Through Will's Eyes: Detroit, Michigan

MOTOWN WAS A DELIGHT

Hey all! Hope you had a great weekend. As you probably saw we went to Detroit for an awesome weekend full of hockey. Let’s get into it!

Thursday, March 14th

We got up and met for the airport at the office at 6:30am. Our flight was at 8:50am out of MSP so we got their with a good two hours to spare. I love getting to the airport early in the mornings (this time of day, not 4am time.. that blows). It is super nice finding a little corner to hideaway and dive into the laptop. Sure sometimes I like to walk around the airport and see how far I can walk lol but usually I spend my time at the airport on Gmail, my lifeline.

Our flight was delayed about half an hour which wasn’t too big of a deal as the flight to Detroit is quick and easy from Minneapolis. After the bumpy flight (some rain in wind in Detroit) we headed to the hotel. Our hotel was FLOODED with high schoolers. Their was a massive DECA conference being held and it seemed as if all high schoolers in Michigan were in our 6 floor hotel… It was intimidating being in the elevator alone with 5+ of them. Damn kids…

After we got to the hotel we grabbed some lunch, worked out, and did some work. We caught the 4th episode of Behind the Line, and then went to dinner at Buddy’s! We were recommended to go to Buddy’s for some pizza and it did not disappoint! Detroit style pizza is unique as it is not thick, but not thin crust. Right in the middle. And it rocks! After stuffing ourself with pizza, we went back to the hotel and called it a night.

Friday, March 15th

Friday was a doozy! The boys were up and at it nice and early, some earlier than others, to attack the day. I walked and got a coffee at about 7am as my body was still in central time and I don’t acclimate well in less than a day.

We headed over to Little Caesar’s Arena, home of the Detroit Red Wings at 8:30 as we were filming content with PWHL Boston all morning!

We had different groups of players come thru the content “gauntlet” for about 4 hours. It was so fun being able to work with these women and surreal to work with the best of the best in hockey. They were so fun to do videos with and were really open to everything. It was a pleasure to be able to be with them and make some great videos.

After filming, we went back to the hotel for a couple of hours to prepare for a monster of an interview we got lined up that day. Hilary Knight, USA Hockey legend and PWHL Boston forward, was coming on the Fan Club Pod and we were pumped! Hilary is a living legend in the sport and an amazing ambassador for the sport.

The podcast went really well and we had so much fun getting to know her. I can’t wait for you all to to hear it on Monday.

After the interview we grabbed some dinner and enjoyed ourselves. We went to the infamous Tin Roof for some live music and had fun celebrating a successful day!

Saturday March 16th

Saturday was for sure one of the most fun days in THG history. Our first doubleheader. At 12:30pm, the Red Wings were taking on the Buffalo Sabres in a matinee event at LCA. Little Caesar’s Arena is one of the most beautiful arenas in the league and a pleasure catching a game there. We connected with the Red Wings social team and they were kind enough to get us not only 5 tickets, but 5 tickets in the Legends Club… an all inclusive food and drink spot behind one of the nets in the arena. Seriously one of the best spots if not the best spot to watch a game in all the games we have seen. Terrific atmosphere in LCA as well as the Wings snapped a losing streak with a big win. It is also always fun to see USA hockey legend Patrick Kane play live so being able to see him score was terrific too.

Between games we went outside to walk around a bit before it started pouring rain on us.

After getting soaked from the cold rain we went back to LCA for the PWHL Boston v. Ottawa game! Our seats were in the press box for this one and it was a blast watching from up there. The game actually even broke the US attendance record for women’s hockey. I would say it was a successful event and exciting game as PWHL Boston won in a shootout!

Seeing all the young girls come out to support hockey gave me a feeling of appreciation and excitement for the league and all the young fans. I realized that as a male and growing up and playing hockey while watching the NHL every night I was spoiled! I got to see my idols on TV every night playing the same game that I play but of course as I was growing up I never thought about it from a young female’s perspective. I am the oldest of three boys who played hockey, we never had a doubt to if we could watch and be entertained from hockey.

Seeing all the girls so excited to watch their heros play in person was surreal and emotional. I even texted Sam something about how excited I’d be to bring our daughter to a PWHL game one day. But enough with me being sappy. The PWHL is doing something right and it continues to prove it. A true honor to be a part of the special evening in Detroit. If you have not been yet, this is your sign to go to a PWHL game this season! The season is almost over so be sure to get out there and catch a game!

Detroit is a pretty cool place to visit. I am super bias as Minnesota and Michigan like to battle in hockey but I gotta give Detroit a ton of credit for being “Hockeytown”. Tons of NHL History their and hope to see the Wings become legendary again as they used to be.

Thank you to all of you THG fans who came and said hello in Detroit we appreciate you all! Have an amazing week everybody!!!

-WB