My name is Mark Pukalo and I'm looking forward to blogging throughout the National Hockey League season.
I have been writing about sports for 26 years, 20 of them at the Hartford Courant in Connecticut. When I started at the Courant in 1985, college basketball was probably my first love. I wrote a lot about soccer for a period of time in the 1990s as well. Slowly, I drifted away from basketball and now I can say that hockey is my favorite sport. I was one of two beat writers for the Hartford Whalers their final two years of existence and also covered frozen fours and the AHL.
Since my move to Florida in November of 2008 I have been writing consistently for Tampabaylightning.com, watching a team battle through management turmoil for two seasons before emerging in 2010-11 with a new owner, general manager and coach. It was an amazing year and a lot of fun to be around the group during their run.
I will continue to write for tampabaylightning.com this season, which is just a few weeks away, but I also hope to bring my knowledge of the game and some incite into a consistent blog. I have never done this before, so it may take a little time to adjust to the style, but I think I can have fun with it and inform Lightning fans as well.
Mark Pukalo
