Learning Hockey (For Broadcast)

Penguin_Otaku

So I'm hoping to get the job for calling OU hockey games for our club team this year. There's an open tryout and I know I can call games pretty effectively. Jokingly I play commentator while my friends are watching games with me and call the action accurately and pretty well according to them and I always have fun doing it.

Anyway, my only problem is I know very little about hockey other than a few terms like; faceoff, checking, high sticking (is that even right?) and that it's kind of like futbol on ice.

So, if there are any hockey fans out there please school me or lead me somewhere to where this could come second-nature to me very quickly. Thanks and very much appreciated.

Arivia

An icing call means everyone on that team gets cupcakes with extra frosting next intermission.

twmjr

http://entertainment.howstuffworks.com/hockey1.htm looks to be a pretty decent primer, actually.

keep in mind that, as the page states, rules vary based on the league in question. high sticking is a correct term and it's (in the NHL at least) a 2 minute penalty for making contact with an opposing player with a high stick which is automatically turned into 4 minutes if you draw blood (you have to love a sport where the length of the penalty is determined by whether or not someone is bleeding).

I'd say read that article first, maybe find some clips on youtube and then ask any specific questions that come up.

Dibs

You play commentator, but don't (edit: know) the game at all?

Are you familiar with the rules for icing, offsides, minor penalties, major penalties, high sticking (there's penalties for it, and also just the act of high sticking the puck), glove passes, bringing the faceoff inside/outside, shootouts (UGH)?

Here's the NHL rulebook for 2009 http://www.nhlofficials.com/images/2009_NHL_Rulebook.pdf

I suggest looking into your league's rules.

You definitely want to familiarize yourself with the following; offside, icing, and what team a penalty is going against depending on when the whistle is blown. An announcer for CBC who was getting waaay too old to be broadcasting was god-awful at the last one. If the home team touches the puck and a whistle is blown for a penalty, it is AGAINST the home team.

Andrew_Jay

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Penguin_Otaku

I'm not the commentator quite yet, but I'm hoping to be. There's a tryout and I'm pretty confident I can get it if I know my hockey more than the average person in Oklahoma... which isn't much. But I'd love to broadcast games later in life and this seems like a good way to start.

Komplex

Like most professional sports hockey has very complex rules, that do take time to get a hang of. I would recommend simply watching hockey games on TV, preferably with someone who is quite familar with the game.

Things to learn include.

- Penalties (How to identifiy a penalty, names of, minor/majors.)
- Rules (Icings, offsides, too many men, etc)
- Different lingo for scoring, hitting, saves, etc. Hockey annoucers are notorious for their flare. Listen to some hockey on the radio if you can, and take some notes on how they refer to different types of events in the game.
- Player positions and general tactics.

Sounds like you are going to be annoucning for college hockey, which will have slightly different rules, but the general principles of the game will be the same.

Peen

Do you have a VG console (and if not what the hell are you doing on these boards)? If so, rent a modern hockey game and play it for a few hours. I guarantee you it'll teach you the game better than any webpage or book. It's how I learned.

EskimoDave

Komplex wrote: »

- Different lingo for scoring, hitting, saves, etc. Hockey annoucers are notorious for their flare. Listen to some hockey on the radio if you can, and take some notes on how they refer to different types of events in the game.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C3b_7S-sGBo


You'll also going to have recognize all the players, or at least be able to put their numbers to a name instantly. Knowing some history of the player adds flare and personality to the broadcast.

Chanus

You'll eventually want to learn how to properly pronounce "Toronto".

Also, if you get a job announcing for the Devils, you'll need to be so completely biased toward the home team that it's painful to listen (/tongueincheek).

But seriously, watch a season religiously... get one of those packages like Center Ice and just watch every game you can. The sport is very nuanced, and it's pretty easy to tell if you don't know what you're talking about.

Penguin_Otaku

Chanus: This is definitely just something to get my foot in the door, not looking to do hockey specifically. I could do basketball better, and I'd be even better at football.

Dibs

Andrew_Jay: I meant it as an example, sorry it didn't come off that way. You said what I was trying to much more clearly.

I realize, Penguin_Otaku, that you didn't mean you had the job already. I was asking if you commentate on hockey with your friends, even without knowing the game? How does that go?

- Different lingo for scoring, hitting, saves, etc. Hockey announcers are notorious for their flare. Listen to some hockey on the radio if you can, and take some notes on how they refer to different types of events in the game.

Do you have a VG console (and if not what the hell are you doing on these boards)? If so, rent a modern hockey game and play it for a few hours. I guarantee you it'll teach you the game better than any webpage or book. It's how I learned.

These two. Except that you need to make absolutely sure you're listening to a quality broadcast. Listening to some of the American feeds is almost torturous at times. I might be off-base by saying that since you're going to be broadcasting for an American audience. Hopefully someone can chime in who grew up in the US, but has experienced Canadian broadcasts.

You can probably get a used copy of NHL '09 really cheap right now since NHL 10 is coming out very soon. That'll give you a feel for the rules of the game, and also the kind of jargon that is expected of an NHL announcer.

Awk

Not knowing what the penalties are might be a really big problem. If you cant effectlively call out a high-stick (no, its not when the stick goes up high), or distinguishing between roughing, crosschecking, elbowing, etc, i wouldnt want to listen to you. Read up on the penalties especially. Usually a personal opinion on the penalty is interesting to listen to, but if you have no experience...

Aridhol

EskimoDave wrote: »

Komplex wrote: »

- Different lingo for scoring, hitting, saves, etc. Hockey annoucers are notorious for their flare. Listen to some hockey on the radio if you can, and take some notes on how they refer to different types of events in the game.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C3b_7S-sGBo


You'll also going to have recognize all the players, or at least be able to put their numbers to a name instantly. Knowing some history of the player adds flare and personality to the broadcast.

Thank you sir that was amazing.

I would suggest the OP watch a few games on cbc.ca when the season starts up again or order NHL TV from your television provider and watch some games.

Dorkman

One thing that should be noted, don't assume US College hockey rules are identical to the NHL rules.

All different associations use thier own set of specific rules. I know as a hockey referee myself, I have seen many disputes arising because a coach assumes what he say on Hockey Night in Canada are the rules used in small town hockey.

Some pointers.
If the referee (The fellow with the orange bands on his arms) has his hand up and the play is continuing, then its a delayed penalty. The play is only stopped for a penalty when the team who committed the foul touches the puck. (I.e. If Blue team punches Red team in the chops but Red team has the puck, the ref will let it go until Blue gains possession). You can also get a good jump on the commentating by learning the hand motions for specific penalties.

Found this quick link to some Ref Signals.

Probably the easiest thing to do is find what rules the team plays under, give them a quick broswe (usually only about a hundred pages or so) and just enjoy it. Hockey is so awesome

Xaev

Dorkman wrote: »

Some pointers.
If the referee (The fellow with the orange bands on his arms) has his hand up and the play is continuing, then its a delayed penalty. The play is only stopped for a penalty when the team who committed the foul touches the puck. (I.e. If Blue team punches Red team in the chops but Red team has the puck, the ref will let it go until Blue gains possession). You can also get a good jump on the commentating by learning the hand motions for specific penalties.

Of course, learning the hand signals that take place during play varies depending on what system the referees are using. Obviously at a collegiate level, they won't be running a two-man system, but there's two referee/one linesman systems, two linesmen/one referee systems, one linesman, one referee, and one referee/linesman systems, and even four official systems. With regard to the vertical arm extension specifically, depending on who does it and where, it can mean delayed off-sides, a delayed penalty, or icing.

Forkes

Donny Brook : Fight
Coast to Coast : Pass from blue line to blue line
Holy Mackinaw! : Exlamation! (Huge play/hit)


But yeah, pretty much just watch hockey. I suggest watching Canadian games with Canadian broadcasters if you can. I have watcehd some American broadcast games, and they don't seem to have the same zip in the commentators that Canadian ones do.