Hockey Fan in Need of a Team Asks Web to Play Matchmaker

The NHL has always been at the forefront of the major American sports leagues when it comes to the internet. The league streams most of its games online through its GameCenter Live application and has openly embraced bloggers and websites like Twitter, Facebook and YouTube. Given all of that, maybe it's no coincidence that an internet savvy sports fan has chosen these same websites with which to embark on an NHL social media experiment.

John Meyer, a native of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, is self-employed through his social media company and is a diehard Minnesota Twins fan. And now, Meyer is looking for a hockey team to follow. He is admittedly not an NHL diehard but has "always wanted to get into hockey and the NHL but never really knew where to start."

This winter he has decided to get in tune with the league through his website, PickMyNHLTeam.com. There, Meyer is asking the collective hive of hockey fans on the internet to choose a hockey team for him to follow this season.

According to Meyer, it is no coincidence that his website and the NHL's online strategy align. In fact, the NHL's strategy has had a profound effect on his course of action. "I spend so much of my day online and I really believe in the power of social media," Meyer says. "Also, I noticed how the NHL was really embracing social media and using it to promote the league, the teams, and their fans. It's very cool considering many other of the professional leagues have turned away from social media."

Every other day Meyer posts a YouTube video documenting a certain team. The videos are sort of a crash course in the NHL for Meyer. He researches the team, its history and players then reports back for the site's visitors. Each video is complimented on the website by a guest post from one of the team's fan bloggers. The posts serve as a first-hand account for why he, or anyone else, should be a fan of the team. With tongue firmly in cheek, I asked Meyer if he was worried about disillusioned fans when he got to teams such as the Islanders and Thrashers who haven't had recent success.

FH: When you ask people to tell you 'what's great about being a Team X fan' you do realize that some fanbases -- the Islanders, the Thrashers, for example -- are going to laugh and reply 'almost nothing,' right?

JM: Actually this thought crossed my mind briefly, but then I realized many people ask my why I'm a Minnesota Twins fan and I know many Twins fans that are equally as passionate as I am. There are always those few souls out there committed to their team and their city. In fact, we already received a great guest blog post about the Atlanta Thrashers and the Thrashers are currently in 3rd place in team voting.

Meyer has been chronicling each of the league's 30 teams alphabetically and after almost two weeks is up to the Chicago Blackhawks, which will run on the site Saturday. Viewers can vote for the Hawks or any other team through each of the four channels set up for the site. They can comment on the blog, YouTube, tweet him or post a message on Facebook. Each response for a team on any of the platforms is a vote that Meyer tabulates. As of Thursday night, the Anaheim Ducks were leading with 63 votes while the Boston Bruins were second with 23.

Meyer played a perfect politician when asked about which team he thought would win, declining to make any predictions. And despite my probing, would not reveal if he was rooting for any particular team to win.

"I'm honestly ready to embrace any team that fans pick for me. I think that's what makes the whole concept intriguing. On January 1st I'll wake up as a new fan to some random NHL franchise and I'm ready to put my passion into that team. My fate is in the fans' hands."

But maybe just how much emphasis the NHL puts on social media and its fan support on the internet was visible for the world to see when Meyer was featured on NHL.com Wednesday. That the league chose to feature him on the front of its "NHL Fans" homepage wasn't even what raised my eyebrow. It was where he was featured -- right next to a story about the retirement of Brendan Shanahan. So when one of the league's all-time greats hung up his skates, the story was featured right next to one of the people who helps keep league in business -- a fan.

While many sports leagues continually dismiss the ideas and interests of fans (*cough* baseball *cough), the NHL has continued to implement a more open, fan friendly policy. Of course, that came in the wake of a lockout and lost season. The NHL had to adapt and try to do anything it could to bring fans back and win over new ones. What's good to see is that five years later, the league is still trying to do that, especially on the internet.

As with any sports fan, Meyer is full of opinions and I decided to get a quick temperature on how his hockey fandom was evolving.

FH: Let's wrap this up with the lightning round. A little bit of free association. First thing that pops into your mind when I say Sidney Crosby?

JM: The NHL's golden boy. Many say he's the greatest player in the game right now. He's no Gretzky though.

FH: ... Alex Ovechkin?

JM: I think this guy is the league's real superstar. I love the gap in the teeth and the rugged look.

FH: ...The shootout?

JM: Overtime in soccer.

FH: ...The trapezoid (those odd red lines behind the net)?

JM: Four sided shape with one set of opposite parallel lines.

FH: ...Zdeno Chara naked?

JM: Where's the sand volleyball issue?

FH: ... Gary Bettman?

JM: I do know he is the commissioner and I hear most people don't like him. Kind of looks like a short Kevin Spacey.

The anti-Bettman rhetoric could use some work -- it's the mark of a true die-hard -- but I think he's going to do just fine as a hockey fan with whichever team he lands with.