SHOWTIME!

Part hockey education.
Part show.
And, tellingly, some Calgary Flames thrown in for good measure.
"That,'' says Steve Edgar, of the Flames' game presentation team, "has been the name of the game. And it's been fun to be a part of, creating a fun experience for the fans, but also in helping teach the game, helping grow the game."
One show down, at Shenzhen Univerisade Centre on Saturday in from of 10,000-plus, and one to go, Wednesday evening at Cadillac Arena.

A Calgary crew of four - Edgar, DJ Dave Hobbs, P.A. announcer Allan Beesley and, naturally, Harvey the Hound - made the trek to China to lend their expertise to fan enjoyment at the two-stop O.R.G. NHL China Games.
"We've been able to bring a Flames' feel to it, for both games, which we're happy about,'' says Edgar. "A lot of it's the educational side of the sport. We're doing on-ice demonstrations to showcase the rules, penalties and things like that. Graphics we put on the board in the local language to explain, say, slashing.
"We're leaning on the folks here to help us with what does work in these types of sports settings or big live event while educating them on what works from a hockey side.
"The example we keep pointing to is that last year (when the L.A. Kings faced off against the Vancouver Canucks in Shanghai and Beijing ) everyone left after 40 minutes. They didn't know hockey had three periods. They thought there were two halves, like basketball.
"So now we're like: 'Hey, stick around for the third period!' Things we just obviously take for granted at home. The structure of the game, the rules, is all new to most of them. We hear people reference the ice surface as 'the court' or the puck as 'the ball.'
"So we try as best we can to help them learn how the game works, get that hockey lingo down."
Pre-flight, talking to the game-entertainment crews from the Canucks and Kings - part of the initial O.R.G. NHL China Games here a year ago - proved hugely beneficial.
"They biggest thing, obviously, is the language barrier. How do you get around that? We've been fortunate, there are a lot of folks who speak very good English but there are a few who don't speak much at all so that's when you're calling for line cues or projection cues and sometimes they don't hit when you count them in.
"So we were told to be prepared that a conversation you're having with your producer that took 30 seconds at home now might takes five minutes because you're getting into the minutia of what you're trying to say. You can't be as casual with your words as you're used to being."
As Game Two approaches, the working environment and fan reaction in Shenzhen exceeded Edgar's expectations.
"I've been pleasantly surprised,'' he says. "When you come all the way across the world to run a hockey game in China you kind of have an expectation that you'll be rolling with the punches, putting out fires.
"But, being honest, there've been way less than I thought there'd be. I'm looking forward to the crowd here in Beijing but the one in Shenzhen was great. Absolutely great. How loud they were. How they cheered at the right times, such as in the third period when the Flames were pressing, trying to tie the game, and the 6-on-3 with the goalie pulled in the final minute.
"You can see their understanding of the game has grown and we didn't have to do as much to prompt them to make noise, be loud and cheer."
The production, naturally, has been in connection with the NHL. Edgar describes the league as "the buffer zone" for the Flames people here.
"They've been working for months, along with Bloomage, the company putting on these events, to organize everything. Our purpose, really, is to come here, produce and direct the show.
"The scripting, the timing, all that, has been prepared already.
"Bloomage has been great, the NHL has been great and the locals, you can tell, are very excited to be a part of this.
"They're very welcoming, trying to make life as easy as possible for us and help us adjust.
"That just shows they really want hockey here; that they're starting to love the game. And it's an important step that we're here."