Snoop Dogg discusses interest in Senators, lays out plan for youth hockey league

Legendary rapper Snoop Dogg is the latest celebrity to show interest in selling the Ottawa Senators, in his case as part of what could be a diverse ownership group headed by Los Angeles-based entrepreneur Neko Sparks. As evidenced by his appearance on Tuesday’s episode of ESPNs First Take, the iconic musicians’ vision of growing the sport’s demographic might be the most interesting part.

Speaking with Stephen A. Smith during that appearance, the 51-year-old touched on a possible Snoop Youth Hockey League, following in the footsteps of his Snoop Youth Football League.

Kids need to know there’s an opportunity to play hockey if you look like me, Snoop Dogg said of the sport’s need to increase participation.

Athletics Ian Mendes was introduced how Snoop Dogg can become a presence at Senators games, just like he has with the Los Angeles Kings. Maybe he could provide a play-by-play like he has in the past?

Talking to Smith about his connection to hockey that dates back to wearing a Pittsburgh Penguins jersey. in the 1994 music video for Gin and Juice, Snoop Dogg stated that he rocks this one because Moby Dick was a goldfish.

One big takeaway from that interview is maybe his connection to the sport can grow even if Snoop and Sparks’ ownership group fails.

While there are remarks about attending Senators home games, much of Snoop Doggs pitch is not really Ottawa related. In fact, his most intriguing idea, the Snoop Youth Hockey League, would operate in the United States instead of Canada. Although you can show sports to grow its audience with younger viewers and womenThe NHL and other parties have the task of proving that hockey is for everyone.

Smith strongly emphasized that participation is important, and easing the costs of the sport is a huge hurdle. By some measures, hockey can be the most expensive of the children’s sports and costs parents over $2,500 a year.

Whether or not Snoop Dogg owns some of the Senators, it would be a game changer if he or anyone else could dramatically increase access to all kinds of backgrounds.