Kukla's Korner Hockey

Kukla's Korner Hockey

Coming Up On NBC, Two Outdoor NHL Classic Games

12/21/2016 at 5:31pm EST

STAMFORD, Conn. – Dec. 21, 2016 – NBC Sports rings in the new year with a pair of outdoor NHL Classics, highlighted by NBC’s annual presentation of the 2017 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic®, when Alex Pietrangelo and the St. Louis Blues host Patrick Kane and the rival Chicago Blackhawks at Busch Stadium in St. Louis on Monday, January 2, at 3 p.m. ET.

In addition to the NHL Winter Classic, NBC presents a clash of young American NHL stars on New Year’s Day at 3 p.m. ET in the NHL Centennial Classic, when rookie sensation Auston Matthews and the Toronto Maple Leafs host Dylan Larkin and the Detroit Red Wings at BMO Field in Toronto. The NHL Centennial Classic represents the start of the league’s year-long Centennial celebration.

Four-time Emmy Award-winning play-by-play commentator Mike ‘Doc’ Emrick, U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame member, analyst and former Blackhawk Eddie Olczyk, and Emmy Award-winning ‘Inside-the-Glass’ analyst Pierre McGuire will have the call of the Blackhawks-Blues Winter Classic showdown from Busch Stadium, home of Major League Baseball’s St. Louis Cardinals. Analyst and former Blackhawk Jeremy Roenick will also serve as a roving reporter during game coverage.

NHL Live host Liam McHugh will be on-site at Busch Stadium alongside former players and analysts Mike Milbury, Keith Jones and Roenick to provide pre-game and post-game analysis, as well as commentary during intermissions. In addition, Bob Costas, a 27-time Emmy Award-winner who began his professional broadcasting career in St. Louis, will join NBC Sports’ coverage of the 2017 NHL Winter Classic.

John Forslund (play-by-play), Brian Boucher (analyst), and McGuire (‘Inside-the-Glass’) will call Red Wings-Maple Leafs from BMO Field, home of Major League Soccer’s Toronto FC. Host Kathryn Tappen will anchor coverage from Toronto with Roenick.

NBC Sports will surround the NHL Centennial and Winter Classics with numerous interviews and features, highlighted by Kathryn Tappen’s live interview with “The Great One” – Wayne Gretzky – at the Centennial Classic. Coverage will also include a feature on the young stars of the NHL, including Auston Matthews and Dylan Larkin, a feature on Blues captain Alex Pietrangelo, a look back at the Chicago-St. Louis rivalry by Bob Costas, as well as player and executive interviews throughout the broadcasts.


BOB COSTAS JOINS NBC SPORTS’ 2017 NHL WINTER CLASSIC COVERAGE IN ST. LOUIS

It was announced yesterday that Bob Costas will join NBC Sports’ coverage of the 2017 NHL Winter Classic. Costas has strong ties to St. Louis. He was the radio play-by-play announcer for the American Basketball Association’s Spirits of St. Louis from 1974 to 1976 on KMOX Radio, hosted “Sports Open Line” on KMOX, and served as the University of Missouri men’s basketball play-by-play voice, prior to joining NBC Sports in 1980. Costas also called a number of Blues games during his time in St. Louis, occasionally substituting for legendary commentator Dan Kelly on KMOX.

This marks the sixth occasion that Costas will be a part of NBC Sports’ NHL Winter Classic broadcast team, having previously served as a host for the first five iterations of the event from 2008-2012. Click here for more information.

COSTAS, MCGUIRE AND ROENICK PREVIEW NHL CENTENNIAL AND WINTER CLASSICS

McGuire on Matthews and Larkin, and the growth of hockey in America: “Auston Matthews is a generational player – he’s been on the NHL landscape since he was 15 years old. Dylan Larkin is a dynamic goal-scoring forward. There are so many great young American players on the landscape right now. The vision of Commissioner Bettman to have non-traditional hockey markets in expansion has paid dividends.”

Roenick on Matthews and Larkin: “Auston Matthews has come on like a bolt of lightning and is living up to the potential. Dylan Larkin has become the new leader of the Detroit Red Wings. These kids are wise and talented beyond their years.”

McGuire on the St. Louis market: “The St. Louis market produced three or four first-round picks last season – it’s a phenomenal hockey market. Every time you go to St. Louis to for a game, you know you won’t be disappointed.”

Roenick on the Blackhawks-Blues rivalry: “The Blackhawks and Blues will always be oil and water, fire and ice. St. Louis found a way to beat them in the playoffs last year, which they haven’t done much in the last 25 years. There aren’t many rivalries in the NHL that are bigger than Chicago-St. Louis. A lot is expected of both teams, and high expectations always breed high animosity”

McGuire on the Blackhawks franchise: “They are a preeminent franchise in the league. Every franchise should try and emulate the way they play, the way they conduct themselves, and how they are run.”

Costas on St. Louis and the Blues: “I lived in St. Louis for more than 30 years and I still think of it as my hometown. I hope I'll be able to complement our always excellent hockey coverage by adding a bit of hometown perspective about the Blues. The game of course is at Busch Stadium, and all sports fans know what a terrific baseball town St. Louis is. But there is a strong fan attachment to the Blues as well, maybe even more so now because St. Louis has only two major professional sports teams. In that sense, the Blues are pretty much the center of attention for sports fans in St. Louis from November until the start of the baseball season.”


NBC SPORTS RADIO TO PROVIDE NATIONAL RADIO BROADCAST OF 2017 NHL WINTER CLASSIC

NBC Sports Radio, distributed by Westwood One, will provide broadcast coverage of the 2017 NHL Winter Classic to affiliated and other terrestrial radio stations. The broadcasts will also be available via NBCSportsRadio.com, the NBC Sports Radio App and SiriusXM Satellite Radio, and the TuneIn digital radio platform.

Kenny Albert (play-by-play), Joe Micheletti (analyst), and Steve Goldstein (ice-level reporter) will serve as NBC Sports Radio’s broadcast team for the 2017 NHL Winter Classic. Albert calls regular-season and post-season NHL games on NBC and NBCSN and has served as a hockey play-by-play commentator for NBC Sports at four Winter Olympics. Micheletti serves as an analyst for NBC Sports Group’s NHL regular-season and post-season coverage, and began his broadcasting career in 1985 as part of the St. Louis Blues radio team. Goldstein is the current television play-by-play voice of the Florida Panthers.

A LOOK BACK AT THE BLACKHAWKS’ AND BLUES’ LONG HISTORY ON NBC

The Blues and Blackhawks have a storied history on NBC that dates back more than 50 years. NBC’s first-ever national NHL Stanley Cup Playoff broadcast took place on April 10, 1966, and featured the Blackhawks and Red Wings at Chicago Stadium. Win Elliot called the play-by-play alongside Bill Mazer, as the Red Wings beat the Blackhawks 7-0 in Game 2 of the NHL semi-finals.

The Blues were also featured prominently in a number of NBC’s NHL Game of the Week broadcasts from 1972-1975. NBC’s first NHL regular-season broadcast to feature the Blues came on Jan. 13, 1973 when the Blues hosted the New York Rangers at St. Louis Arena. Click here for more information on the history of the NHL on NBC.

NHL ONNBCSPORTS.COM AND THE NBC SPORTS APP: NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app — NBC Sports Group’s live streaming platforms for desktops, mobile devices, tablets, and connected TVs — will provide live streaming coverage of the 2016-17 NHL regular season via “TV Everywhere,” giving consumers additional value to for their subscription service, and making high quality content available to MVPD customers both in and out of the home and on multiple platforms.

NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app are powered by Playmaker Media and available on the iTunes App Store, Google Play, Windows Store, Roku Channel Store, Apple TV and Amazon Fire.


2016-17 REGULAR SEASON COVERAGE ON NBC & NBCSN

NBC Sports Group will deliver coverage of 106 NHL regular-season games during the 2016-17 season, featuring 14 games on NBC and 92 games on NBCSN. All games will be streamed live via NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app. Click here for more information on NBC Sports Group’s comprehensive NHL coverage this season.


NBC SPORTS REGIONAL NETWORKS

NBC Sports Regional Networks, which serve top NHL markets such as Boston (Bruins), Philadelphia (Flyers), Washington D.C. (Capitals), Chicago (Blackhawks) and the Bay Area (Sharks), will air more than 300 live NHL games and surround the 2016-17 NHL season with in-depth news, analysis and original programming on the teams that matter most.

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About Kukla's Korner Hockey

Paul Kukla founded Kukla’s Korner in 2005 and the site has since become the must-read site on the ‘net for all the latest happenings around the NHL.

From breaking news to in-depth stories around the league, KK Hockey is updated with fresh stories all day long and will bring you the latest news as quickly as possible.

Email Paul anytime at [email protected]

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