They could have done human interest pieces on players, while promoting that players' team and the NHL in general.
Get people interested in the players lives and use that to get people interested in the game.
"The Olympics would have been a perfect oppourtunity for the NHL to get the attention of the non-hockey fan...Get people interested in the players lives and use that to get people interested in the game"
I don`t think the issue is non-hockey fans getting to know the players. The issue is Olympic hockey is just better to watch because of the differences in the rules and the flow of the game.
Olympic hockey moves better, there`s less clutching and grabbing, which opens the ice up for free flowing play. There are other differences as well, but in the end the Olympic game is just better to watch.
I know whenever I watch Olympic hockey, there are always things I would love to see adopted by the NHL. The NHL game just got too congested. Too much hitting, grabbing, and poking and not enough passing and shooting.
Even the rule changes they have adopted to open up the game haven`t worked because the refs don`t enforce them , or are not consistant with them, in many cases. Kind of like the ever changing stike zone in baseball, but that is another issue all together.