“We’re very excited on a number of fronts,” NHL SVP of Marketing & Innovation Casey Hall said. “It’s exciting to us to see the technology that we have so heavily invested in and developed over the last number of years begin to come to life, and to come to life in different ways. To see these animated data visualizations that we’re doing with not just Nashville, but a few other clubs, finding ways to present the game in a different way to new audiences, and young audiences that we want to reach and connect with around the game is really exciting… It’s all really encouraging to us at the League level about the future potential for both animated content, as well as just the underlying EDGE technology in the puck and player technology and what else we’ll be able to ultimately develop off of it to better serve fans.”
The puck and player tracking elements the NHL has implemented in recent years is paramount in being able to take what’s happening in a live game and simultaneously turn it into an animated form.
According to Hall, the system, which includes a chip in the puck and a chip in each player’s jersey, records approximately 12 to 50 pings per second from each chip. That allows for the ingestion of positional data for each player and the puck on the ice.
Additionally, the optical data system now includes approximately 12 to 15 different cameras in each NHL arena, which allow for capturing of things like stick movements and skeletal movements of players, which in turn delivers more accurate movement in an animated form.
Put it all together, and the final product is simply something that must be seen to be believed.
“It’s incredible how realistic it is,” Herz said. “It’s not supposed to look like it’s a real game, sure, but it is a real game. And it’s unbelievable how much it looks like a real hockey game going on in the animated world. I can’t say enough about how cool it’s going to be.”
While the broadcast is going on, the animated program will also feature appearances from Predators players answering questions about hockey, teamwork, music and other topics. Plus, Gnash will be all over an animated Lower Broadway in downtown Nashville with surprise appearances and local flavor that will showcase Music City like never before.
For example, a recent trailer released on social media of the event showed Gnash fishing items – like a scooter and goalposts – out of the Cumberland River.
“There’s going to be funny stuff for adults in there, too,” Herz said. “The whole family’s going to love it. Everybody’s going to love it.”
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