Colorado Avalanche Not Utilizing Landeskog
Colorado Avalanche left wing Gabriel Landeskog is in the top-six for Avs forwards. He averages around 18 minutes a game, which is a lot for a forward (center Matt Duchene‘s average TOI is similar). Landeskog typically plays on the power play and occasionally on the penalty kill.
No, it’s not head coach Patrick Roy who is under-utilizing Gabriel Landeskog. It’s Colorado Avalanche public relations who haven’t been using Landy to best advantage. See, the Colorado Avalanche captain has a secret weapon — he’s extraordinarily attractive.
Bear with me — this is going to return to hockey.
Not So Secret Weapon
There’s no secret that Gabriel Landeskog is good-looking in the most classical sense. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
Gabriel Landeskog’s attractiveness is not so secret, actually. You don’t have to be attracted to men to know that square, symmetrical facial features on a blue-eyed blond in excellent physical fitness herald a handsome man.
Rather, it’s that “pure” hockey fans don’t want to consider a player’s looks. Male hockey fans don’t want to hear about it (though they have no problem commented on the attractiveness of the Ice Girls, but that’s a matter for another post). Female hockey fans don’t want to be labeled “puck bunnies,” so we don’t mention it.
I fully acknowledge Landeskog’s looks have nothing to do with his hockey ability — they have nothing to do with the game at all. I’m arguing strictly from a marketing perspective, and the Colorado Avalanche need some help in that area.
Sex Sells
Marketers know sex sells — and Gabriel Landeskog is sexy. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
We’ve all heard that sex sells — indeed, it’s pretty much a cliche by now.
Watch commercials for male-centric products such as beer or enormous hamburgers at Carl’s Junior. Typically such advertisements feature very beautiful women who are not the target audience — you don’t keep that kind of figure eating hamburgers and drinking beer. The point of such commercials is to attract men, to make them think positively about the displayed product. Presumably that’s the rationale for using the Ice Girls to “shovel” snow during breaks.
Hockey is still a sport with more male than female fans — between 60 to 70 percent male, depending on the market, though Canada’s split nearly down the middle gender-wise. Is that because women don’t appreciate rough games? Of course not — attend a football game, and you see plenty of female fans.
The problem is that not a lot of hockey markets are directly targeting female sports fans. The Chicago Blackhawks are one team that are marketing directly to women, and they’re one of the franchises that feature a female fandom of 40 percent. This despite the fact their most popular stars, Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane, are nowhere near Gabriel Landeskog on the attractiveness scale.
The Necessity for Landy’s Services
An already sparse crowd leaves the Pepsi Center before the end of the Colorado Avalanche vs Nashville Predators game. Photo credit: Nadia Archuleta
The Colorado Avalanche are not having a great season. Hell, they’re not even having a good season. A lot of the Avs Nation is über-disappointed, to say the least. Indeed, at the Avalanche-Nashville Predators game, attendance was expected to be only 11,000, but the Pepsi Center looked to be holding only about 8,000 spectators. And the Predators are a division rival.
At that same game, I was working security at the gate. As we were waiting for the gates to open, I heard a young woman remark to her friend, “Oh, look, my boyfriend’s on TV.” I turned around, but I already knew what I’d see — Landeskog being interviewed on television.
See, the Avalanche need to fill Pepsi Center. And here’s the thing about women — we tend not to do things alone. We bring our friends, we bring our families. And we shop while we’re at an event. Why on earth wouldn’t the Avalanche want to capitalize on that revenue stream?
It doesn’t matter if it’s puck bunnies or die-hard hockey fans in the stands, as long as they’re cheering. Besides, just because you’re a puck bunny doesn’t mean you can’t actually appreciate the sport while you’re watching for your heartthrob on skates.
Gabriel Landeskog’s Willingness
I’m not suggesting the Avalanche public relations pimp out our captain. Rather, I’m pointing out that Landy is well aware of how good-looking he is — and he likes the attention.
Indeed, when showing up for Media Day pictures, a reporter remarked that Landy already had his “playoff beard.” Landeskog laughed and admitted, “I wanted to look good for the pictures.” During last year’s Mile High Dreams Gala Jamie McGinn tried to tease Landeskog about his “perfect” hair. Landeskog retorted, “I have the most beautiful hair. My lips are beautiful, too.” For Halloween one year he was Poison Ivy, “A sexier, more broad-shouldered Poison Ivy.”
Gabriel Landeskog succeeded in looking good for his Media Day pictures, as evidenced in photographer John Leyba’s tweet:
@GabeLandeskog92 during media day at #pepsicenter @AvsPR @MikeChambers #hockey pic.twitter.com/EESWpF6m1P
— John Leyba 📸 (@Presto89) September 18, 2014
https://twitter.com/Presto89/status/512685496682561536/photo/1
In another man, such commentary might be distasteful. However, Landeskog does have an actual secret weapon — his charisma. He’s a born leader, and no matter how outrageous he’s being, he just doesn’t come across as full of himself. Or maybe he is — it’s just that we’re full of him, too.
How to “Use” Landeskog
Gabriel Landeskog cleans up well. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports
I cannot figure out why Gabriel Landeskog’s handsome visage is not plastered across this city. I love the Avalanche’s hockey-styled billboards, but then I love hockey and the Avalanche. I’m not their target market because I’m already a fan.
The point is to generate new fans. So, show how attractive hockey players can be. Women probably don’t realize — it’s awful hard to see past those visors, and the pads and uniforms do a great job of hiding the figures.
Women aren’t motivated by looks alone, though. Women are people people. We like to know about the person — why do you think we enjoy talking so much? While radio interviews are fine, Landeskog really should be utilized for video features. (Actually, Avalanche P.R. hit it well last year when they featured him, shirtless, in the Avs New Age video.)
I know Landy’s busy, but a few signings would go a long way. He’s renowned for being willing to sign autographs and take pictures after practice or even games. Why not make it an official, advertised event? Host a Broncos watch party in which Landy serves as announcer. Have him show up at the next grand opening of… anything, especially if it appeals to women. Heck, his tweet about feeling awkward at Sephora went viral over the summer — imagine if he did a signing at said store!
Final Arguments
The competitive nature of Colorado Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog isn’t going to change if his looks are also highlighted. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports
The powers that be in the hockey world typically want to let the sport sell itself. I highly agree that hockey is an exciting sport played by the most gifted and talented athletes in pro sports. I love the strategy, the speed, the aggression and the occasional hilarity of men falling over.
However, I first became a hockey fan, too many years ago to mention, because I though Jaromir Jagr was cute.
So, to keep my promise, I’ll return to hockey. It’d be great if the Avalanche were living up to their potential and having a winning, even Cup-contending season. They are not, though, so that’s not a selling point for revenue generation.
We do, however, have a charismatic, handsome captain with a knack for attracting people to his sphere of influence. That is how Gabriel Landeskog can help his team off the ice and out of the locker room — by generating a bigger fan base of eventual hockey converts.