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Global synthetic ice ad OCTOBER 2023 USAHOCKEYMAGAZINE.COM // 39 Kaplan then went on to pursue sports journalism at Penn State University. While her friends spent their summers vacationing, Kaplan could be found in media scrums at Fenway Park as an intern for the Boston Globe and Sports Illustrated. ESPN brought Kaplan on board as a writer in 2017 after she had a three-year stint at Sports Illustrated. Kaplan, who also had bylines for the Associated Press and Philadelphia Inquirer, was then eager to try her hand at broadcasting and help grow the game on television when ESPN struck a media rights deal with the NHL in 2021. "My role is to take the opportunities I get and bring the audi- ence as close to the game as possible," Kaplan said. "We know it's not always the most accessible sport, it's not always the most popular sport, but once you get to experience it, you appreciate it and fall in love with it." Kaplan credits her success as a rink reporter to her strong writing background that gives her the ability to quickly self-edit and pick out the most compelling information to share. However, being on national TV can also bring waves of criti- cism, and Kaplan admitted to having to develop thick skin. "The first year I was on TV regularly as a part of NHL broad- casts, I was taken aback by how many people wanted to voice their opinions," said Kaplan. Kaplan learned that even if people have things to say about her, she doesn't have to listen. Instead, she focused on building relationships and earning the respect of her peers at the arena and in the game. The key is being a great storyteller, and Kaplan hopes her career will help inspire other young women looking to break into sports journalism. "If we're going to grow this sport, we're going to need to wel- come diversity of thought and different backgrounds," Kaplan concluded. "Authenticity is king. Don't think you need to pre- tend to be what you see out there, stay true to yourself because that is the biggest way to find success." P KAPLAN'S 3 STORIES TO WATCH Auston Matthews and the Toronto Maple Leafs "When Matthews signed his new contract, he doubled down on his commitment to Toronto. There's so much pressure on them to finally break that Stanley Cup streak and they really doubled down on their core from the players to the coaching staff that there's no reason they shouldn't be able to do it." The revival of the Rangers-Devils Rivalry "The Rangers have been knocking on the door the past couple years. Meanwhile, the Devils probably won the offseason, and when you have a player like Jack Hughes making his star turn, and he's surrounded by this much talent, they're going to be good for a very long time. I loved covering that playoff series last year and I feel like there's more battles to come." Is This The Last Hurrah For Crosby And Ovechkin? "There are so many young stars that are about to take over this league, but (Sidney) Crosby and (Alex) Ovechkin have been at the top for so long. (Pittsburgh Penguins president of hockey operations and general manager) Kyle Dubas is tasked with squeezing one last run out of Crosby and he makes one of the most fascinating moves of the offseason acquiring Erik Karlsson to do it. The Capitals have been staving off a rebuild for a couple years now. We don't know how good they're going to be, but they're going to put all their energy and effort into getting Alex Ovechkin the all-time goals record and the entire league is tuned into that."