What’s Wrong With The NHL? Technology Should Be Used To Improve The Game
In previous articles we have discussed a variety of potential changes to the NHL with the hope of making the game more exciting and interesting to fans. With that in mind, please read this week’s recommendation for improvement:
Using Technology Effectively to Improve the Game
Modern GPS technology is fascinating. My watch can communicate with a variety of satellites that are 200 km in the sky and can accurately tell me where I am located on the earth. So it seems to me that it shouldn’t be too difficult to keep track of the location of a few things within a sports stadium.
What about a Smart Puck? Yes, the NHL is already experimenting with this idea. I encourage them to keep experimenting to work out the wrinkles. With a small microprocessor embedded within the puck itself, technology could take the guess work out of whether or not a puck entered the net. No guess work or analyzing video. It would be an absolute certainty of accuracy. By the way, you would still need referees and linesmen to ascertain if the puck went into the net fairly, but the guess work would be eliminated.
And while we are at it, how about small tracking devices within the skates of the players? That way, in a similar fashion, we can take the guess work out of off sides. The added bonus of this idea would be that individual statistics on players could also be easily kept such as time on the ice, and puck possession.
And here is one very old idea that I would like to see return. In the past, certain players wore a microphone while playing so that fans could hear what was going on at ice level. Now I understand hockey language can be coarse at times, but a “7 second delay” could monitor the dialogue and keep it family appropriate.
Final Thoughts
By the way, it may sound like I am knocking the NHL constantly. I think the NHL is a great league! These are just some thoughts to consider for making a great game even greater! That’s what I think, but more importantly, what do you think?
By Garth Vanstone