Still one year away from their inaugural game, the
Thrashers are "beginning a major advertising push in concert
with the start of the [NHL] regular season" with radio spots
that started running Thursday and TV commercials that will
begin in a few weeks, according to Jeff Schultz of the
ATLANTA CONSTITUTION. The ads "emphasize the speed and
skills of the game." The marketing campaign will also
include a "countdown clock" on southbound Interstate 75/85
that will "tick down" the number of days until the team's
first game next season. The team also "hopes to expose the
game as much as possible in the coming months" and has
planned youth clinics, street hockey tournaments and
interactive games in the city (ATLANTA CONSTITUTION, 10/11).
SOUTHERN FRIED HOCKEY: In Toronto, Steve Simmons, on
the sold out Nashville Coliseum for the Predators' inaugural
game: "The fans cheered stick checks. They cheered when
their own team took a penalty. They cheered wildly for the
first fight. They even cheered when the team director of
business operations was introduced" (TORONTO SUN, 10/11).
