3 podcasts to try if you want to get into hockey

If you’re one of the 34,000 people who put down a season ticket deposit for the Utah Hockey Club, or even if you just want to get into the game, listening to podcasts is a great way to learn about hockey.
Here are three of the best hockey podcasts out there — and no, this is not a paid promotion.
If you want to keep up with hockey, the podcast “32 Thoughts” is an absolute must-listen. The hosts are some of the most knowledgeable people in the sport and they have contextual information that’s unavailable anywhere else.
The hosts also do a great job at teaching the game to those who are less familiar with it. Their famous “Montana’s Thought Line” segment presents the chance for listeners to submit their questions and comments, many of which are answered on the show. The questions range from basic explanation requests to squabbles over small details.
Another engaging part of the show is their occasional feature interviews with people of interest in the hockey world. When rumors first surfaced of now Utah Hockey Club owner Ryan Smith meeting with NHL officials to inquire about buying a team, “32 Thoughts” hosted him and introduced him to fans. The podcast has hosted countless players, coaches, general managers and more.
“32 Thoughts” is a podcast that will make you smarter.
The podcast will change drastically as it enters its 10th season, now that former host Jeff Marek and Sportsnet, the company that produces the podcast, have parted ways. NHL insider Elliotte Friedman will remain on the show and he’ll be joined by Kyle Bukauskas.
The show operates on a biweekly basis.
Another podcast that’s sure to multiply your brain cells is “The Athletic Hockey Show.” The hosts change from episode to episode, but the project involves many of The Athletic’s hockey writers on a regular basis. These reporters are mainly beat writers who cover specific teams, so they provide lots of great information on specific topics.
This podcast covers everything from news to feature interviews to prospect rankings. It strikes the perfect balance between fun and educational.
“The Athletic Hockey Show” releases an episode every weekday, more or less.
“Spittin’ Chiclets” is not intended for children, but it’s a great listen. It’s the type of show that, when you’re listening to it with your earbuds in while walking your dog, you constantly have to suppress smiles from creeping onto your face so that your neighbors don’t think you’re crazy.
Former NHL players Ryan Whitney and Paul Bissonnette are able to break things down from the players’ perspective. They also break down the barrier that hockey players typically put between themselves and the media because most of the guests they interview are people they’ve known for a long time. It gives the public access to players’ real personalities.
The guys are joined by Brian “Rear Admiral” McGonagle, a former Boston Bruins beat reporter, who asks all the obligatory hockey questions to keep their conversations on track. RA is the glue that keeps the podcast together, though he’s currently on a temporary leave of absence.
“Spittin’ Chiclets” only airs once a week, but the episodes are usually more than three hours long, so it’ll probably take you a few days to get through each one. If you don’t have that much time, you can always skip straight to the feature interviews, where they’ve hosted Wayne Gretzky, Sidney Crosby and hundreds of others over the course of more than 500 episodes.