Dear reader,

Hope you had a good time off.

Our whole team wishes you a great start to 2023!

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We're the newsletter keeping you informed of hockey topics that intersect tech, culture, or positive social impact.

Here are the top stories this week:

• Chanel Keenan Goes to The Winter Classic

• Finnish Hockey Players Face Deep Freeze Due to Rising Energy Costs

• Hockey Day In Canada Looking for Volunteers for January 21st

Chanel Goes to The Winter Classic

The Boston Bruins took on the Pittsburgh Penguins in the NHL’s Winter Classic this year. More than 39,000 fans showed up at Boston’s historic Fenway Park, home to the Boston Red Sox, to take in the game.

One of those fans is our Contributor + Community manager, Chanel.

Some noteworthy elements

• The Bruins players tipped their hat to Fenway Park by coming in wearing Red Sox uniforms.

• Leading Pens star Kris Letang did not play after he found out about the death of his father, Claude Fouquet, while landing in Boston. Hockey of Tomorrow wishes to express our condolences to the Letang family. After successfully coming back from a stroke just a month ago, we respectfully salute the courage it takes to overcome back-to-back intense challenges.

• Fans started lining up 4 hours before the game, creating an ecstatic vibe that only Winter Classics can bring up. They were able to hear Sam Hunt rocking out to a free concert, play a giant tabletop hockey game, and compete in a hot-sauce chugging competition. Pretty groovy if you ask us!

• So here's a quirky thing to note about the participating teams: the Pens are now owned by Fenway Sports Group (FSG) which owns the Red Sox & Fenway. Some fans seemed to have picked up on John Henry's ( FSG owner) conundrum: who do you root for?

Finnish Hockey Players Face Deep Freeze Due to Rising Energy Costs

It’s estimated that household energy prices are up 37% from August 2020 to August 2022. Much of the cost associated with those rising prices due to the ongoing war in Ukraine. Those energy costs are making the winter especially difficult for many Europeans.

Believe it or not, those difficulties are trickling down to the game of hockey. Young Finnish hockey players with a lot of potential are playing in outdoor rinks across the country because of those energy costs. It’s a small sacrifice on the part of the players to be sure, but it’s important to acknowledge it because we often use sports as an escape from society.

There really is no getting away from the impact of war and inflation on our everyday lives, and it’s clearly starting to reveal itself and the cost of our food and shelter, and just within the way that we live our lives.

Here’s hoping the war reaches a peaceful resolution sooner rather than later.

Hockey Day in Canada Looking for Volunteers

Hockey Day in Canada is coming up on the 21st and Hockey Night in Canada is looking for volunteers. The organizing committee is apparently 3/4 of the way there in terms of volunteer commitments.

The day features several NHL games that run from the early afternoon into the late-night hours. It’s the perfect day for the hard-core NHL fan, but of course, it’s more than that. The production team behind the event features stories related to culture and grassroots hockey from across the country with one city playing host to the main event.

This year that city is Owen Sound, Ontario. Volunteers are required in Harrison Park to help participate in the day’s events. It’s the perfect way to get involved in the game directly if you don’t just want to sit on the couch and watch it on TV.

That’s it for the first edition of the Hockey of Tomorrow newsletter for 2023. If you have any feedback for us regarding HoT content, please do let us know.

To start at the year, we’d be so grateful if you be kind enough to share this newsletter with your friends and family as well.

Tom Sychterz, Founder

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