Selling the NHL's stars despite hockey's team-first attitude

[doniceage]

Hockey players are taught from an early age that the name on the front means more than the name on the back, and that mindset remains firmly entrenched at the sport's highest level.

Why it matters: Selling individuals while not straying too far from hockey's team-first culture is easier said than done, but the NHL must rise to the challenge if it wants to attract the next generation of fans.

Every team sport is like that to a certain extent — they all preach teamwork and selflessness and, truly, that's how you win. But very few sports, if any, frown upon individualism as much as hockey has for the last century-plus.
Yes, but: In 2016, a study showed that the average age of NHL fans had risen 16 years between 2000 and 2016 — the biggest increase of any sport and an obvious indicator of stagnation.

To reverse that trend and create more buzz among the younger generations, the NHL has begun marketing its stars — both on and off the ice — as the NBA and NFL have done with great success.
"You're starting to see guys be promoted a little more, and it's nice because then you get to see some individual personalities come out, and in a sport where you're so often wearing helmets ... people don't get to relate to you face-to-face."

https://www.axios.com/nhl-hockey-sta...59b99a604.html

[sparty07]

And yet there was a commercial this week on one of the national broadcasts that focused on the we before me concept