Everyone's already mentioned playoff games from this most recent year, so I'll leave that alone. There's a long (ten mins?) clip of Jamie Benn's 4 point game to win the Art Ross trophy up on YouTube that captures the drama of the race really well, though. But there's other fandom stuff besides just fic and games she could look at.
I fell into the actual sport of hockey through my interest in certain players I'd read fic about, so I'd recommend you try to find documentaries/games/youtube clips for the players she ships or has read the most about. I got into hockey when a friend sent me a bunch of Toews/Kane and Crosby/Malkin stuff, and it made watching Hawks and Pens games a lot more fun because I had an idea of who everyone was and why I was invested in their success.
Plus, once she knows who she likes, she can go to that team's website--all of them have a bunch of behind the scenes stuff that makes fandom fun. Like, the Pens have In the Room, and each season they'll post 8-13 episodes (20 mins or so each) about what's going on with the team, including footage of games and conversations in the locker room. Blackhawks TV does ridiculous interviews and Christmas videos. That sort of thing lets you know more about who the players are, and for me anyway, knowing the guys was what got me invested in the teams and the game as a whole.
As a last point, there's a reason Crosby's the intro to so many new fans--whatever your feelings about him personally or the hype he generates, he's got a compelling story, and that can be captivating for newbies. Conveniently, there are a ton of free documentaries about him up on youtube and they're loaded with clips of him playing. If that sort of drama doesn't get her sucked in, nothing will.
As a general rule, in RL and online, I think that if you wouldn't say it to someone much bigger and stronger than you in person, you shouldn't say it at all. Even the most vicious disagreement can be phrased in a way that's respectful--to fall into slurs or cruelty is a sign of laziness or a lack of critical thinking skills. True, everyone has a right to free speech, but that doesn't mean you have a right to freedom from consequences for your words, and expulsion from a group is fair if you're not willing to play by the rules that the group sets. It's pretty simple math--act like an ass, and you can stay in the barn.
That being said, I think maybe this should be something that's addressed by each community, too. Some communities can probably weather a little more drama than others. A fandom community might have different expectations than a community about dealing with mental health issues or providing safe spaces for a marginalized group of people. As long as expectations are very clearly stated, it's fair to require people to police their own needs. I don't see any reason why there can't be two communities talking about Trump, for example, with one devoted to maintaining very strict rules of conduct, and the other allowing people to call each other names until the cows come home. I would only ever join the first because I want a harassment-free zone, but that doesn't mean the second can't exist for folks willing to face the burn.
Hawks til the end, although if I'm invested in a particular player to an unhealthy degree, it's probably Sid. Anytime the Hawks play the Pens, I'm like, "The Hawks must win, but only once Sid's scored a goal. Or a hat trick. Or two. But the Hawks MUST win."
Definitely Sid/Giroux. Especially Sid bottoming and having angry eyes about how much he likes it. I love me some complicated angsty hate sex when it turns into sappy feels by the end.
I devoured Inception. I've written a lot of HP fic. Read a metric ton of Steve-Tony and Clint Barton/Phil Coulson for MCU. A very large helping of SGA. Due South because Ray K's smart mouth will always make me snort-giggle. It especially cracks me up when he tries to defend the Hawks' honor pre-2007.
I'll watch every game I can get my greedy hands on, which means an exorbitant amount of money going to NHLTV and the NHL channel. I can't afford new clothes, but I WILL HOCKEY. I read enormous amounts of hockey fic. I'm in the middle of writing my first hockey fic, but it's gonna be about a zillion years in the making. I have never made a gif in my life because I'm lazy and it seems like too much work to learn how. I don't make fanart because my art would be composed entirely of stick figures, and the world deserves better.
There absolutely needs to be more Crosby/Giroux in the world.
I'd never heard of this either! Thanks for getting this started!



hockeyhockeyhockeyHockey gameplay clip recommendations?Sep 02, 2016 at 12:43 PM
