NHL boosts tech for ‘Big City Greens Classic 2’

The NHL is using puck and player tracking technology to bring the Pittsburgh Penguins and Boston Bruins into the animated world for the second “NHL Big City Greens Classic.” The game will air on ESPN+, Disney Channel, Disney XD, and Disney+ on March 9. The traditional game telecast will be available on ABC and ESPN+. Last year’s game featuring the Washington Capitals and New York Rangers showed promising results, with the data revealing a 60% female audience and hundreds of thousands of viewers who watched the full game or later watched it on demand. This year’s game will feature the NHL’s new Hawk-Eye Innovations optical tracking system in addition to the NHL Edge tracking system, providing more realistic movement for the players and valuable context for analyzing gameplay. The NHL plans to have the Hawk-Eye system installed in all 32 arenas by the start of the 2024-25 season. The “Big City Greens Classic” will also feature exaggerated elements, such as animated versions of the players and a skills competition between periods.