Column: Not watching hockey? You should be.

Anyone who claims that hockey is boring did not watch Sunday’s Olympic game between the United States and Canada. This matchup exemplified the great qualities of hockey, as the back-and-forth contest was both hard-hitting and full of finesse. Featuring several amazing goals and one hugely impressive performance by American goalie Ryan Miller, the game stayed exciting until the end, with the American team upsetting the Canadians 5-3.

It’s hard for me to understand the animosity against hockey that is common in the United States, as I grew up an avid hockey fan from a young age. Despite what many may say, hockey is fast-paced and exciting, and the post-lockout rules have bolstered those qualities. Unlike in basketball, where close games devolve into free-throw shooting contests in the final minutes, the end of a close hockey game is one of the most intense moments in professional sports. The all-or-nothing gamble of pulling the goaltender is extremely fun to watch, as shown in Sunday’s game. For the last few minutes of the game, the Canadians peppered Miller, who managed to stave off their onslaught long enough for Ryan Kesler to secure the win by making an amazing one-handed, diving, empty-net goal.

It is games like this that attract people to hockey, which I think is primed for a resurgence in the next few years.

The NHL hit rock bottom after the 2004–05 lockout, but the recent influx of young talent, along with the post-lockout rule changes, have made the game much more fun to watch.

I will freely admit that the neutral-zone trap that became popular in the late 1990s and early 2000s is not fun to watch, but offense has become more prominent since the end of the lockout, increasing excitement during games.

Along with the rule changes, the development of high-definition television has made hockey much easier to watch and comprehend.

In my opinion, HDTV has done more for hockey than for any of the other major professional sports.

The wide angle shows viewers much more of the action, allowing plays to be seen as they develop.

More importantly, though, HDTV makes the puck easy to follow.

This was no easy task on a standard-definition TV, and I believe this was the major problem with hockey broadcasts. Unless you really trained your eyes to follow the tiny puck, it was very frustrating to watch a game.

This was one of the biggest reasons for hockey’s unpopularity. Fox attempted to introduce the FoxTrax puck that generated a trail on viewers’ TV screens, much to the chagrin of many hardcore hockey fans. HDTV resolves this problem without angering the purist puckheads.

Unfortunately, most people cannot watch hockey in HD because they don’t get the Versus network on their cable or satellite packages.

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Unlike ESPN or other sports networks, Versus is usually not on the basic cable tier that many Americans get.

It is also well documented that ESPN, and especially its flagship program SportsCenter, have continually decreased their hockey coverage in recent years.

ESPN is so dominant that many get all their sports news from the network, and, combined with the limited market penetration of Versus, it is easy to see why hockey’s publicity is so limited. Here are my quick ideas for fixing and improving the NHL’s reputation:

1. Keep NHL players in the Olympics. Games like Sunday’s matchup are the very best that hockey has to offer. The best advertisement for the NHL and hockey are exciting games like Sunday’s.

Even those who bash hockey cannot deny that Sunday’s game was a thrill to watch. The league can afford to take two weeks off every four years to put on a show in the Olympics. Besides, the Olympics bring in a casual audience attracted to rooting for Team USA that the NHL should capitalize on.

2. Get a better TV contract. The NHL was essentially forced into the Versus contract after the catastrophic lockout, but this does not mean that it has to stick with such an inferior network.

As much as it pains the Flyers fan in me to say it, exciting young players such as Sidney Crosby and Alexander Ovechkin are fun to watch and could bring in a new audience.

Despite ESPN’s poor treatment of hockey in recent years, it is still preferable to Versus. When the NHL’s TV contract is up after the 2010–11 season, it must find a better flagship network.

3. Move struggling southern teams back north. While it is true that warm-weather teams such as the San Jose Sharks have found success in non-traditional hockey areas, the NHL should not hesitate to return to the North.

Hockey is much more popular in cold-weather cities and will never be as popular in the south as it is in the north. For this reason, the league’s takeover of the Phoenix Coyotes — which kept the team from moving north to Ontario — was a blunder. It does not appear that any hockey team will be successful in that market. The NHL should not attempt to force it.

If you need any more convincing, check out the rest of the Olympic hockey tournament, which should be just as exciting as Sunday’s game.