I began playing street hockey with my father, uncle, brother, and neighbors in preschool. Dad made us a net out of PVC pipe and made a wooden cutout of a goalie to help us develop our shot accuracy. In kindergarten, I played on ice for the first time, and by first or second grade, I switched to the position I had always wanted to play: goalie.
I wound up tending the net all the way through college.
There was a time when I lived, breathed, and dreamed of hockey. Unfortunately, today I have only the time and energy to watch a handful of games a season. Back then, I knew every statistic, every roster, every news tidbit.
Those days, about 30 years ago already, I had all the time in the world for hockey. We happily sat with Dad several nights a week, watching the New York Rangers with a big bowl of popcorn and smiles on our faces. We stayed up late to celebrate when the Rangers finally won the Stanley Cup in 1994, and it became one of the most memorable moments of my childhood.
We were so into hockey that we were over the moon when we got a hockey game for our family computer. We were enamored with NHL '94, and we would watch each other play for hours. We created a fantasy league for ourselves within the game, and wrote newsletters about our teams and the exciting new in-game feature that NHL '94 brought us... trades! Oh, how much time we spent negotiating trades with each other! We'd trade players and then put out our own press releases on scratch paper torn from our notebooks.
We collected all sorts of trading cards. Dad took us to card shows, and over the years, we bought several boxes of cards and tried to make complete sets. Those Pro Set NHL cards from 1990 hold so much nostalgic value for me that they are still my absolute favorite trading card series ever.
My support for hockey teams changed frequently back then, as you (hopefully) read in my earlier article, "The NHL's Wild Third Jerseys of the 1990s" (which I highly recommend for more info on my life and hockey).
At first, I loved the Rangers because that's who Dad supported. They were the hometown team, and it was a no-brainer that I'd cheer for them.
Then, after attending several Devils games (it was easier and cheaper to drive to the Meadowlands than into New York City from where I grew up), I became a Devils fan. I met some of the players at a hockey camp around that time and was enamored with their green, red, and white jerseys. I quickly became a big fan of the Devils' goalies, Chris Terreri and Craig Billington. Those guys weren't exactly Hall-of-Fame caliber, but they became special to me as a young goalie looking for a "style" of my own.
When the Pittsburgh Penguins' dynasty of the early '90s began, I was all in on Mario Lemieux, Paul Coffey, and their goalie, Tom Barrasso. Plus, they use orange as a team color, so I totally bought in and became a Penguins fan for a while.
Once the dynasty ended, my fickle self returned to rooting for the Rangers and stayed "mostly" loyal. I say "mostly" because I just as easily call myself an Islanders fan now, having spent twenty years on Long Island. Just like when I was a kid, when it was easier and cheaper to see a Devils game, it was easier and cheaper to see an Islanders game, so my wife and I went to the Nassau Coliseum far more often than Madison Square Garden, too.
Then, like many people, life gets in the way. As you get older with a family and a job, especially one like mine with varying days and hours each week, you have certain responsibilities and cannot commit to spending time doing the things you once did.
Time is precious. You choose how you spend what little we're given. Unfortunately, I just don't have the time to invest in hockey like I once did. My time nowadays is spent on my family, work, and as a hobby, following NASCAR. I still love hockey, don't get me wrong, but hockey takes a significant commitment of one's time. There are multiple games every night of the week, with a never-ending news and stat stream you could follow if you're so inclined.
NASCAR can be just a one-day-a-week investment, if you want it to be. Even if you closely follow all three major series (Cup, XFinity/O'Reilly, and Trucks), you only have two or three days a week to watch the races. Even NASCAR news can usually be summed up in a brief once-a-week catch-up, compared to the never-ending stream of hockey or other sports.
Believe me, I'm not saying NASCAR is "less than," especially since I've been a fan since the '90s. It just takes less of a commitment to be a full-time fan than hockey does.
Back when I was a kid in 1996, however, it felt like being a fan of the NHL was being a fan of something on the verge of becoming "big." It's hard today to think of hockey as anything other than mainstream, but before the mid-90s, the NHL and hockey were still somewhat of a niche sport. Aside from the kids on the hockey team, hardly anyone I knew followed the sport closely (if at all).
You either loved it or knew nothing about it.
The NHL debuts on FOX
On September 9, 1994, the NHL announced that it had signed a five-year, $155 million deal with the FOX network (approx $31 million annually), outbidding CBS and ending a 17-year drought of regular national over-the-air coverage for the league.
The April 2, 1995, debut of the NHL on FOX with St. Louis vs Detroit
The network broadcasts debuted on April 2, 1995, after play resumed during the lockout-shortened 1994 -95 season. These games were played on Saturday or Sunday afternoons, with regional rivalries like New York Rangers vs. Boston Bruins and Detroit Red Wings vs. Chicago Blackhawks kicking off the network's first coverage.
The lockout had delayed the season's start, compressing the schedule and limiting FOX's initial exposure, but it still provided a taste of what was to come. As a kid, I felt like this was a big event. I bought into the marketing campaign and the flashy new graphics FOX introduced (especially those giant robot animations after a goal or penalty). (In the above video, you can see the debut of the NHL on FOX, and the aforementioned robots.)
The network would broadcast two to six games each weekend, with regional coverage varying, ensuring every NHL team appeared nationally at least once during the television deal. FOX would also handle at least two games per round in the first two rounds of the playoffs, sharing those rounds with local coverage. FOX would then share the Stanley Cup Finals with ESPN, typically airing Games 1, 5, and 7 while ESPN aired the others.
FOX also broadcast the NHL All-Star Game annually from 1996 to 1999, with the 1995 All-Star Game canceled due to the lockout. This All-Star Game Weekend coverage was really a big component of my fandom back in the 90s, and from browsing several subreddits and message boards, it was crucial to several others, too! This was when the skills competition was presented as an actual competition, rather than the modern presentation that focuses on marketing "the show" over athletic ability.
In total, this meant FOX viewers saw about 30 games per year (combining the regular season, playoffs, and special events), a significant increase in the NHL's national visibility compared to the local cable-station-heavy NHL of the 1980s and early 90s.
I also really loved that they selected my "home team's" color analyst, John Davidson (or JD), a former Rangers goaltender who sat alongside longtime (and recently retired) play-by-play guy Sam Rosen on the Madison Square Garden network. In addition to his MSG duties, Davidson became the national color commentator.
While on FOX, JD would work alongside another commentator I was familiar with, Mike "Doc" Emrick. Doc was the New Jersey Devils' play-by-play guy.
These announcers played a key role in shaping the broadcast's tone, as they do in any sports presentation. Emerick was renowned for his energetic calls and vast knowledge of hockey history. When paired with Davidson (the future President of Hockey Operations for the St. Louis Blues), the two delivered insightful, humorous analysis.
Joe Micheletti, another New York Rangers analyst, served as the rinkside reporter, adding on-ice perspectives. In-studio coverage was hosted by James Brown from 1994 to 1998 and was replaced by Suzy Kolber for the 1998-99 season. Analysts like Dave Maloney and Terry Crisp offered insight during pre- and post-game breakdowns.
Many regional games incorporated local announcers, but the core trio of Emrick, Davidson, and Micheletti became synonymous with FOX's NHL era. Several guest appearances added star appeal, with active players like Jaromir Jagr and Mike Modano providing insight into the game. The core trio were frequently praised, including by USA Today, which noted their "professionalism and candor" at helping "convey the game's excitement to newcomers."
The national appeal of broadcasting on FOX also brought several major new sponsors into the fold. The most notable (and memorable) was the appropriately named new (1994) beer brand, Bud Ice (from Anheuser-Busch), featuring the creepy "doobie doobie doo" penguin. As a 5th or 6th grader, I, of course, missed the reference to Frank Sinatra's "Strangers in the Night," but all of us kids on the hockey team loved the penguin and would yell "doobie doobie doo" over and over again.
Beware of the penguins!
Several brands that had long been involved with the NHL expanded their nationwide coverage on FOX, ramping up promotions and advertising. Automotive companies, like Ford, sponsored several segments of the broadcast, and other global brands, such as McDonald's and Dunkin' Donuts, were eager to advertise as well.
Canadian brands Labatt and Molson jumped at the chance to market to American audiences, rather than only to regional broadcasts for Canadian teams (or to American markets along the border like Buffalo and Detroit).
FOX's new sports division leveraged cross-promotions with the NFL, attracting additional viewers and sponsors across its portfolio. The NHL saw a surge in corporate partnerships, contributing to revenue growth as expansion fees from new teams (Anaheim and Florida) bolstered the league's finances.
Despite the increase in corporate interest, the NHL's sponsorship landscape remained modest compared to those of the NFL, MLB, and the NBA.
This partnership brought several other changes to the NHL, not just exposure, but also through innovation. Before FOX, the league's American television audience was confined mainly to cable networks like ESPN or regional sports networks. FOX experimented with camera angles, graphics, and sound effects, drawing on its NFL productions to elevate production value. These efforts reflected FOX's broader goal of "Americanizing" hockey, making it more entertaining for a general audience, which some argue helped the league expand into non-traditional markets like the Sun Belt.
When the NHL signed on with FOX, the casual sports fan who may not have otherwise tuned in were immediately targeted, aligning with the network (and the league's) strategy to grow its audience. Ratings were modest at first (regular-season games averaged 1.5-2.1 million viewers, while the Stanley Cup Finals averaged 3.2 -4.7 million viewers). Still, they represented a step up from the NHL's near-invisibility beforehand.
The media blitz and advertising campaign from FOX and its partners helped the NHL recover quickly from the damaging 1994 lockout, boosting merchandise and ticket sales as the sport gained mainstream traction. However, the national exposure highlighted several of the league's challenges.
Low ratings, compared with other sports, drew criticism that hockey couldn't compete with football or baseball on national television. To combat this, FOX pushed for several notable changes to make the fast-paced sport more accessible, including viewer-friendly innovations, enhanced graphics, newer, younger major sponsors, and a larger advertising budget and effort from within the league.
The most famous (or infamous, depending on your point of view) was the introduction of FoxTrax, a glowing hockey puck designed to help viewers track the puck across the screen. Debuting in a pre-high-definition television era in 1996, FOX added a blue, glowing "halo" around the puck and flaming speed-indicator tails to attract children and non-traditional fans to the sport.
It immediately drew backlash from purists who saw it as gimmicky, but personally, I loved it. It looked just like a video game!
When FOX purchased the rights to the NHL's national broadcasts in 1994, market testing repeatedly highlighted one key reason casual fans avoided the sport: the difficulty of following the small, fast-moving puck on screen.
David Hill, then the head of FOX Sports, decided to fix this. Pitching the idea of a more visible puck to FOX owner Rupert Murdoch, Hill aimed to make it easier for newcomers unfamiliar with hockey's rules and rapid pacing to follow the game. Electrical engineer Stan Honey led development in collaboration with digital mapping company ETAK, while chief engineer Rick Cavallaro focused on the puck's design.
The aim was to enhance the viewing experience for those at home without changing the on-ice feel for the players. Development costs came to approximately $2 million, with rigorous testing ensuring the modified pucks met standard NHL specifications for weight (6 ounces) and handling. Some players noted a slight increase in rebound during testing, but the NHL eventually approved the pucks for official use after extensive trials.
Technologically, FoxTrax was ingenious for its time. Regulation NHL pucks were sliced in half, hollowed out, and fitted with infrared emitters, a shock sensor, a circuit board, and a lithium battery. Reassembled with epoxy, these "smart pucks" emitted infrared pulses 30 times per second—invisible to the naked eye but captured by about 20 specialized infrared cameras placed around the arena, with shutters synchronized to the pulses. Data was relayed to a mobile production unit nicknamed "The Puck Truck," which housed Silicon Graphics workstations for real-time processing.
On TV, this created a blue-halo glow around the puck, with a comet-like trail tracing its path. Shots over 70 mph turned the tail red, with its length proportional to speed.
Each puck had about an 18-minute battery life, making them single-use, with upwards of 10-30 per game. Fans often kept them as souvenirs, and the league readily handed out expired ones to eager fans.
When the TRAX puck debuted at the 1996 All-Star Game, 12-year-old me was over the moon. It debuted to spectacular fanfare, but hockey traditionalists had their doubts. Canadian-born journalist Peter Jennings commented during coverage (and other broadcasts) that Canadians, fans from hockey's traditional heartland, would likely hate it.
FOX heavily promoted the puck in advertisements, and it appeared in several regular-season games that year. FOX continued its use through the 1997-1998 season, including the playoffs. Its final use was in Game 1 of the 1998 Stanley Cup Finals (Detroit Red Wings vs Washington Capitals). The system appeared only in nationally televised FOX games but became an iconic, memorable signature of the network's NHL coverage during the mid-90s.
The reception was immediately polarized. For newcomers and children, FOXTrax simplified the visuals in a sport where puck speeds top 100mph. It resembled a video game that was familiar to non-traditional fans. A small FOX survey showed strong approval, and Cavallaro later deemed it an "overall success," citing initial ratings boosts. Die-hard fans, however, called it a distracting gimmick that cheapened the game. Especially Canadian fans, who viewed it as an American corporation's affront to hockey's purity. Sportswriter Greg Wyshynski called it "cheesy," likening its effects to those of a low-budget film. A 2002 ESPN poll ranked it among the worst sports innovations of all time. Slate's Aaron Brown (2014) labeled it one of broadcasting's most ridiculed experiments, arguing it prioritized newcomers and gimmickery over authenticity and tradition.
In 1998, when the NHL's national rights shifted to ABC/ESPN, the new network showed no interest, and the Trax puck was discontinued. Citing high costs, mixed feedback, and a murky legal situation surrounding FOX's ownership and/or investment in the puck, it sealed its fate. However, its legacy endures. The Trax puck was a pioneer in real-time sports tracking, and directly inspired the NFL's virtual first-down line (developed by Cavallaro's post-FOX company, Sportvision).
The NHL revisited puck/player tracking with a microchip system at the 2019 All-Star Game. The full league-wide implementation was rolled out in 2021-22 (after testing in the 2020 playoffs and delays and changes in the data provider). This modern version focuses more on analytics for sports betting and statistics for broadcast coverage. This echoed the FoxTrax's goal but doesn't include the bold visuals.
As we mark the 30th anniversary of the FOX Trax puck, retrospectives reflect a mixed legacy: a bold, boundary-pushing attempt that many see as ultimately a failure. On its 20th anniversary in 2016, discussions noted that HD TVs and improved cameras had likely rendered it obsolete, though some argue it was ahead of its time and could be viable today with VR and AI.
FOX's tenure with the NHL left a legacy. It modernized NHL broadcasts and paved the way for future network deals. It also introduced elements such as enhanced graphics and varied camera angles that influenced modern productions. Overall, FOX's NHL debut in the 90s was a bold experiment that boosted the league's profile but exposed hockey's niche appeal. A big step in the NHL's ongoing quest for mainstream success, FOX blended innovation with traditional hockey passion in a way that is still remembered fondly by many today.
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