The Voice of Hockey

Regardless of how good they are or how many other people like them, most sportscasters usually end up with their haters.  Some of those reasons may be ridiculous, but those fans dread the games when their team is being covered by the announcer they don't like.  There are very few exceptions to this rule.  One is Vin Scully.  Another is Doc Emrick.

Doc Emrick didn't just make hockey broadcasts better.  He made them more enjoyable.  He was entertaining and informative, but never in your face about it.  Like Vin Scully, he found a way to seamlessly work in stories and anecdotes, as well as shout outs to random Minor League and junior teams in the most obscure reaches of North America, while not missing a second of the action.

I didn't even realize this until about midway through the Stanley Cup Final, but, when they cut to Doc in his home studio before the game, he had a different jersey hanging on the wall.  And it was the jerseys of these same obscure Minor League and amateur teams.  I'm assuming they're all active teams, but I have no idea.  The point is, the Voice of Hockey took the time to put these teams in the spotlight, however brief it was (and even if most of the people watching had no idea whose jersey it was).

You could also tell during his broadcasts how much he simply loves the sport.  If you've never heard the great Foster Hewitt, the legendary voice of "Hockey Night In Canada" for many years, I highly recommend finding some clips on YouTube.  Doc Emrick is the modern day Foster Hewitt.  He loves hockey and he called the game with such reverence that he made the viewers love it too.

Then there are his phrases.  You could've made a drinking game out of how many times he mentioned a goalie's "paraphernalia" on a given night!  And I had no idea how many adjectives and verbs there were that could be used to describe the action in a hockey game!  Sometimes it felt like he was making them up, yet they all worked perfectly!

He's also the rare play-by-play announcer who didn't need a color guy.  Doc had JD, then Edzo and Pierre (or Bouch), but did he really need them?  There would sometimes be minutes of non-stop back-and-forth action when we didn't hear them at all.  Which isn't meant as a shot at his extremely talented color commentators.  In fact, it's a compliment to them that they were able to work so well with Doc.  After all, in order to work with the best, you've gotta be pretty good yourself.

It wasn't just hockey either.  During the 2012 Olympics, NBC used him as the play-by-play man for water polo.  And suddenly I was enthralled by a preliminary round Croatia-Italy men's water polo match!  The USA basketball team is playing on NBCSN?  Nope!  I'm watching Spain vs. Greece in women's water polo on NBC...just because Doc is on the call!

Perhaps the best tribute I saw paid to Doc Emrick today was one article that mentioned the non-hockey watchers who would see a game and say, "Who's that announcer?  He's really good."  Doc Emrick drew as much praise from the casual non-fans to the hockey die-hards who watch every game.  There's a reason why he's won the Emmy for Outstanding Play-by-Play Announcer eight years in a row!

One of the smartest things NBC did when they acquired the NHL contract was hire Doc Emrick as the play-by-play man.  Bringing in the well-respected and highly-acclaimed lead play-by-play announcer gave them instant credibility.  As their coverage expanded, so did Doc's role.  So, it really shouldn't be a surprise that NHL on NBC broadcasts consistently draw such high praise.

And, since NBC also holds the Olympic rights and the NHL took a break for every Olympics until 2018, that meant Doc was calling those games, too.  That meant he was behind the mic for the epic USA-Canada gold medal game in 2010, still one of the highest-rated hockey broadcasts in history.  It also meant a whole new segment of viewers who don't regularly watch hockey were exposed to Doc's brilliance.

Of course, there were plenty of memorable NHL broadcasts, too.  Doc called the first Winter Classic on that postcard of a New Year's Day in Buffalo.  He was there for the two transcendent stars of this generation--Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin hoisting the Cup.  He was there when the Stanley Cup Final went to Las Vegas.  He wasn't in the Edmonton bubble, but you never would've known it.  Because it felt and sounded like he was there.  In fact, I challenge you to name one hockey moment over the last 15 years that hasn't involved Doc Emrick in some way.

Now he moves into a well-deserved retirement after 50 years of calling the NHL, the last 15 as NBC's lead play-by-play announcer.  Doc won't be gone completely, though.  He'll still contribute to NBC's hockey coverage as a writer and occasionally narrate features.  Which is good, since many of us won't be able to completely cut the cord and will take comfort in hearing that instantly recognizable voice.

NBC has put together a good stable of quality NHL play-by-play announcers, so they have plenty of options to choose from for a replacement.  No matter what, whoever it is will have some huge shoes to fill.  And, with all due respect to Kenny Albert and John Forslund and Gord Miller, none of them are Doc Emrick.

His retirement took us a little by surprise.  But maybe that was the point.  And leave it to Doc Emrick to do it in such a classy way.  He knew that Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final would be his last broadcast, but didn't make a peep until nearly a month later.  He didn't make it about himself.  He made it about the champion Lightning.  Would you expect anything else?