Wayne Gretzky, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman, Eddie Olczyk, Al Michaels, Bob Costas, Martin Brodeur, Sidney Crosby and More NHL Players and Broadcasters Discuss Mike ‘Doc’ Emrick’s Impact on Hockey
“His impact – what he brought to the game – is going to go on for a lot longer. That’s a testament to what he brought to our sport.” – Wayne Gretzky
“He just had the perfect description of something – never overdid it either. And once in a while he’d come up with something you never heard before that matched the moment perfectly.” – Al Michaels
WATCH – Preview Clips Featuring Gretzky, Crosby and Oshie, and Olczyk and Clement
STAMFORD, Conn. – Feb. 10, 2021 – NBC Sports will premiere Doc Emrick – The Voice of Hockey, Presented by Discover – detailing the illustrious career of U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame member and eight-time Sports Emmy Award winner Mike ‘Doc’ Emrick – on Sunday, February 21 at 2 p.m. ET on NBC, leading into coverage of the NHL outdoor game at Lake Tahoe featuring the Boston Bruins and Philadelphia Flyers.
Doc Emrick – The Voice of Hockey will feature interviews with 20 NHL players and broadcasting colleagues discussing Emrick’s long-lasting impact on the sport of hockey, including:
- NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman
- Players – Wayne Gretzky, Martin Brodeur, Sidney Crosby, T.J. Oshie, Zach Parise and Blake Coleman
- Commentators – Eddie Olczyk, Pierre McGuire, Al Michaels, Bob Costas, Bill Clement, Chico Resch, John Davidson, A.J. Mleczko, Brendan Burke, Kathryn Tappen, and Evan Pivnick.
Click here to watch preview clips featuring Wayne Gretzky, Sidney Crosby/T.J. Oshie, and Eddie Olczyk/Bill Clement.
Following are some brief excerpts from Doc Emrick – The Voice of Hockey:
Gretzky on Emrick’s legacy: “His impact – what he brought to the game – is going to go on for a lot longer. That’s a testament to what he brought to our sport… people (at home) felt like he was probably talking one-on-one to them, and that’s an art in itself.”
Michaels on Emrick’s descriptive abilities: “He just had the perfect description of something – never overdid it either. And once in a while he’d come up with something you never heard before that matched the moment perfectly.”
Michaels on what he appreciates about Emrick: “He has a great little sense of humor, as well. You put Doc in the basement and say, ‘Go announce this cockroach race,’ he’d make it interesting and he’d make it funny.”
Emrick announced his retirement late in 2020 following a 47-year career broadcasting professional hockey, including the last 15 as the lead play-by-play voice for NBC Sports’ NHL coverage. The 60-minute documentary will highlight Emrick’s journey calling college and minor league hockey in the 1970s, to calling games for the Philadelphia Flyers and New Jersey Devils and eventually voicing the most important hockey games of the past three decades, including 22 Stanley Cup Finals, 45 Stanley Cup Playoffs/Final Game 7s, six Olympics, NHL Winter Classics and All-Star Games.
Synonymous with hockey in the United States, Emrick called an estimated 3,750-plus professional and Olympic hockey games, thrilling viewers with a combination of fevered excitement and an endless vocabulary which resulted in his unmatched style and revered storytelling that fans grew to know and love.
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