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Oilers winger Zach Hyman recently tallied 50 goals in a single season for the first time in his NHL career, and hockey reporter Andrew Berkshire has been roundly dragged for a video where he strangely ranted about the forward’s privileged upbringing while discussing that achievement.
Hockey is far from the only sport where having access to wealth can give you a big advantage over the rest of the competition, but the cost of equipment, ice time, and travel associated with the sport can be an especially imposing barrier to entry for kids who come from families who aren’t exactly flush with cash.
As a result, plenty (if not most) guys who make it to the NHL were the beneficiaries of a relatively cushy childhood.
That was certainly the case with Edmonton Oilers star Zach Hyman, whose father is an insanely rich real estate mogul who used some of his fortune to purchase multiple youth hockey teams in Canada that helped Zach develop his game while gaining the exposure he was able to leverage en route to making it to the NHL.
With that said, money can’t buy talent, and it would be pretty foolish to suggest it was the primary reason someone was able to surpass the 50-goal mark over the course of an NHL season.
However, that didn’t stop Andrew Berkshire (an analyst who’s amassed a sizeable following over the past decade or so) from heavily implying Hyman’s background was being overlooked during an unnecessarily long video where he called attention to his upbringing while implying the rest of the hockey media was pushing a narrative that failed to take it into account.
In media, we have a responsibility to tell stories, but too often they’re just not honest. The narrative around Zach Hyman’s first 50-goal season for example, erases the real reason it was possible. It wasn’t just hard work. Follow me on tiktok and instagram, for more. pic.twitter.com/LrAxmRiB03
— Andrew Berkshire (@AndrewBerkshire) March 26, 2024
Berkshire also tried to downplay what Hyman has achieved during an NHL career that began when he made his debut with the Maple Leafs in 2016 by noting he’s been lucky enough to play alongside Auston Matthews and Connor McDavid (which blatantly ignores the fact that you have to be pretty good to be placed on the same line as two of the best players in the league).
It didn’t take long for Berkshire’s video to make the rounds with the help of other media personalities who’ve roundly mocked him for one of the hottest Hockey Takes I’ve encountered in recent memory.
That includes Ryan Whitney, who quipped ” I promise everyone I will never forget the reason Zach Hyman scored 50 goals at 31 years old is because he comes from a wealthy family.” Insider Chris Johnson also explicitly called out Berkshire over the video, while Elliotte Friedman took a slightly more subtle approach after Hyman netted his 51st tally of the season on Tuesday night.
Berkshire did drop another lengthy video in an attempt to address the criticism while arguing the media—not Hyman—was the primary target of his rant, but he probably should’ve left the original one in his drafts.