Evan Rodrigues of the Panthers creates history by leading Florida to victory in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final.
After Leon Draisaitl’s roughing penalty against Aleksander Barkov, the Panthers were on a power play. With his second goal of the game and third overall in the Stanley Cup Final, Rodrigues scored once more. The Panthers used it all to their advantage to win the game. Game 2 would go to Florida 4-1 after Aaron Ekblad scored an empty-netter. As the seconds passed in the Sunrise, Florida, arena, cries of “We want the Cup” echoed throughout.
In the Stanley Cup Final, Rodrigues became the first player in Panthers history to score multiple goals in a game. Sergei Bobrovsky, the goalie for the Panthers, also took the net for the second straight game. He blocked Connor McDavid’s shots on multiple occasions, including a one-on-one where Matthew Tkachuk was all over the three-time Hart Trophy winner. In the end, “Bob” made 18 saves.
McDavid was again denied a goal on three attempts. He helped set up Mattias Ekholm’s goal. Zach Hyman took one shot, while Draisaitl took two. Games 3 and 4 of the series will take place in Edmonton beginning on Thursday night. The Panthers could be on the verge of their first Stanley Cup victory after two games.
The NHL prospect claims that prior to the draft, the team asked him about his Snapchat and Uber ratings.
Young talent is subjected to a rigorous evaluation process at the NHL Draft that takes character, game intelligence, and physical prowess into account. Pre-draft interviews now have an unexpected twist because of a recent disclosure made by an NHL prospect. Reports state that during an interview, a club inquired about a prospect’s Uber rating and Snapchat scores.
In an interview with a local sports journalist, the prospect—who wished to stay anonymous—talked about his experience. Though he had prepared carefully for questions regarding his work ethic, leadership abilities, and on-ice ability, he expressed surprise at the unique inquiries. Rather than what he had expected, he was talking about parts of his digital life that had nothing to do with his hockey career.
A person’s online activity can be examined and evaluated with the same level of scrutiny and analysis as their professional performance in the modern digital age. A person’s character and social habits can be inferred from their Uber ratings, which show how customers interact with drivers, and their Snapchat scores, which show how active a user is on the social media network.
Teams may evaluate a prospect’s social behavior, accountability, and dependability using these non-traditional measures. For instance, a player’s Uber rating may reveal information about their general level of courtesy and respect. A player’s focus and discipline may be questioned if their Snapchat score is high, since it suggests a high level of social involvement.
There have been a range of responses to this disclosure. It is viewed as a natural progression of the character evaluations teams currently conduct by some observers and fans. They contend that a player’s online actions in the social media age might affect their public perception and, consequently, the team’s perception.
Some, meanwhile, feel that these inquiries go too far. They contend that a player’s performance on the ice is not much impacted by their social media posts or their contacts with ride-sharing drivers. Critics fear that, on top of the already tremendous strain young players already endure to achieve athletically, this kind of scrutiny may put them under needless pressure to create a perfect digital identity.
This episode brings to light a larger trend in professional sports: a growing amount of scrutiny is being paid to people’s personal and online lives. Teams from all over the league have begun to hire experts to look into the social media profiles of possible recruits. With this exercise, we hope to spot any warning signs that might point to problems off the ice, court, or field.
This implies that before they even get to the draft stage, prospects in the NHL need to be conscious of their digital presence. It implies that teams are searching for athletes who can represent them both on and off the ice. This emphasis on both character and athletic prowess is becoming essential to the scouting and drafting processes.
It’s conceivable that athletes’ online behavior will be given more weight as the lines between their personal and professional lives become increasingly blurred. Young prospects should take this as a reminder to exercise caution in both their offline and online behavior.
At the end of the day, while physical ability and hockey IQ are still critical, it seems that the modern NHL team is looking for well-rounded players who can succeed in the spotlight and maintain a positive presence in all facets of their lives. This change highlights the way professional sports are developing, with players’ potential now being evaluated online as well as on the rink.