Photo: @JoeBPxP

They amaze us with their rapid-fire recounts, providing illustrative detail of an otherwise empty space. Hockey “play-by-play” and “color” announcers are real-time storytellers that have a lot to contend with in the course of a game. I’ve always been amazed at their ability to track a 1”x3” piece of vulcanized rubber, traveling at high speeds, between players also moving at great speed, all while telling the story of the game. How do they do that? As is the case with most things in life, planning and preparation is key.

The variations in approach in work space configuration are quite intriguing to this hockey nerd. Folders, highlighters, notebooks, post-its, data sheets, laptops, mobile devices, etc. The tools of this trade are wide-ranging.

We’ve collected a number of booth shots that shed a little light into the diverse setups used by various announcers in hockey (and around the world of sports) to give you a small snapshot of this fascinating ecosystem. (All of the images were disseminated by the announcer via their twitter page).

John Walton (10/4/2018)

Joe Beninati (10/04/2018)

The Joe Beninati and Craig Laughlin combo platter (10/19/2018)

Around the league

John Forslund, Carolina Hurricanes

Paul Edmonds, Winnipeg Jets (12/9/2018)

Dan Rusanowsky – San Jose Sharks

Los Angeles Kings

College Hockey

Grady Whittenburg – Michigan State @ Cornell (10/26/2018)

Shaun McMahon – UW Stevens Point (11/16/2018)

Ted Leroux – Minnesota Hockey

Rachel Bishop and Emily Rennie – Western University Mustangs

Jim McCabe – Massachusetts Hockey

Other Sports

Dan Nolan – Monumental Sports

Kenny Albert – NFL

Steve Granado – High School Baseball

AJ Almendinger – IMSA Racing

Arlo White, NBC Soccer (12/26/2018)

As you can see, there are a few common threads, but many different variations. Keep up the great work, ladies and gentlemen!

By Jon Sorensen