On location: NHL All-Star Skills Competition

It'll be part of tonight's column, Dave.

It is going to be phenomenal hockey.

Can you imagine the controversy on the U23 team or awesome matchup McDavid (U23) vs Crosby (CAN)?

I cannot wait for this.

How about the explosion of youth hockey since Lemieux came? The fact that it will continue with Crosby and Malkin being here now. My son plays now and loves the game. We have 3 rinks within 15 minutes of our house. The little Penguins outfits 1000 kids head to toe every year. Brandon Saad came from Pittsburgh. We had 3 kids in one draft from Pittsburgh go in the first round afew years back. Tickets are available and fairly reasonable, as long as you sit in the upper bowl. I could go on but something tells me you either don't care, or are just trying to be controversialz

How does growing the game benefit people like us who already love the game? That's the question I keep asking, but I can't get a good answer. For those of us who love the game, it can only be diminished if it grows (he said paradoxically).

How does it benefit us? Let's see - when I started watching hockey in the early 70s, there were 12 teams. There was much less coverage on television than there is now. There were great players - but there are more great players now than there were then because they're drawn from more areas. Specifically, more areas in the US, which means there's a better reason for improved and increased television coverage. ALL playoff games are on national TV in the US now. It was not that long ago that you could not watch playoff hockey in Pittsburgh if the Penguins weren't in the playoffs, unless you had a satellite dish.

And here's something you may not have considered - when the game was smaller, ticket prices went up, people complained about announcers, people complained about officiating...

Moreover, a growing game will draw some of the better athletes who might otherwise play other sports. And better athletes will mean a better game.