from Alex Prewitt of Sports Illustrated,

For so many children of the Dominion, Hockey Night in Canada is “appointment viewing,” says Scott Oake. As the ice-level reporter for Sportsnet, the Rogers-owned channel that took over broadcasting rights from CBC two season sago, Oake is therefore “like the keeper off the towel, like the guy who carries the Stanley Cup around.” But what kid pays attention to a towel, especially when the person beneath it plays in the National Hockey League? Who cares about cloth while an idol talks on the screen?

Adults who still remember those days, apparently....

As far back as John Shannon remembers, there were always towels. The first incarnation appeared under former executive producer Ron Harrison and were sponsored by an old linen company called Wabasso, Shannon says. This made for a tricky situation. On the one hand, the towels were free. On the other hand, they featured a logo most associated with bedding. “It wasn’t really indicative of what a few of us thought Hockey Night in Canada stood for,” Shannon says.

The way Shannon, a former HNIC executive producer, tells its history, the towel first moved toward its iconic state after the 1994-95 lockout ended, as the broadcast searched for better branding. “We wanted Hockey Night in Canada all over the place,” Shannon says. And since each intermission interviewee received the same two things—bottled water to drink and a towel to wipe his face—Shannon smacked the HNIC logo right on the thing present in every shot. “While simultaneously ending the practice of paying players a modest sum for the interview segments ($75 or so, Shannon says), the broadcast offered a token for their troubles.

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