Sounds Of The Winter Classic

With news that this year’s Winter Classic drew a 4.65M viewers, finishing first amongst the 18-49 demographic, it’s time to look back to some memorable quotes on what can now be considered a successful venture for the National Hockey League.

Gary Bettman

“I think it’s a lot of fun for our players.  The teams like to participate because for a lot of our players it conjures up memories of their first connection to the game as well.” – When asked about what the Classic means to the NHL

“We really take this one at a time.  With every Winter Classic we’ve done, we learned something new, which is why each year we’ve built upon it to create a new dimension for it, and we have to sit down and debrief, take it all in, and then focus on next year.” – When asked about a frontrunner for next year’s classic

Dan Bylsma

“The experience for me and the guys coming out on the field to the fans and the game, I’ve talked to a handful now after the game, and can’t rate it with any other experience that they’ve had.” – On the experience of participating in the Classic

“Great trade for sure getting that guy.  I didn’t know what to expect from Jordan tonight and what level he’d be at, but his first period was phenomenal, given the circumstances and the fact that he hasn’t played.” – On the return and play of Jordan Staal

“We’ve joked with the HBO guys that we’ll have to invite them back.  We are going to miss them.  I thought the show and it leading to the buildup to this game was a unique look, a great experience.  Showed a facet of hockey and the game and our players and both teams that I thought was fascinating to watch. I’m not going to look forward to…I guess I’ll be all right with not having a mic pasted right here all day every day” - On whether he would miss the HBO cameras and crews.

Bruce Boudreau

“We kind of like them now. I mean, we didn’t like them much at the beginning of the month, but I think everything’s worked out.” - On 24/7 being over and getting rid of the camera crews.

“And don’t let anybody fool you. It was a game that we wanted to show people that have never played hockey or watched hockey how good it could be, how exciting it could be. The passion on the guys’ faces when they scored a goal was totally genuine.” – On playing in the Classic and how special it was

Alex Ovechkin

You can see, you can hear when we score goals how many people was fans of Washington. I can see a thousand people in one spot, a thousand people upstairs, it was really unbelievable. When it was the National Anthem, and they are screaming, like it was unbelievable. And the fans support us all over the place. So it’s good.” - On what it was like to play in the Classic in front of 65,000 fans

Sidney Crosby

Coming down the tunnel, it’s a pretty amazing feeling. And playing hockey in front of that many people, it’s something that probably none of us ever dreamed of doing. It would have been nice to be on the other side of things, but it’s still a privilege to be part of that. And we had amazing support. The event was great.” – On what it was like to play in the Classic for the second time, but this one at home in Pittsburgh