NEW YORK – The National Hockey League (NHL) and P-X-P announced today that NHL in ASL, an alternate telecast dedicated completely to the Deaf community using American Sign Language (ASL), will be returning for season two, beginning with the Discover NHL Winter Classic® on December 31 between the Chicago Blackhawks and St. Louis Blues – marking the first time the NHL Winter Classic will be broadcast in ASL.
NHL in ASL, which will be presented for the first time by Scotiabank in Canada, will feature Deaf commentators providing real-time coverage of play-by-play and color commentary in ASL of the NHL Winter Classic. The telecast will be exclusively available to stream on Max in the U.S. and on Sportsnet+ in Canada.
“Building off the tremendous success of our groundbreaking NHL in ASL broadcast for the 2024 Stanley Cup Final, we are proud to continue to demonstrate the League’s commitment to providing a fully immersive and accessible viewing experience that specifically meets the needs of the Deaf community for our Legacy events as well, starting for the first time with this year’s NHL Winter Classic,” said Steve Mayer, President, NHL Content and Events. “This is an NHL-led production for the Deaf by the Deaf, and we encourage all fans watching at home to tune-in to experience this special telecast.”
The telecast will once again feature Jason Altmann, Chief Operating Officer of P-X-P, and Noah Blankenship, of Denver, CO. Altmann is a proud third generation Deaf from Wisconsin with more than 20 years experience leading teams who serve people with disabilities, and working with others in creating an accessible, equitable, and inclusive environments. Blankenship currently works at the Office of Deaf and Hard of Hearing Services nested within the Agency for Human Rights and Community Partnerships, under the City and County of Denver.
“The continued partnership between P-X-P and NHL reflects the tremendous success we experienced with the inaugural Stanley Cup Final NHL in ASL, and the significant value of delivering an accessible and inclusive product to the more than 33 million Deaf people in the United States and Canada,” said Altmann. “The NHL continues to be a sports industry pioneer for Deaf inclusion and accessibility and I am honored to be part of this game-changing initiative."
Similar to the 2024 Stanley Cup Final, broadcasters will provide ASL visual descriptions of major impact plays, like goals and hits, as well as referee calls and rule explanations to clarify decisions made on the ice. Graphic visualizations will include a large, metered, real-time bar that demonstrates crowd noise levels to viewers, specifically around certain events like goals and penalties. Also included will be custom visual emotes to depict goals, penalties, the intensity of a hit, and whether a puck hits the post/crossbar. There will also be custom emojis and other creative elements to showcase that the broadcast is taking place on New Year’s Eve.
In addition, during the 2024-25 season the NHL has been producing weekly highlight reels in ASL featuring the top goals from each week. In the lead up to the NHL Winter Classic, the League will produce ASL-friendly highlight reels of some of the top moments from past NHL Winter Classic games. Fans can find these weekly highlight packages here: https://www.nhl.com/video/topic/nhl-in-asl/
For more information and news about future NHL in ASL content, please visit: https://www.nhl.com/fans/nhl-in-asl
