NHL State of League address to be interpreted in American Sign Language

Brice Christianson has been studying up on hockey jargon to be ready in case Commissioner Gary Bettman uses phrases like "face-off," "five-hole" or "one-timer" in his State of the League address.

Commissioner Bettman's address before Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final between the Colorado Avalanche and Tampa Bay Lightning in Denver on Wednesday (8 p.m. ET; ESPN+, ABC, CBC, SN, TVAS) will be interpreted by Christianson in American Sign Language (ASL) for the first time as part of the NHL's effort to improve the hockey experience for deaf and hard of hearing fans.
"I invest a lot of time into prepping and practicing so I've been watching a lot of the NHL playoffs," said Christianson, founder, CEO and professional sports interpreter of P-X-P, a firm that cultivates accessible and inclusive experiences in sports and entertainment. "So I've been watching a lot of the NHL playoffs. I've been practicing while I watch interviews, play-by-play commentary, and any terminology that I'm unfamiliar with, I research it, break it down."
Christianson and Jason Altmann, P-X-P's chief operating officer, said they're excited about the possibilities for hockey and the sports world from their advising the NHL on authentic, meaningful, engagement with the deaf community over the airwaves, online and in arenas.
"There's a lot of things that we overlook in terms of play-by-play commentary or color commentary," Altmann, who is deaf, said using ASL. "It's inaccessible, so how do deaf and hard of hearing fans keep up with the game? Also, like public service announcements (in arenas), for example, inclement weather, fire…deaf and hard of hearing fans are in the dark."

About 30 million Americans over age 12 have hearing loss in both ears and about two to three out of every 1,000 children in the U.S. are born with a detectable level of hearing loss in one or both ears, according to the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders.
There's an estimated 357,000 people in Canada who are culturally deaf and 3.21 million who are hard of hearing, according to the Canadian Association of the Deaf.
For those who are sports fans, following a game or their favorite teams isn't easy. Christianson can attest to that. Growing up in Appleton, Wisconsin, he interpreted the action at sporting events for his father, who is deaf.
"I was a kid and had limited knowledge of English and American Sign Language -- I had a child's grasp of the language," said Christianson, who later earned a bachelor's degree in sign language interpreting from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. "However, I could listen and parse out what I felt was important for my father to know. I don't know if I did the job correctly, but what I did know was cueing my father with the surroundings, making him feel welcome and included."
While he was happy to interpret, Christianson felt as he got older that it would be more ideal if certified ASL interpreters could work with deaf and hard of hearing fans rather than having them rely on a child or other family members.
"I didn't realize that in 25 or 30 years that I'd be taking professional sports and interpreting into a bona fide profession," he said.

Christianson had been working as an ASL interpreter for concerts and events at Milwaukee's Fiserv Forum in 2019 and merged sports and interpreting when he asked for and got permission to interpret postgame news conferences of Mike Budenholzer, coach of the Milwaukee Bucks of National Basketball Association.
Christianson's work with the Bucks came to the attention of the NHL when Kieran Nulty, who was the team's vice president of arena experience, mentioned him to Melissa Parnagian, NHL manager of growth strategies for social impact and legislative affairs.
That led to discussions and meetings between Christianson and Altmann and NHL officials throughout the fall and winter of 2021. Christianson had already gotten his first taste of interpreting hockey in January 2021 when he worked an online event with Seattle Kraken broadcasters John Forslund and Everett Fitzhugh.
Seattle invited him back to interpret their online "Conversation About Black History & Hockey with the Seattle Kraken" during Black History Month in February.
"It was a wonderful experience because it went from the Bucks to the Kraken, and now the NHL," Christianson said. "It's these stepping-stones that I used to think that I was lucky to be here and now, with all these experiences and with Jason, 'We belong here' is really our mindset."
Altmann said he looks forward to seeing the NHL and hockey world taking that mindset further.
"Having fans who are deaf and hard of hearing in commercials and other promotions, having lived representation and showing that the current population of the NHL fan base is diverse," Altmann said. "That's something that I think would be really great to see."