Arizona Coyotes: Paul Bissonnette A Pioneer for Modern Day Hockey
By Tyler Samson
Former Arizona Coyotes forward Paul Bissonnette has revolutionized the culture and style of modern-day hockey players.
When people hear the name Paul Bissonnette, they probably think of his comedic tweets on Twitter. However, most people don’t realize that he was in the NHL for six seasons, most of them spent with the Arizona Coyotes. By no means was Paul a goal scorer or a household name for that matter. But he was a player that revolutionized what it means to be a modern-day professional hockey player.
When Bissonnette was acquired by the Arizona Coyotes in the 2009-10 season, he was brought in to be nothing more than an enforcer. Little did the team know by bringing in Bissonnette, they also brought in one of the most entertaining players in hockey.
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He first made a name for himself when he racked up 117 penalty minutes in 41 games during the 2009-10 season. Following his first season with the Coyotes, hockey fans began to learn about their new enforcer. Not only were people seeing how savage he was on the ice but off the ice as well.
Opposing teams fans took their frustrations on Bissonnette and his “goon” antics to Twitter where they tried to belittle him. The harsh tweets immediately backfired when he responded back with no restraints. His tweets were harsh, to the point and all in good fun. After the first spur of tweets the hockey world began to know Bissonnette more than just a hockey player, but an off-ice celebrity as well.
Many people began to call Bissonnette by his Twitter handle name, Biz Nasty. This off-ice persona Bissonnette has created has a cult following of 1.09 million fans on Twitter and 190K on Instagram. After retiring from the NHL following the 2016-17 season, Bissonnette joined the radio booth with former NHLer, Tyson Nash.
Arguably Nash and Bissonnette are the most entertaining media members in the NHL. Together, Nash and Bissonnette have created numerous original and entertaining web show segments. Bissonnette has his own web series through the Coyotes called: Road Tripping’ With Biz. On Road Tripping’ With Biz, he interviews a specific Coyote player on the road while touring the city with the player. Each episode of the series is very entertaining and unique in exploiting the personalities of the players and Bissonnette.
Recently, Bissonnette reached a deal with Sauce Hockey to produce a clothing line. Sauce Hockey is a huge brand known for their unique clothes that are catered towards hockey players. By joining Sauce Hockey, he has found a way to brand and support himself for life after hockey.
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The accumulation of his NHL experience, social media presence, presence in an organization, podcast show, clothing line and now mockumentary series, has made Paul Bissonnette a pioneer in terms of what it means to be successful modern day hockey player.
By being actively involved both on and off the ice, he has shown that a player can brand themselves and show their personality and use it as an advantage. Although Bissonnette may not have been the best hockey player of all time, he has found a way to make himself a huge presence in the hockey world.