Wray Morrison: Saturday night's alright

Branding is a popular buzz word, too popular in my mind. I was thinking about branding during the season’s first Saturday telecast of Hockey Night in Canada on the weekend. As the heavily run television promos suggest, “Saturday night is hockey night.”

In the name of branding, Rogers has made some well publicized corrections, in this, the third year of their nation-wide television agreement with the National Hockey League.
Thirty years after his first Hockey Night in Canada broadcast, Ron MacLean made his return as the main Saturday night host after a two-year absence. Who better to connect the dots of a Johnny Bower number retirement with an Auston Matthews home opener than MacLean?

“After Hours” with Scott Oake following the Saturday night doubleheaders has also returned. It was a popular segment before Rogers took over two years ago. Why it was removed, who knows.

Hockey Night in Canada is perhaps the biggest brand in Canada. There was no need for Rogers to over think this.