Does Abbotsford's success mean Malhotra will outskate the Canucks?
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In a league where your lineup is in flux nearly every night because of call-ups to the big club, where talent varies greatly from player to player — you have grinding ECHL call-ups playing alongside future NHL snipers — putting together the kind of consistency that Malhotra's team has can be elusive.
Leave no doubt: What Malhotra has done with the Baby Canucks, landing them in the final four of the American Hockey League playoffs, has drawn notice around the NHL.
Under the former Canucks centre, Abbotsford had a 13-game win streak late in the regular season, even while missing a number of the team's stars to NHL call-ups and injury. And in the playoffs, his team has only got better — after their 44-24-2-2 regular season, Malhotra's crew is 8-4 in the playoffs, having dismissed Tucson, Coachella Valley and Colorado. Game 1 of the Western Conference final against the Texas Stars begins Thursday at the Abbotsford Centre.
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Sportsnet ripped for bizarre Stanley Cup promo using AI to turn announcers into babies
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Toronto Sun
an hour ago
- Toronto Sun
Sportsnet ripped for bizarre Stanley Cup promo using AI to turn announcers in babies
'The NHL is the hardest league to play in ... and they promote it with this garbage.' Get the latest from Rob Longley straight to your inbox Sportsnet used AI to create 'baby' versions of their analysts before Game 1 of the Stanley Cup final. Pictured is Elliotte Friedman. Sportsnet/Twitter Perhaps the Sportsnet braintrust ran out of material to pump up a much-anticipated Stanley Cup final. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account Or perhaps they were sticking with the idea that lame attempts at humour were both in keeping with some of the jocularity the crew is known for and somehow endearing to a national audience awaiting the best-of-seven repeat showdown between the Florida Panthers and Edmonton Oilers. But whatever Sportsnet was thinking in using a bizarre artificial intelligence social media post seemed like a spectacularly bad idea. Unless, of course, the idea was to go the parody route to mock their own on-air talent, which seems to be the end result. If you missed it, on Wednesday afternoon, some seven hours before the emotional and much-hyped puck drop in Edmonton for the series opener, Sportsnet dropped a social media bomb on X. Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. And by 'bomb' we mean an intended promo piece that did the opposite and bombed. 'Oh Baby, the Stanley Cup Final sequel is here,' the post proclaimed, followed by a baby emoji and a trophy emoji. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. What followed, was a 66-second clip with the voices of Ron MacLean, Elliotte Friedman, Kevin Bieksa and Kelly Hrudey over AI-created characters that were — you guessed it — babies. While it may have caused the odd chuckle, an attempt at irreverence was instead immature at best. In particular, there were a couple examples of the commentators tripping over there words and another where Friedman was, shall we say, all chocked up. Mercifully, the bit didn't run in its entire on the broadcast, though a brief clip of it aired during one of the intermissions with what seems to be a sheepish reaction from some of the participants. AI-generated babies mocking your own talent? What could go wrong? Not surprisingly, the segment drew widespread criticism from fans and social media users, including former ESPN commentator Keith Olbermann who rather succinctly made his point. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'Just stop with this crap,' Olbermann posted on X. Just stop with this crap — Keith Olbermann (@KeithOlbermann) June 4, 2025 This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Other users were just as harsh in their criticism of the clip and of Sportsnet. 'This stuff is just so stupid. I'm so sick and tired of everybody thinking let's take all the trends and use them,' another user on X replied. 'Create your own trend instead. And stop using AI for this kind of stuff. Post real content.' 'Stop the AI bulls*** please. Your normal hosts are bad enough,' a third user wrote. 'This is pathetic. Nobody asked for this. They can do 100 different broadcasts and this is what it boils down to?' one user on Reddit wrote. 'The NHL is the hardest league to play in … and they promote it with this garbage.' Read More Columnists NHL Columnists Columnists Toronto & GTA
CBC
an hour ago
- CBC
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