During his time at the two-day media blitz known as the Player Media Tour, the New York Rangers’ Henrik Lundqvist will make more wardrobe changes than a runway model.Mike McGregor
Fashion week is under way in New York and no one enjoys the event more than the New York Rangers' stylish GQ icon, Henrik Lundqvist, a man born to wear Zegna. For the next two days, Lundqvist will be in his element, making more wardrobe changes than a runway model. He will be in uniform, in sweats, in Rangers' branded gear, along with a variety of different suits – casual for print interviews, a more elegant grey, three-piece number for an evening appearance on the David Letterman show.
Lundqvist is here along with 32 of the NHL's greats and near-greats for a two-day media blitz, known colloquially as the Player Media Tour (PMT). He will have his pictures taken by photographers and sit for interviews with the NHL's national television rights holders, the players association's own website, NHL Network, NHL.com and for one-on-ones with a handful of writers from national publications. He will be hustled from the 15th floor down to the 11th floor up to the 13th floor and back to the 15th floor of the NHL's headquarters with military-like precision. EA Sports is on hand to do head scans for their video on-loading – and if players find themselves at loose ends for a few moments, they have a chance to try out the latest edition of the video game.
"It's 48 hours of craziness," Lundqvist explained.
Welcome to the seventh edition of the PMT, arguably the single most important promotional event on the league's 2014-15 marketing calendar. Many of the intermission features and public-service announcements that will show up on your television screens during the coming hockey season were recorded in a crammed two-day period last Monday and Tuesday in New York.
The players spend one day mostly sequestered at NHL headquarters in downtown Manhattan; the other day is spent across the river in New Jersey, where on-ice action is filmed at the Prudential Center, the home of the Devils.
The attraction on the media side is clear: a chance to get one-on-one face time with a who's who of NHL stars and up-and-comers, a rare and unique opportunity in an era of pack journalism. But it is equally valuable for the players, especially the star players, who can find the demands on their time so great that it can act as a distraction when training camps for the 2014-15 season officially open next week.
Pat Brisson, the Los Angeles-based co-head of the Creative Artists Agency's hockey division, has 14 clients in attendance, including Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews and Sidney Crosby. Brisson believes the PMT is a godsend, especially to his high-end clients, because it helps them knock off about 80 per cent of their training-camp media responsibilities in a concentrated period of time.
Jointly organized by the league and the players' association, the PMT has become so much more efficient, according to Brisson, that nowadays, they can get more work done in a day and a half than they previously did in three.
"Every one of our clients that is invited, we recommend they go," Brisson said. "We consider it an honour."
Lundqvist echoes Brisson's sentiment, noting that "the 48 hours of craziness" is actually a good thing.
"You don't want to spread it out, you want to pack it in and do it now so you can lock your head into the game and focus on hockey when training camp starts," Lundqvist said. "This time of the year, right before the season starts, with the U.S. Open, Fashion Week, there's always a lot going on in the city … so it's fun."
The PMT began modestly just before the 2006-07 season when the league invited four players to New York to promote an upcoming milestone in U.S. hockey history. Mike Modano was poised to break Joey Mullen's record for most goals by a U.S.-born player and Phil Housley's record for most points. Kane, just entering his draft year with the London Knights but already projected as one of USA Hockey's next generation, was invited too. All of them were uniquely positioned to provide background and anecdotes on what would be an important milestone in U.S. hockey history.
The concept was so well received that the NHL realized it had hit upon a good thing. There was a time when the league was criticized for not using its best and most marketable assets – those attractive, mostly squeaky-clean players – to promote the game. Not any more. In year two of the PMT, they expanded the roster to about dozen players and added a few extra media outlets. The event has grown exponentially ever since. The league picks up the tab and the players' association and the agents do the lion's share of the player recruiting.
From the mundane to the arcane, no subject is off limits. ESPN asks every player who would play them in the movie of their life. The Toronto Maple Leafs' Jonathan Bernier answered "Denzel Washington" and an hour later, the Philadelphia Flyers' Wayne Simmonds answered the same way. Told that Denzel Washington is already taken, Simmonds – in mock horror; this is comedy of a sort) – asked "by whom?"
"He can't take Denzel Washington," Simmonds protested, for obvious reasons and to laughs all around.
Kane, not to be outdone, chose the Rock as his body double. Kane is here accompanied by his father and by Brandon Faber, the Blackhawks' senior director of communications and community relations, who is also the organization's resident expert on Jimmy Buffett. Following the Blackhawks' Stanley Cup win in 2010, my time with Kane was spent mostly discussing how he came to go on stage with Buffett, the legendary Caribbean crooner, during a Wrigley Field concert that summer. Kane brought the Cup on stage and joined in on the Buffett standard, Boat Drinks, which references watching hockey in a freezing-cold climate while daydreaming of travelling to somewhere warm.
"They asked me to come to the Buffett concert this year, too," Kane said, picking up the conversation seamlessly, "but I didn't think it was right – showing up without the Cup.
"The two times I was there previously, we had won the Cup and I went on stage and it was awesome. The first time, it was great and the second time, it was even better. I hope there's a chance to do that again in the near future."
There is time to discuss new contracts Kane and Toews have signed with the Blackhawks; the heart-breaking loss to the Los Angeles Kings in the Western Conference final; and his decision to skate again this summer with a bunch of his friends in a Buffalo men's league. Like Lundqvist, Kane also has an extra obligation scheduled – an interview with Men's Journal right at the end of his day.
Kane's energy may be flagging a bit, but he is gamely playing along, fully aware of what works and what doesn't with his disparate array of interviewers.
Despite predictions to the contrary, the NHL has had two strong seasons of growth since the 2012-13 lockout cost them half a season. There is a widely held belief that one reason the fans returned so quickly was they had a hard time holding a collective a grudge against the players, who are mostly a polite and likeable group.
"Interviews are one thing," explained the New York Islanders' emerging star Kyle Okposo, "but the marketing really comes from your interaction with the fans. It comes when you're in a restaurant and a kid comes up to you and asks you to sign an autograph, it's talking to him and saying, 'Hey bud, how you doing, do you play hockey?' That's how you build hockey. They remember that. The kids remember if you were nice or if you weren't – and so even if you're in a bad mood, you have to take that time to market your sport and yourself that way. That's really important. That's what hockey players do really well – how they interact with people."
Kane, Lundqvist, Crosby, even the New York Islanders' John Tavares, are old hands at the PMT. Crosby and Tavares both spend time updating their injury situations – both are fine for the start of the new season. A jet-lagged Alex Ovechkin is here too, patiently explaining that in his first meeting with new Washington Capitals' coach Barry Trotz, they spent most of the time talking about everything but hockey, so they could get to know each other. They'll discuss the hockey issues before they get on the ice next week.
Patrice Bergeron, the cover boy for NHL 15, is also here, explaining the evolution of the commercial for the video game, which has seen him cast as a beat poet, an odd choice since most of the people who might purchase the game would have not been born in that era.
At the other end of the spectrum are some of the NHL's rising stars who are attending the PMT for the first time, many of them awed by the scope and complexity of the event.
"It's an honour to be here," said the Florida Panthers' Nick Bjugstad. "I was looking at the list, kind of wide-eyed. There are a lot of good players here. If you say no to this, I don't know what you'd say yes to."
In the salary-cap era, where the revenues are divided among the players and the owners on a 50-50 basis, growth helps everyone. Lundqvist is asked about the other part of his job, the sales part, not something a young player necessarily dreams of when growing up in Sweden, with NHL dreams in their heads.
"We know the hockey business so well, but promoting the game is important too," answered Lundqvist. "They're giving us a chance to be in this position, to help grow the game. If you have more kids play the game; and more fans; it's going to help everyone.
"I don't feel I have to do it; I like it. For some guys, it might not be interesting, but for me, it is. I like to see how different companies do different things and learn what works and what doesn't. For me, living here, it's easy."
The PMT is most convenient for the players with New York connections – Lundqvist, Okposo and Tavares, who noted that "this time of year is always a hectic time for a lot of guys. You're moving back to cities. You're packing and unpacking. If you're a guy with a family and kids, you're trying to get them settled into a school. I live 30 minutes down the road, so I'm not flying in; it's right in my backyard. But it can be a lot for the California guys, who've got a travel day in and a travel day out and two days here. It's not always good timing, but we appreciate everybody that's part of the game and what these two days can mean for the game."
And for Tavares, best of all, the constant costume changes have an expected side benefit – it gets him back into the rhythm of his daily life as an NHL player after a summer away from the game.
"I always say – the amount of time I spend taking my clothes on and off on a road trip is ridiculous," explained Tavares. "I counted it one time – it's like 10 times a day, if you count putting your equipment on, your underwear on, your suit on, your suit off, how many times you shower.
"So it's a lot of changes, but it gets you ready for the season."