As the details of the NCHC's television deal with CBS Sports Network came out, the picture didn't look any rosier for the league than when initially announced. UMD beat writer Kevin Pates tweeted that he has heard the NCHC will pay production costs to have their games televised, which is pretty embarrassing for the league.
Meanwhile, the announcement was met with less than excitement from North Dakota fans. Because of exclusivity rights with NBCSN, North Dakota games will no longer be on Fox College Sports, and means most North Dakota fans outside of a select area of North Dakota, South Dakota, and Northwest Minnesota won't be able to watch games on television that they used to be able to watch. Reading through North Dakota SID Jayson Hajdu's Twitter timeline as he tries to deal with fans angry over having to watch UND games via webcast is the closest I've come to feeling sorry for someone in this whole deal.
I should clarify that as much as I mock CBSSN, I do appreciate the effort they've put into covering college hockey the past nine years. As has been pointed out to me, it's not like college hockey was going to get a television deal with ESPN to show their games regularly because the market just isn't there. And that has been precisely my point all along. It isn't worth cutting the legs out from under nearly half the teams in the west to chase some pie-eyed television dream when college hockey just doesn't have the market to do any better than a third-rate cable station.
A big part of the reason Cam Reid left St. Cloud early last month was that he said the Portland Winterhawks promised him an opportunity to play on the team's first line between ultra-skilled wingers Ty Rattie and Sven Baertschi. That promise had a pretty quick expiration date though. It's been just three weeks since he left and Reid has already been relegated to a lower line. It is nice to know that when the Portland Winterhawks give you their word, they'll keep it for nearly an entire month.
Minnesota State will be trying to drum up support this weekend to help convince legislators to include a $31-million renovation project to their arena in the state's next bonding bill. Renovations to the Verizon Wireless Center have been included in state bonding bills a few times, only to be vetoed, despite much more state money going to every other Division I college hockey arena in the state. With a new governor in charge in Minnesota, however, it's starting to look pretty promising that this one will pass.
On the topic of Minnesota State, David Backes is still a better person than you could ever be.
Dave Hakstol wants the NCAA to start allowing him to recruit CHL player. Good luck. Hakstol probably knows better than anyone the dollar figures some of the kids he has recruited received from the CHL.