It's a YouTube World, Kid

When was the last time that the evening Sportscenter (I'm not talking about Sportscentre, mind you) led off with a teaser about something that happened in the hockey world?

That's a rhetorical question, since I'd have to do a lot of digging through a lot of film that I don't have access to to find the answer. Maybe it was when the Penguins skated the Cup around Detroit after winning Game 7. Or it could be further back, when Chris Simon stomped on Jarkko Ruutu, possibly?

My guess is the latter, since, in this YouTube world we live in, the only stories -- clips, I should say -- from hockey that seem to catch on are ones featuring dirty plays and bench-clearing brawls. Despite even the recent positive attitude ESPN has shown towards hockey, it would normally take a Roy son flipping off a crowd to make hockey relevant on the highlight show.

So, for one day, hockey was used as a teaser in a positive light, and we can thank a nine-year-old from Maine who made an unbelievable play for that. Hopefully for him he's got more great plays ahead.



Still, it was not Gary Bettman, Sidney Crosby, Alex Ovechkin or any other adult that was responsible for the positive publicity. That's not to say anything negative of those three. It's just funny how sports picks the most unlikely of stars sometimes.

But kudos to the NHL as this could, in a roundabout way, be thanks to their liberal use of the internet and, specifically, internet video. The league has approached the internet with open arms, something I'm sure you've heard many times, and that's likely part of the reason this video got out there so fast. Heck, could it have even been planned this way by the league, or it is a simple case of video gone viral? Remember, the video that shows up in most places, including FanHouse, is one from the NHL itself. Not YouTube. Almost kind of ironic how that worked out.

The league is smart, they know the game. Nowadays it's only the quick clips that catch and hold on blogs and television, unless you're peddling the almighty football. The clip was posted on the NHL.com for much of the day today -- whether to showcase it or sell it, who knows -- and can still be found on the Bruins' homepage, their home rink being the stage for the shot seen 'round the internet.

So as much as Gary Bettman appears to bumble along at times -- sticking with Versus, potentially mishandling the Versus/DirecTV feud -- the league is doing a few things right. They know what they're up against and how to attract attention. Right now, it's with the power of the internet and the YouTube phenomenon. I wouldn't be surprised if this was a strategically deployed video clip. Not 'strategically deployed' in the sense that it was staged in any way (it wasn't) but in the sense that the league knew exactly how it was going to get it the maximum attention and promotion possible (although having the No. 1,347 ranked website on the entire internet doesn't hurt, either).

In the end a deserving kid from Maine gets 15 minutes and the sport gets some positive attention from ESPN and the mainstream internet media. No matter how it happened, it's nice to see it happening for the right reasons. Now just don't let it get to your head, kid!