NEWSLETTER
When Turner Sports brought in Wayne Gretzky to be a part of their NHL broadcast team, we all enjoyed speculating on how he might be utilized as a talent and how the “Great One” would translate to the Turner content. With the addition of Bleacher Report’s “Open Ice” platform, Turner is looking to up its game alongside ESPN as the two networks combine to be the broadcast homes of the NHL for the next seven years, at least.
Tonight is the first night for Turner/TNT to broadcast the NHL with a double-header featuring the Rangers taking on the Capitals and the Blackhawks taking on the Avalanche. One of the first iterations of the “new look” that Turner is bring to the NHL sees Wayne Gretzky and Adam Lefkoe with Alex DeBrincat in their new “Underrated” series, which features prominent NHL players putting their real-life skills on display against what their skills say about them in EA Sports’ NHL22.
You can see DeBrincat on the Fifth Third Bank Arena ice with challenges from Gretzky and Bleacher Report’s Andrew “Nasher” Telfer here:
The Great One puts The Cat to the test 👀@Brinksy97 is out to prove to @WayneGretzky he’s got the X-factor on this episode of "Underrated" with @AdamLefkoe https://t.co/quxLtY8lF8 pic.twitter.com/xYgkpKUR8i
— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) October 13, 2021
Pretty cool to see a rising star in the NHL like DeBrincat starting to get the recognition league-wide after his first few seasons in Chicago. Sure, maybe the skills “competition” wasn’t something that was going to make him break a sweat here, but the exposure of new audiences to the stars of the game is the focus from Bleacher Report’s “Open Ice” and for Turner as a whole.
Here’s to seeing more creative content like this from Turner and from ESPN as the seasons gets underway. And here’s to more of this from DeBrincat this season.
BUSSIN 🙀 #Blackhawks on the board! #CHIvsNSH @NBCSChicago https://t.co/xqft6THKze pic.twitter.com/zKIBV3T7z7
— Blackhawks Talk (@NBCSBlackhawks) March 29, 2021
Blackhawks and Avalanche drop the puck on the 2021-22 season tonight at 9:00 p.m. CT on TNT!
