Hockey Central and VERSUS NHL Coverage in 2010: Style Without Substance

There will be a more detailed review of the NHL On VERSUS next week (because who would give an opinion about something after only seeing such a small sample? Actually, you’ll be seeing that a lot today) but largely, VERSUS once again proved itself as a great place to see hockey, with over 12 hours of games, studio content and hockey-related programming (sure, who doesn’t want to watch the TV edit of Slap Shot!) plus a ton of discussion of the sport on nightly talker The Daily Line (which is getting a little better since turning to a late-night talk show format) but still not a bastion of actual hockey discussion. This is only a small part of what VERSUS does, but still, hockey’s diehard fans are fickle and have other options, especially with Center Ice free until October 24th. It’s the one weakness the network still has.

First, let’s look at the improvements VERSUS has made. The game production and graphics have, gradually over the past 5+ years, developed into a top-notch broadcast. Another good decision: finally making the needed improvement to the network’s bottom line during the intermission, but it has yet to be seen if they can implement it during game action, which was a bit of an annoyance during last Spring’s playoffs. Other good stuff: Keep Mike “Doc” Emrick and Daryl Reaugh together as much as you can. Likely put together on opening night since Dallas (Reaugh’s local employer) faces off against New Jersey (Emrick’s longtime home) tomorrow night, they put together a broadcast funnier and more engaging (and, most importantly, less forced) than anything on Hockey Central. For example, after a highlight of the first Leafs’ goal last night, Emrick snarked “print the playoff tickets!” which was more than enough to make up for a weak, dated vuvuzela joke.

(A small gripe: why, for the fifth consecutive season, does VERSUS insist on opening their season with a west-coast game from Denver as the second half of the doubleheader? The Avalanche haven’t been good for all five of those years. Couldn’t we got to LA or Phoenix or San Jose? I know the options when it comes to American NHL teams that can host a 10PM ET are slim, but does Adrian Dater have photos of somebody at the network?)

So now we come to Hockey Central. It is still just not a very good show. It is forced and dull, and even when the discussions are forced, they somehow are unable to make anything seem compelling, or as if it even matters. Many discussions featured all three studio analysts (the captain on a sinking ship Keith Jones, the perennial human Xanax Brian Engblom and newbie Aaron Ward) agreeing on the same side of a debate, and agreeing in a way that was in no facet interesting.

Here is what Hockey Central needs to do: force their analysts (and host Bill Patrick) take ritualistic shots of Red Bull so that they’ll at least be energetic and exciting when they debate. If I were a casual hockey fan listening to these guys babble on, I’d wonder why whatever they were talking about matters. Say what you will about hyped up debate shows on ESPN, at least those shows capture the ruse of making it seem like whoever’s yelling at you has a valid, compelling opinion. I’m not saying I want Brian Engblom to yell at me, but I just don’t want him to put me to sleep.

Overall, VERSUS remains infinitely watchable when they focus on the games and games alone. The network aired nine hours of game coverage on Thursday, and they probably could’ve used another game to fill in the late afternoon slot. That San Jose-Columbus series (being played today and tomorrow) should have been bumped up a day to give VERSUS another game. Also, kudos to John Forslund and Billy Jaffe (on Minnesota-Carolina) for doing a good job on the always tricky task of calling games from Europe off a monitor. Finally, Aaron Ward shows potential in the studio, though he tends to prepare or package his analysis a bit too much. That’s okay though. Knowing what it’s like when you’re new to a production the way he is, it’s likely necessary for him for a little while. He’s like a lot of what you see on VERSUS: It’s getting better, but it’s just a little dull in spots.

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