r/EdmontonOilers • u/horsestud6969 • 4d ago
LA Kings broadcast displayed an indicator on McDavid
Did anyone else notice this? Is this a new thing? I've never see something like this before, sometimes US streams will have an indicator showing someone's name above them during replays, but this was like a video game-esque control indicator on McDavid for some parts of the game.
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u/Mshokaloka 29 DRAISAITL 3d ago
Americans have trouble following the McDavid
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u/--Anonymoose--- 3d ago
He too fast
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u/horsestud6969 3d ago
Theoretically he should be easy to follow, he's the only player playing on 2x speed
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u/ExerciseReady8771 97 McDAVID 3d ago
Yeah I hate that, a bunch of broadcasts do it and it seems to mess up the video sometimes. I assumed this (and other technology) is why players have to untuck their sweaters so their numbers are visible because we sure as hell know who has the puck courtesy of eyeballs and ears.
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u/enternameher3 93 NUGENT-HOPKINS 3d ago
The untuck thing is because the league wants to introduce ads on the bottom of jerseys, so they need to get players to stop tucking so the ad space is visible
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u/Ok-Fold1012 31 FUHR 3d ago
Being able to see the numbers properly is important for the commentators. It takes a lot less time to glance at a number than it does to read a nameplate in a smaller font. Source: I used to be a hockey commentator on the radio
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u/ExerciseReady8771 97 McDAVID 2d ago
I sort of understand that view point, but hockey commentators are hockey freaks who know everyone on the ice. Did you genuinely need to see numbers to know what was going on? (I’m referring to NHL specifically, not other leagues where players aren’t well known).
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u/ImportantBar530 2d ago
It’s not about knowing what’s going on, but knowing which players are on the ice. Usually lines stick together, so if you see one number you know everyone else that’s on. But lines are juggled, and sometimes line changes don’t totally finish, and the play is so fast that when you’re trying to give accurate information in real time to listeners, seeing the numbers is helpful.
We memorize (or just know from experience) numbers of all the players, and you get to know what people look like or how they move on the ice so it gets easier to tell, but the numbers still help. Especially because press boxes are usually pretty high above the ice. I never called NHL, just NCAA, so I don’t know if they have different setups, but even when calling games with first round draft picks who are extremely well known it’s really useful to have the number when doing play by play on radio.
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u/BillyZoomTheCat 3d ago
Well, when McDavid gets moving like that he's essentially a cheat code.
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u/Ghost_of_Cain 3d ago
Someone has adjusted the sliders to boost his performance. An update will surely have to nerf it.
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u/TURBOJUGGED 15 ARCHIBALD 4d ago
I dunno if I’ve seen this exact thing but I’ve seen trackers and name bars before
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u/InPraiseOf_Idleness 74 SKINNER 3d ago
TV networks want to grow their audience in markets that havent followed hockey most of their lives. Pretty sure folks new to watching hockey repeatedly say they can't tell wtf is going on or where the puck is. They don;t know who the superstars to watch are. This helps capture some of those newcomers.
Like, the sports is super fast, precise, and has fucking fighting in it. it's theporetically an american dream sport to rival NFL, but it's really hard for newbies to follow on account of the sheer speed of it all. we take for granted how well we can follow plays /shrug
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u/CartoonistFlat3943 3d ago
I love this play - so hard to defend.
- Bouchard skates out hard.
- Can’t leave one man out to cover 97 because Bouchard can enter zone untouched and have 97 trailing at speed or pass to 29/92
- Drop to 97 at 800 KPH full flight
- Bouchard plays a perfect subtle, but legal pick of high forward (he does this constantly - see Game 1 OT SCF 25, Marchand never recovered positionally)
- LA D has to honour the lane created directly to the net and shift middle, leaving the outside lane wide open. If he doesn’t, McDavid would have taken the inside lane.
- top speed, 97 moves to outside lane, flies by LD and now it’s a 2 on 1.
- 97 has a bad shot angle, but he’s so good at the bank pass off the goalie’s pads, doesn’t matter. If goalie doesn’t fully commit left, he’ll take the short side corner.
- 29/42 also options as is cross crease to 92
- Bank pass off pads with Podz driving hard. Chance it goes 5 hole, but either way, it’s high danger.
97’s speed and the need to honour 29/2’s perfect passes and shots makes this crazy hard to defend. Add in 92/42 getting to every loose puck, and this is going to be a high danger chance almost all the time.
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u/CallejaFairey 2 BOUCHARD 3d ago
I've seen it in replays that have been reposted online, didn't realize that some broadcasts actually use it in real time! That's like the light trail on pucks so we know where the puck is kind of thing. Lol.
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u/Content-Employment-7 3d ago
Friggin US broadcasts. I remember when they tried colouring the pucks in the 90s because they thought the US audience couldn't follow the speed of the game. Pretty sure they even had varying colours to show whether it was a shot or pass. First time I saw it I thought it bizarre.
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u/supermeatboy10 89 GAGNER 3d ago
Not the first time I've seen this on some of the US broadcasts, I think they did it for Ovechkin at times last year and some other players as well
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u/Accurate_Cellist1761 3d ago
I can't stand those indicators. American TV has them everywhere. The worst ones are the PP ones that switch to the player possessing the puck.
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u/v13ragnarok7 3d ago
I watched it on LA broadcast last night. Circles everywhere, always displaying what King is on the ice. Commentary by former Oiler Jarrett Stoll. It was weird.
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u/TheFaceStuffer 29 DRAISAITL 3d ago
on their end they can always see the circles and it says the player name so they can quickly know who is doing what
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u/Rossy199910042024 22 SAVOIE 3d ago
If you really need a tracker to figure out which one McDavid is you shouldn’t be watching hockey
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u/Orcasgt22 29 DRAISAITL 3d ago
Common PP thing. ESPN has the player name above the head of the puck carrier on PP's.
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u/Snow-Bank-Igloo 3d ago
At least it would help see who has the puck since Jack Michaels has no interest in telling us. He would rather blubber about the morning skate and other games that have already been played.
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u/HourlyEdo 4d ago
That's not from the broadcast, he always has that