I’ll kick off the site’s first-ever “Trusted Journalist” review by writing about someone who has come into my hockey sphere only in the last few months as the 2017-18 regular season was coming to an end and teams were either heading for the golf course or gearing up for a postseason run.
Meet the writer
Greg Wyshynski (I have to look up the spelling every time, sorry Greg) is a Senior NHL Writer at ESPN and self-proclaimed “former Puck Daddy” in a reference to his previous place of employment.
As one of the top hockey writers at ESPN, Greg bounces around from city to city covering an array of stories across the National Hockey League. He chats with players, coaches, front office personnel, and even the occasional fan or two, when crafting his genius, and it makes for some of the best hockey content there is to be read.
Why he’s great
I’d say the selling point for me with Greg’s work is that he does a really great job of being a professional, while also maintaining a humorous side that may get him into occasional hot water with a franchise or two *disclaimer Florida Panthers fans*. So often professional writers are afraid to crack a joke because of the potential backlash their comments may receive. However, these same people often fail to realize that a little comedy might make them a more appealing person to follow.
While, don’t get me wrong, some people go absolutely overboard and deserve the criticism they generate from their remarks. For others, poking fun might not be their thing, and they would rather stick to a serious approach 24/7. But I think Greg walks a fine line between the two personalities. He is part of two separate podcasts that illustrate this point well, one that is affiliated with ESPN (the professional side) and the other is independent (where you are inclined to find more humor and profanity). I plan on reviewing both of these podcasts in the near future and will update this post with the links to those articles at that time, so stay tuned.
I was stuck choosing between two people that I wanted to write this inaugural post about, and thought that if I chose one, I would be obligated to cover the other shortly after. Greg does an incredible job at ESPN, but this review would be incomplete without mentioning his partner in crime at the site, Emily Kaplan.
While I plan on writing about Emily in a separate post, she should be mentioned here as well as a major contributor to ESPN’s hockey coverage. For years ESPN has faced criticism for its tendency to cater towards the other three major professional sports leagues in the U.S., often leaving hockey as an afterthought. It gives me, a self-proclaimed ESPN skeptic, great joy to be able to write recommendations on not one, but two ESPN writers, who both represent the hockey world well on a site that is often overlooked for its hockey content.
Where to find him
As will be the trend with journalists to come, I will simply share a link to Greg’s twitter (@wyshynski), where you can go to find all of his latest content. If you don’t have twitter (which you should, its a really great tool for following hockey writers) then simply go to ESPN’s website and head over to the hockey section to get started.
All in all, I highly suggest taking a look at Greg’s stuff, and make sure you stick around as I dive deeper into his content with upcoming posts, and put together a feature on Emily as well.
UPDATE:
I wrote that post on Emily and you can check it out here!
