even as we celebrate the good fortune of the Draisatl team. Hockey and life continue on, even with pain in our hearts. Hockey has learned the hard lesson that with grief, the only way out is through.