NHL TAKES ESPORTS ON ICE WITH GAMING TOURNAMENT

As Patrik Laine climbed the ranks of youth hockey in Finland, he learned about the NHL from video games.

“I learned probably just about the players,” the Winnipeg Jets star said. “Nowadays it’s super realistic, and you can just pretty much see how everybody is playing and how good they are.”

It’s about to get even more real with the NHL following the lead of the NBA, NFL, FIFA and other leagues in establishing a presence in a burgeoning“You’re really both tapping into and expanding the existing fan base of the game,” said NBC Sports executive Rob Simmelkjaer, who got his introduction to hockey from playing “NHL 94” on Sega Genesis. “I think that’s something that the NHL can benefit from by putting esports front and center in the way that they market their sport.”