CAMBRIDGE, UK – We’ve now had the first month of the new National Division and, so far, it looks to have got off to a good start.
Pre-season, many fans had picked their favourites and their potential whipping boys. Some decisions were weighed and calculated based on points productions, relative strengths and weaknesses of players and coaches, others were based on nostalgia, and some were quite probably just stabbing a finger into a team list and taking pot luck.
But what has the first four weeks shown us so far? I’ve found a few things, by no means everything, so here is my take on what the first month has taught us.
This isn’t the EPL MK2
There are some obvious differences – the decision to stick with two imports instead of five for example is probably the biggest.
But probably the biggest difference is that it is now run as part of an organisation paying more than just lip service approach to sustainability and future development.
The EPL seemed to be run essentially by a small but powerful clique looking out for their own interests and the Devil take the hindmost.
Although it has yet to be properly tested, the approach that the League Management Committee have taken looks to be a step in the right direction, certainly of the comments attributed to them during the strange times in Buckinghamshire were taking place.
That’s not to say that teams have had no say in the running of things. During the launch of the National Division, (which I think needs a proper name, along the lines of Moralee or Wilkinson for example), it was revealed that the decision to keep the numbers of imports, non-British qualifying players, at two – the same as NIHL1, was a decision made by the teams themselves, as is the use of the four-man officiating system.
No Easy Games
This leads on nicely from the first point, and deserves to be a point of it’s own.
Probably the biggest difference is the level of competitiveness in the league. Leeds Chiefs finally broke their duck at the sixth time of asking as they ran out 4-0 winners on the road against Raiders IHC.
There haven’t been any blowout games yet, the biggest victorues have been 5-0, (coincidentally, both inflicted by the Swindon Wildcats), and there have been some surprises, such as Raiders IHC taking points from both Swindon AND Hull in the same weekend, something no-one would have dared predicted before the season started.
At this stage of the season, table positions don’t mean a huge amount, however when half of the teams in the league have a similar number of points, the league as a whole is looking competitive, especially when one of the teams fancied to be near the bottom of the table takes a four-point weekend at the expense of the two, (at that point), leading teams, then it’s a good indicator that we’re in for an entertaining season.
The media game is strong
With a couple of seasons’ worth of experience, Milton Keynes Lightning and Peterborough Phantoms have probably the strongest streaming packages available in the National Division and are easily television quality.
Raiders IHC have a streaming option as well, however it’s a raw product. That doesn’t mean it’s not worth anything. Quite the opposite, it’s a revenue stream for the club that would otherwise be lost.
This sees teams racing to catch up, especially with the geographic distance between the teams now. Bracknell Bees have begun offering a radio commentary alongside their highlights package.
It wasn’t long ago that teams who provided a match night Twitter feed were seen as revolutionary. Now it’s seems the bare minimum, so I doubt it will be long until other teams bring their game up too.
Probably bottom of the pile at the moment are Hull, whose match night media output at the moment is rather basic.
Although this is not a direct effect of the new division, media has moved on and some of the more innovative initiatives are coming from individuals, with podcasts, blogs and video blogs easily accessible, with the individuals concerned showing that there is very clearly a market for these services. This has the potential of leaving teams behind.
An example are the match night updates from the new NIHL Live page. This Facebook group is not affiliated with the NIHL, and is offering a feed, via Facebook video streaming, reminiscent to Saturday afternoon football round-ups.
The original page, NIHL Banter, was started by Shaun Nixon and run, not without a great deal of assistance, by Luke Britton. This led onto the development of the Live Service.
The service is free and looking for sponsors, (such is the way of the modern world). The set up is simple in and could have been done by anyone.
As it stands, this is run by Nixon from home, no flash studio facilities, yet looks like something that would grace the home page of a reputable league.
All Publicity is… Publicity
While not National Division, the very high profile signing of Petr Cech, the former Premier League football goalie by the Guildford Phoenix, was soon followed by Liam Stewart, (who has somewhat famous parents), putting pen to paper for Milton Keynes.
Likewise, Matty Longstaff, son of former Guildford Flame and current Whitley Warriors player coach David Longstaff, scoring his first Premier League goal also made the news.
Certainly, in the case of Cech and Longstaff, it was enough to get their clubs some column inches and air time in the national press.
That makes it sound like no-one else is doing anything, but this isn’t true and credit should be given to the Lightning and Phantoms for at least being able to interest Anglia News – a regional news channel on ITV, in the recent derby game between the two sides.
The Elite League have found it difficult to garner national press attention, so there’s no reason to think that the National Division or EIHA could suddenly come up with a strategy to manage this, but neither is this a reason not to try and, more importantly, work on a national strategy alongside the EIHL rather than against it as has been the unfortunate tradition.
It’s time to embrace the future
It’s time now, especially with the new division structure in place, for teams to reject the fear of innovation and the old thinking.
The example above of how individuals are pushing the boundaries of what could be offered both inside and outside of the rink on match nights is one such example.
One of the problems with the EPL, was that the teams appeared to refuse to work together in case someone else got an advantage – like crabs in a bucket, let alone work with teams in other leagues.
If the teams can conquer this mentality, then the whole league is likely to be improved. The on-ice product is, even at this early stage, pretty good, but the framing around it needs some work.
This change will probably be the hardest one to make. Still, its early, there’s plenty of time yet.
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