The modern National Hockey League is all about choice.

Players choose where they wish to play from year to year, often selecting money over loyalty. Likewise, owners have shown their ability to move franchises on a whim. The days of the Original Six are long gone.

Fans also take a modern approach. The 30-team league provides ample room for choice. Younger generations of fans do not necessarily abide by traditional lines of support. They do not always root for the home team.

It's just as difficult to follow the league. With more teams spread over four time zones, there is always action. There have also never been as many games on television. But what do you watch and when do you watch it?

The NHL Network hopes to make the hardcore fan's choice easier. The channel, set to be launch Oct. 1 by Bell Globemedia in a partnership with Insight Sports and the NHL, aims to be a one-stop shop for everything related to the world's top hockey league.

Although still in the early stages of development, the channel currently plans to produce original programming beginning each night at 7 p.m. Eastern with news, commentary and analysis from around the league. Each game of the night will be previewed in depth, with highlights from previous games also provided.

The centrepiece of the programming will be live look-ins at games in progress. The channel will have the ability to provide feeds from each of the networks broadcasting the games. The NHL Network hopes to follow the success of Diamond Surfing on Headline Sports. That popular program consists of look-ins at a variety of major-league baseball games from across the continent, coupled with analysis from in-studio commentators.

Programming will end each night when the last game concludes. Each night's program will be repeated several times throughout the day until the action begins again.

The channel will rely heavily upon TSN's on-air hockey talent. Their exact contributions have yet to be determined, but the partnership with the league itself probably means that viewers can expect them to be far less critical than normal.

The league's expansion, coupled with an extension of the playoff format, means that there is normally only a two-month summer break. Although the network can fill a lot of its schedule discussing and analyzing the vast array of off-season transactions that inevitably occur each summer, it is taking steps to ensure that it can fill its schedule between the awarding of the Stanley Cup is in late June and the beginning of training camps in early September.

he channel plans to turn its focus to the game's grassroots. Among the highlights will be extended coverage of the league's annual entry draft.

It will also air programming on proper coaching, instruction and strategy, as well as training and conditioning. Shows will also take a look at roller hockey, beach hockey and the growing number of charity golf tournaments involving NHL stars.