Mike Chen's Hockey Blog
Next entry: On Anthems and Booing
Previous entry: Lesson Learned Or History Repeats?
The Evolution of Brian Engblom’s Hair
by Mike Chen on 04/21/09 at 10:00 AM ET
Comments (3)
One of the good things Versus does during the playoffs is stick with a consistent nightly double-header schedule for the first round. Part of that package is the Versus in-studio segments with Brian Engblom and his one-of-a-kind hair. How much power does Engblom’s mullet have? It is so mighty that not just one, but too people I lived with stopped dead in their tracks in disbelief at the hair on the TV—one roommate years ago and my then-girlfriend-turned-wife. Coincidentally, both referred to him as “that hair guy” whenever hockey broadcasts came up.
Since Engblom joins us (or at least US viewers sticking with Versus) for about six hours a night, I thought it’d be fun to take a little trip down memory lane with Engblom and that all-powerful mullet.
A long, long time ago in a galaxy far, far away (or at least the world before Center Ice or even ESPN2), Brian Engblom was just like any other hockey player with a mullet in the 1980s. Check out one of Engblom’s cards.
Now there’s certainly no shame in that hockey mullet. There were even Magnificent and Great hockey mullets back then.
In the 1990s, ESPN2 had a ton of hockey games and in order to get enough analysts to work on them, they needed someone besides the King of Hockey Mullets to help out. In comes the ever-enthusiastic (and nice guy) Darren Pang and Brian Engblom.
That’s right, in the 1992-93 season, not only did the hockey world have Jaromir Jagr’s mullet in full force, Brian Engblom was re-introduced to the broadcast public. However, his mulletude, though high, wasn’t exactly unique or distinct. It was no Andre Agassi or Billy Ray Cyrus; it was, in fact, just another mullet from the early 90s. Check out this comparison with Patrick Swayze circa Roadhouse. Pretty close, huh?
Strangely enough, this mullet lives on in Ryan Smyth.
Now the problem is that Engblom stuck with his hair throughout the entire decade. While the world went mullet-less, Engblom’s hair lived on, probably spurred by the power of working with Barry Melrose. If you’ll recall, Bud Light immortalized the hockey mullet in a series of commercials, including this one showing off Engblom as a ladies’ man.
Now when we get to the Versus era, things start to get a little strange. You’ll notice in the previous photos, as well as any of the Bud Light commercials, that Engblom kept a good sweep on the sides of his hair. However, at some point he decided to combine the 1980s mullet with the 1990s Brian Bosworth side-buzz into this weird amalgamation of bad hair.
combined with 
creates this:
Recently, Engblom has taken a step forward and removed the mullet aspect completely from his hair. (And, according to the bastion of fact known as Wikipedia, he won a special award from the Supercuts Corporate Retreat in 2008). However, he’s retained the shaved-side look for something totally unique:
The cool thing about this? With Engblom’s hair seemingly floating above his head, it’s easy to do any sort of Photoshop fun.
Now what does the future hold for hockey fans? Well, it’s plain to see that the influence of Engblom and Melrose have had on the hockey community (google “Engblom hair” to see how popular the discussion is). The result will be an entire generation of hockey fans who want to grow up to be hockey broadcasters with awesome hair.
I present to you the future analyst of Hockey Night In Canada:
Filed in: NHL | Mike Chen's Hockey Blog | Permalink
Tags: Brian+Engblom, Versus,
Comments
Getting to see what Engblom’s hair looks like is one of the great things about the start of each new hockey season.
Posted by tpuck on 04/21/09 at 01:49 PM ET
I was actually watching Versus last night (A crime, I know) and thought about this exact same thing. Weird
Posted by Ben from VT on 04/21/09 at 02:20 PM ET
Add a Comment
Please limit embedded image or media size to 575 pixels wide.
Add your own avatar by joining Kukla's Korner, or logging in and uploading one in your member control panel.
Captchas bug you? Join KK or log in and you won't have to bother.
Commenting is not available in this weblog entry.
Most Recent Blog Posts
Intent To Blow vs. In The Crease
What Do You Expect From A Rookie Season?
About Kukla’s Korner
Kukla’s Korner is updated around the clock with the work of our own talented bloggers, plus links to the best hockey writing around the internet. We strive to bring you all the breaking hockey news as it happens.
The home page allows you to see the latest postings from every blog on the site. Subscribe here. For general inquiries and more, please contact us anytime.
Get the top online sports betting bonuses available to sports betters!
When learning from experts it’s best to learn personally from them, or from their blog. We can provide that with poker lessons blog, your home to learn poker personally.
Do you get shocked from the luck in the game of poker? Stop getting shocked and start being a Poker Shoker.
As well as reading about hockey games, you can also find info about poker like which poker sites accept American Express or which are the best Canadian poker sites and also find the top rakeback sites at rakeback.net.
Kukla’s Korner is always a free service for readers, but it costs some money to maintain. If you’re ever in a position to donate a few dollars to help out, we’d be very appreciative.
I just sprayed hot tea out my nose. Thanks.
Posted by ranndino from Boston, MA on 04/21/09 at 01:10 PM ET