The Voices of Hockey: Broadcasters Reflect on the Fastest Game on Earth

by Kirk McKnight

Overview

Line changes, limited time outs, and pucks traveling 100 miles per hour—hockey is called “the fastest game on Earth” for a reason. Keeping up with this non-stop action, especially for decades on end, takes a special kind of talent. Today’s NHL broadcasters capture the game in arguably the most difficult capacity in the world of sports, giving the fans a guide to the action in a way nobody else could. With careers outlasting the players, coaches, general managers, and, in some cases, the city itself, the NHL’s broadcasters have more than their fair share of stories to tell.

In The Voices of Hockey: Broadcasters Reflect on the Fastest Game on Earth, Kirk McKnighttakes thirty-four of the game’s most gifted play-by-play broadcasters—including nine hall of famers—and shares their many insights, memories, and experiences. These broadcasters have witnessed all-time greats such as Gordie Howe, Bobby Hull, Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux, Sidney Crosby, and Alexander Ovechkin, making them the ideal voices to pay tribute to the legends of yesterday and the heroes of tomorrow.

The Voices of Hockey brings the reader down to the surface of the ice to experience overtime marathons, record-setting performances, bloodied fights, intense rivalries, and the raising of the Stanley Cup, with details and inside perspectives from some of the most qualified spectators of the game. From Bob Miller’s description of “The Miracle on Manchester” to John Kelly’s childhood recollection of Bobby Orr’s famous “flying goal,” this bookis truly an encapsulation of the NHL over the past fifty years. Generations of hockey fans will enjoy reliving their favorite moments and reading about those they missed in this unique and captivating view of the fastest game on Earth.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781442262805
Publisher:	Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Publication date:	09/23/2016
Pages:	288
Product dimensions:	6.30(w) x 9.10(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Kirk McKnight is a freelance writer specializing in interview-based sports books ranging from baseball hockey. His work has been published in sports blogs, articles, and travel documentaries. McKnight is the author of The Voices of Baseball: The Game’s Greatest Broadcasters Reflect on America’s Pastime (Rowman & Littlefield, 2015).

Table of Contents

Foreword: Breaking the Ice … of Fandom ix

Introduction: The Other Miracle on Ice xiii

1 Anaheim Ducks 1

2 Arizona Coyotes 7

3 Boston Bruins 12

4 Buffalo Sabres 19

5 Calgary Flames 25

6 Carolina Hurricanes 32

7 Chicago Blackhawks 37

8 Colorado Avalanche 44

9 Columbus Blue Jackets 50

10 Dallas Stars 55

11 Detroit Red Wings 61

12 Edmonton Oilers 69

13 Florida Panthers 75

14 Los Angeles Kings 81

15 Minnesota Wild 92

16 Montreal Canadiens 97

17 Nashville Predators 104

18 New Jersey Devils 109

19 New York Islanders 118

20 New York Rangers 124

21 Ottawa Senators 130

22 Philadelphia Flyers 137

23 Pittsburgh Penguins 143

24 San Jose Sharks 149

25 St. Louis Blues 156

26 Tampa Bay Lightning 161

27 Toronto Maple Leafs 168

28 Vancouver Canucks 174

29 Washington Capitals 180

30 Winnipeg Jets/Winnipeg Jets "Version 2.0" 186

31 You Go Away Mad, We'll Just Go Away 192

32 The Case of Cookie Cutter versus Old School 200

33 A Séance from the Booth 216

34 Living Legends 231

Epilogue: Winding down the Third Period 241

Bibliography 245

Index 257

About the Author 271

Editorial Reviews

08/22/2016
Sportswriter McKnight, who wrote The Voices of Baseball, turns to his other passion, hockey, which he grew up watching during baseball’s off-season, and the broadcasters who cover the NHL in what McKnight shows is “arguably the most difficult capacity in the world of major sports.” He conducts 53 interviews with 34 broadcasters, divided into chapters by the 30 major hockey teams. There’s some repetition; most of the broadcasters say that the pinnacles of their careers involved calling championship wins for their teams. But each chapter offers fascinating insights, such as Vancouver Canucks announcer John Shorthouse’s description of being “aghast and in disbelief” while watching Boston Bruin Marty McSorley’s infamous 2000 slashing of Canuck Donald Brashear, which Shorthouse calls one of “the ugliest incidents in NHL history.” McKnight gives an exemplary history of hockey itself and adds excellent chapters on related subjects such as how changes in hockey arenas have affected how the sport is broadcast, and appends a survey of significant announcers from the past whose influence lives on today. (Oct.)

Publishers Weekly

This compilation of unforgettable stories from 34 professional commentators lets you discover or relive 50 years of some of the greatest moments in NHL history.

Grand Forks Herald

Kirk McKnight has nailed the hockey play-by-play experience in his book! He has linked the voices of the game through comprehensive interviews, all of which accurately portray those who describe the action of the world’s fastest game on radio and television. Want to know what it’s like to call the first period of your favorite NHL team? Kirk’s excellent read will keep you in the booth all the way through overtime.

Mike Fornes

The idea of talking to broadcasters gives hockey fans a unique and informative look at some of the great moments on ice. The stories related through the eyes of those who paint the pictures for fans allows us to relish treasured moments in hockey like nobody else. I highly recommend The Voices of Hockey. It’s a must read for die-hard hockey fans and others who enjoy historical moments from the NHL.

Chris Maathuis