Nick Mancuso knows that what makes a hockey fan is what's going to kill the hockey fan this season.

"We're a unique community," said Mancuso, whose company, Kynetyk, makes hockey equipment. "They know we'll all come back. They're going to get away with it again."

It's no secret that hockey is a niche sport in America. Always has been, always will be. Only 8.8 percent of Americans who are at least 12 years old call themselves avid hockey fans, according to an ESPN Sports Poll. That's compared to the 34.3 percent of Americans in that age bracket who call themselves NFL fans.

But those fans who are die-hard are seemingly more attached to the game than hard-core fans in other sports, and people who consider themselves casual fans seem more likely to show up to a baseball game or a basketball game than get behind the boards.

What does that mean? It means the league relies mostly on guys such as Nick Mancuso, and it knows where it stands.

In a Twitter poll I took, 76.5 percent of people who called themselves hockey fans said a season off wouldn't affect their interest. As for those who answered they'd walk away, I'm sure most of them wouldn't.

And that's why commissioner Gary Bettman had no problem recommending to the owners to lock out the players in 2004 and again this year.

He continues with NFL and NBA lockout comparisons, suckers, etc. etc. Blah blah blah. You've read it and seen itall before on ESPN.

Which is a disservice to ESPN.com's commitment to the game, but we obviously know what ESPN tends to resonate with the "average" sports TV viewer.