Alison Lukan is an American ice hockey broadcaster and sportswriter. She is currently an analyst on Root Sports Northwest for the Seattle Kraken. Lukan has previously written for The Athletic about the Columbus Blue Jackets and about Ohio State Buckeyes men's and women's hockey. She contributes "Analytics with Alison" articles for the Kraken for the National Hockey League's official website.
Lukan grew up in Columbus, Ohio. [1] She attended the University of Richmond, where she received a bachelor's degree in 1996 from the Jepson School of Leadership Studies. [2] For two years, she performed as the mascot of the Richmond Spiders. [3]
Lukan has worked for Fox Sports Ohio. [1] She joined The Athletic in 2017 to cover the Columbus Blue Jackets. She gained attention for her technically savvy approach to sports analytics, including attendance at hockey analytics conferences and teaching herself R. [4] She organized the Columbus Blue Jackets Hockey Analytics Conference and has been nicknamed the "analytics queen" for being one of the few visible women in her profession. [5] She has co-hosted Too Many Men, [6] a women-run podcast about hockey. [1] since February 2020 [7]
Lukan joined the Seattle Kraken's broadcast team for its inaugural season. She writes articles for the team's official website, provides analysis on the radio, and presents data visualizations on Root Sports Northwest's coverage during pre-game, intermission, and post-game segments. [8] For road games starting on March 5, 2022, she joined John Forslund as an analyst in the television broadcast booth for the Kraken while primary analyst J. T. Brown was in COVID-19 protocols. [9] [8]
The Kraken announced in August 2022 that Lukan would return to the broadcast team during the 2022–23 season. [8]
The Columbus Blue Jackets are a professional ice hockey team based in Columbus, Ohio. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference, and began play as an expansion team in 2000.
Edward Walter Olczyk Jr. is an American former center in the National Hockey League for 16 seasons with the Chicago Blackhawks, Toronto Maple Leafs, Winnipeg Jets, New York Rangers, Los Angeles Kings, and Pittsburgh Penguins. He won the Stanley Cup with the Rangers in 1994. Olczyk was also the head coach of the Pittsburgh Penguins from June 2003 to December 2005.
Brian Boucher is an American former professional ice hockey goaltender who is a game analyst on national TNT games and also Philadelphia Flyers games on NBC Sports Philadelphia. He played 13 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Philadelphia Flyers, Phoenix Coyotes, Calgary Flames, Chicago Blackhawks, Columbus Blue Jackets, San Jose Sharks, and Carolina Hurricanes.
The Chicago Steel are members of the United States Hockey League, joining the league in 2000. The Steel have played their home games at Fox Valley Ice Arena in Geneva, Illinois, since 2015; previously, the team played at Edge Ice Arena in Bensenville, Illinois, from 2000 to 2015.
Jody Shelley is a Canadian former professional ice hockey left winger. During his National Hockey League (NHL) career he played for the Columbus Blue Jackets, San Jose Sharks, New York Rangers and the Philadelphia Flyers.
Root Sports Northwest, sometimes branded simply as Root Sports, is an American regional sports network owned by the Seattle Mariners. Headquartered near Seattle in the city of Bellevue, Washington, the channel broadcasts regional coverage of sports events throughout the Pacific Northwest, with a focus on professional sports teams based in Seattle and Portland. It is available on cable providers throughout Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, and Alaska and nationwide on satellite via DirecTV.
John Forslund is an American sports announcer who is the television play-by-play announcer of the Seattle Kraken. He had previously filled the same role for the Carolina Hurricanes and was with the team since 1991 and called games from 1995 to 2020.
Alexander Wennberg is a Swedish professional ice hockey player for the Seattle Kraken of the National Hockey League (NHL). He previously played for the Columbus Blue Jackets and Florida Panthers. He was drafted by the Blue Jackets in the first round, 14th overall, of the 2013 NHL Entry Draft. Before joining the NHL, Wennberg played professionally in the Swedish Hockey League.
Boone Jenner is a Canadian professional ice hockey player and captain of the Columbus Blue Jackets of the National Hockey League (NHL).
Oliver Bjorkstrand is a Danish professional ice hockey forward for the Seattle Kraken of the National Hockey League (NHL). Bjorkstrand was selected by the Columbus Blue Jackets in the third round, 89th overall, of the 2013 NHL Entry Draft. Bjorkstrand is the son of American hockey coach Todd and the brother of Patrick.
The Seattle Kraken are a professional ice hockey team based in Seattle. The Kraken compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference and began play during the league's 2021–22 season. They play their home games at Climate Pledge Arena.
Andrew Phillip Peeke is an American professional ice hockey defenseman who is currently playing for the Columbus Blue Jackets of the National Hockey League (NHL). Peeke was selected 34th overall by the Blue Jackets in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft.
The 2021–22 NHL season was the 105th season of operation of the National Hockey League (NHL). The league expanded to 32 teams with the addition of the Seattle Kraken. The league had an October-to-April regular season scheduling and a full 82-game regular season for the first time since the 2018–19 NHL season as the previous two NHL seasons were shortened due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The season began on October 12.
Meghan Chayka is a Canadian data scientist and co-founder of the ice hockey analytics firm Stathletes.
Alexandra Mandrycky is a data scientist and current Assistant General Manager for the Seattle Kraken of the National Hockey League.
NBC Sports's deal with the National Hockey League for U.S. television rights ran through the 2020–21 season, and was replaced in 2021–22 by seven-year agreements with ESPN and TNT to split coverage.
Daniil Vadimovich Tarasov is a Russian professional ice hockey goaltender for the Columbus Blue Jackets in the National Hockey League (NHL). He was drafted 86th overall by the Columbus Blue Jackets in the third round of the 2017 NHL Entry Draft.
Carson Meyer is an American professional ice hockey right winger for the Cleveland Monsters of the American Hockey League (AHL) as a prospect to the Columbus Blue Jackets of the National Hockey League (NHL). The Blue Jackets selected him in the sixth round, 179th overall, of the 2017 NHL Entry Draft. He previously played college ice hockey for the Miami RedHawks and Ohio State Buckeyes.
Nick Olczyk is an American sports analyst for the Seattle Kraken. He previously worked as a broadcaster for the Chicago Blackhawks and for the Indy Fuel, their minor-league affiliate.