The Voices of Hockey

Book excerpt: 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.