Coach's Corner

So there were really cool intermission segments like Showdown, which came way before the All-Star Skills competition ever existed, and Peter Puck, which helped me learn the rules as a young girl.

And who could forget Coach's Corner with Don Cherry? Like him or not, that segment was must-see TV for a lot of years, and I'll never forget Don planting a big kiss on Dougie Gilmour after game one of the conference final in 1993.

And that was definitely a priceless moment.

Anyway, while it's true that we still have Saturday night hockey, I refuse to mention the network, I think many of us are still fearful, though, that the stories, the history, the fabric of our game will be lost in this increasing monetization of everything that we hold dear.

I mean, luckily in Buffalo, um, when we did get cable in the late '70s and early '80s, I had access, and one of the reasons why I became so interested in hockey was the fact that, um, when we had cable, I, I got local Buffalo games on, uh, the local cable stations, but I would get, uh, WSBK out of Boston, so I'd see Bruins games, and WOR out of New York Islanders and Rangers games, and USA Network and, um, uh, national games on USA Network.

But the-- And then Leaf games on the week, on the weekdays on CHCH out of Hamilton.

But in the end, the center of the universe was Hockey Night in Canada, was Don Cherry in Coach's Corner at, on the first intermission, and the satellite hot stove.

And if you're a Leaf fan, you know, that's where you went to watch the Leafs.

This year is going to be, it's a strange one.

I, I put it up there with, um, as strange as Don Cherry getting removed from Coach's Corner.

That was, you know, um, love or hate Ron MacLean, he played a part and plays a part for part of Canada, and Don Cherry certainly spoke a different part for part of Canada.

It was kind of the yin and the yang, if you would, of culture going back and forth.

yeah

so when we would go to grand forks which was the town close to us that's even closer to the border they had hockey night in canada and so we'd always watch it every saturday night when we were on hockey road trips or whatever we were doing but then you know i when i got older and there there became nhl center ice right yep i i would that's when i really started watching hockey night in canada and It always intrigued me, whether it be, you know, the Ron McLean, Don Cherry, and the Coach's Corner and how amazing that was.

And then on to, you know, Elliott Friedman's headlines and things like that.

Those are integral parts of, like, hockey fans' lives, right? And I'm going to miss that.