Winter Classic

After an entertaining Winter Classic in Philly there has already been talk amongst the masses that the next Winter Classic will be held in Hockeytown. There are two enormous factors to consider in this game, the NHL marketing equivalent to the Super Bowl.


Where is one of the NHL's most important games to draw revenue going to be held? 


There seems to be only two logical locations on where this game will be played. The first being Comerica park, owned by Mr.Illitch. Comerica sits in the heart of Detroit and an event here will draw loads of money for the downtown area (hopefully fixing a few things up here and there). Comerica Park would be the obvious choice for Illitch drawing in a nice crowd and a decent amount of money.

The other choice would be The Big House, they have already played a game there once, and there is approximately 107,501 seats so the largest Winter Classic and it will eclipse all other previous and future Winter Classics. It has also been stated that Michigan has been contacted by the NHL on the possibility of using the Big House for next years Classic.

 

Is the Winter Classic ready for a Canadian team?

Yes, Toronto is just across the Detroit river, making it easily accessible for our Canadian compadres that are looking to come to Detroit or Ann Arbor. But the main concern is that there already is a game in the Heritage Classic which is set up specifically for the Canadian teams. Why would we not give other teams in the US a chance in the Winter Classic? Say Colorado, or a repeat of the Hawks game in 09'? Toronto's mayor is trying to get a Winter Classic to be held in Toronto saying “We would love to host a game and the league knows it.” But where would it be played at? Seeing that the Sky dome doesn't open during winter, and  BMO field only holds around 20,000 there really isn't a lot of revenue to be brought in, in Toronto.

What do I think will happen?

For my money, I believe the Winter Classic will be held in Ann arbor at The Big House. It will be Detroit vs either Toronto or Boston (both would be nice match-ups) and I predict the wings will win 5-2 with Datsyuk netting 2 goals with 1 assist, one of the goals being of the spectacular variety.

Introducing

Hello there! My name is Chris Hoobler and I am one of the writers and artists here at 7th Round Pick. I am a 24 year old grad from the College for Creative Studies in Detroit. I've been a really big Wings fan for my whole life and have become an avid hockey fan over the past few seasons so I figured it was time for me to put this obsession to use, besides fantasy hockey of course. Matt invited me to start this blog with him and I jumped at the idea. I look forward to ranting and doing illustrations for you all!


The player you most love to hate: It was a tough call for me because I came up with a small handful of players that absolutely drive me crazy but I figured Dan Carcillo would be fitting concidering he was just traded from the eastern confrence into the central division to none other than my all-time favorite team to hate, the Chicago Blackhawks. This was hardly a blockbuster pickup, however this is the one that stands out the most to me for this upcoming season. Not because this guy brings any kind of scoring touch, or skill for that matter...but Carcillo gets payed to fight and to injure. This is a guy who struggles to put up 15 points in a season. In 07-08 Dan was able to put up over 300 penalty minutes in just 57 games and this was his sophomore season in the league. Since that time he has consistently put up well over 100 PIM when healthy. He was also one of the players to get in the first fight during an outdoor game (The 09-10 Winter Classic). You can tell this guy thinks he's a rockstar, often putting up devil horns after his fights still makes me cringe. He is always a minus player and was deemed replacable by the Philadelphia Flyers when they aquired Wayne Simmonds from the Kings in the Richards trade. Can't imagine Simmonds having a hard time filling that role. So now fellow Wings fans, if you were worried about injuries before hold on to your seats cause next season could get bumpy.