Voices of Hockey - by Kirk McKnight (Paperback)

About the Book

This book features some of the greatest moments in NHL history, as told by the game's finest broadcasters. It covers Stanley Cup-clinching victories, penalty-minute-accruing brawls, and season-altering contests. This updated edition includes new interviews with broadcasters no...

Book Synopsis

This book features some of the greatest moments in NHL history, as told by the game's finest broadcasters. It covers Stanley Cup-clinching victories, penalty-minute-accruing brawls, and season-altering contests. This updated edition includes new interviews with broadcasters not featured in the cloth edition, such as Gary Thorne and Ken Daniels.

Review Quotes

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.

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.... [E]ach 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.

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.

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.

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).