ESPN’s
Sports Nation is doing a fair number of hockey related polls lately and the
most recent discusses the upcoming HBO 24/7 between the New York Rangers and
Philadelphia Flyers. The question
revolved around which person on the two squads would be the breakout star of
the series. The choices given are: Ilya
Bryzgalov, Ryan Callahan, Henrik Lundqvist, Chris Pronger or John Tortorella.
The
list looks like a compilation of the biggest names on the two sides, with the
exception of Brad Richards and Jaromir Jagr, and while Pronger and Tortorella have been known to go at with the press in the past, the other three are not known for huge personalities with the media. Pronger and Tortorella could certainly provide some great content for HBO to show, but they likely will not star in the show unless there is a blow-up at some point. I would look for
players like Martin Biron, Brian Boyle or Derek Stepan to potentially take the
star of the show because of the combination of their personalities and the storylines.
Martin Biron: Biron has a couple things working for him in
the race for star of 24/7 in that he is both a tremendous family man and he is
very funny. The family side of the NHL
was went over very well with respect to both Dan Bylsma and Pascal Dupuis last
year. Biron bringing his sense of humor
will only add to his likability and it doesn’t hurt that he has a reputation as
someone who can talk a lot so there will be plenty of clips to choose from.
Brian Boyle: Boyle has been noted for
his humor and impressions of his teammates which would be tremendous video for
24/7 to show and there is a natural storyline with Boyle in that he is trying
to repeat his breakout season of a year ago and live up to his new contract.
Derek Stepan: If the producers on 24/7 want to go with the
young Rangers angle, then Stepan might be the best of the bunch to look
at. Stepan will be looking to avoid the
sophomore slump, build on an excellent rookie season and the fact that he is
always having fun certainly helps for the cameras. The burgeoning star from Minnesota making it
in the biggest city in the world is a great way to promote not only the game as
a whole, but USA hockey.
