NHL Puck Drop 2021: ESPN Director Doug Holmes and Producer Jeff Dufine on What To Expect From the Reimagined NHL on ESPN

12/10/2021

NHL Puck Drop 2021: ESPN Director Doug Holmes and Producer Jeff Dufine on What To Expect From the Reimagined NHL on ESPN The NHL vet and rookie are at the front bench for the league's return after 17 years By Jason Dachman, Chief Editor

Tuesday, October 12, 2021 - 4:29 pm

Print This Story | Subscribe

Story Highlights

When the NHL returns to ESPN tonight for the first time since 2004, fans will be greeted with a mix of nostalgia for the iconic NHL on ESPN coverage of yesteryear and new beginnings that go along with the launch of a new sports-broadcast era. It's fitting that the same will be true of the duo at the front bench producing ESPN's NHL coverage - one an NHL on ESPN veteran and one a rookie.

(Photo: Kelly Backus/ESPN Images)

Doug Holmes is back in the director's chair, having helmed NHL on ESPN broadcasts for more than two decades, from 1992 until the NHL rights package departed in 2004. Producer Jeff Dufine, on the other hand, will be making his NHL debut after overseeing ESPN's Sunday Night Baseball and Saturday Primetime College Basketball in recent years alongside Holmes.

Having spent the bulk of the past five years side by side on these properties, Holmes and Dufine now embark on a new chapter - for their partnership, for ESPN, and for the game of hockey in the U.S. SVG sat down with the pair to discuss their production strategy heading into the season, what new technologies and tools we can expect, and how much it means to the largely hockey-mad ESPN workforce to have the NHL back in-house.

Can you provide a sneak peek at some of the new cameras we'll be seeing for NHL coverage in ESPN's broadcasts?

Holmes: First off, aside from cameras, you're going to see more-aggressive cutting of the game. In hockey, there are a lot of purists that don't like to see much cutting, but one of our main goals is to speed up the game, and [aggressive cutting] is one way to do that.

Also, everyone talks about how great hockey is in person and why is it so different on television? Well, we want to get [viewers] closer to the ice because the energy is completely different when you get close to the ice. Those are two of our goals, philosophy-wise: to get close to the ice often and speed up the feel of the game. Not to the point of losing documentation, but to do it as much as we can and get as much energy in the games we possibly can.

The biggest thing is, you're going to see a camera on the ice, which is really exciting. There has been a camera on the ice for a long time, but it's almost exclusively just used for pregames. We're looking into different ways to exploit that camera and get more access on the ice throughout a game as opposed to just pregame ceremonies. We wouldn't have it [on the ice] during action, obviously, but we're hoping to have it during longer [stoppages in play], coming out of commercial breaks, intermissions, and things of that nature.

We are also playing around with a SupraCam. [Wired aerial cameras] are not necessarily new for NHL [coverage], but we've got some ideas in terms of how it can be used to get closer to the ice. That is something that we think can make a difference in how you see the game. One of the biggest problems we're always trying to solve in hockey is how to get the game camera closer. The near boards are a major blockage, so we want to get around that as best we can, and we think [SupraCam] is a great tool for that.

We also did a ton of innovation back when [we had the NHL], especially with robotics, and that's definitely going to continue. Robotics are counted on more than ever - especially for super-mos and all the new positions that have been created. So we're continuing to push forward on that front, and we will have a new robotic position on the reverse side in between the benches that will be on a lot of games.

And what about on the audio side of things? Will players and coaches be miked in the game, and what other strategies are you taking to boost the audio experience for viewers?

Dufine: When we say we're going to bring the viewer closer, it's not just about the video; it's about the audio as well. The league in the past has been understandably proactive with providing access to the players, and it's a great way to show their stars off. The league has been pretty receptive about [miking players]. Right now, our plan is to have at least one player miked as often as possible. We do have to go to each team and request a certain player and have them sign off on it, so obviously it's a process. But we plan to have a player miked for both of our games on Tuesday night. It's not something that we may do every game, but it's something that we're hoping to do as much as possible.

We will also have a pregame interview with an IFB for a particular player during the pre-skate that takes place about 15 minutes before we come on the air. That could be something really cool because you've never seen that kind of access before. It will obviously have to be rolled in whether it's in a pregame show or in the open to the game, but it's something that you very rarely see. So that's exciting.

We will also have access to the locker room on some games for the coach's pregame speech. We want to take the viewer somewhere that they very rarely go, and we think more access to the players and coaches is how to do that.

Holmes: We're also putting a lot of emphasis on getting more ice effects. We want to hear a lot more of the action on the ice - while being safe relative to profanity and whatnot. We're going to try to enhance the audio perspective at every game that we do. So, when we do take certain cameras or roll certain replays, you're going to be able to hear things like you've never heard them before.

For

LINK:	https://www.sportsvideo.org/2021/10/12/nhl-puck-drop-2021-espn-directo...
	See more stories from svg

Most recent headlines

05/01/2027

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be demoed at CES 2026

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...

01/06/2026

Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026

January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026 Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...

02/05/2026

Dalet Flex LTS Delivers Smarter Search, Faster Editing, and an AI-Ready Foundation for Modern Media

Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...

01/05/2026

NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to Integrate Dolby's Full Suite of Premium Picture and Sound Innovations

January 5 2026, 18:30 (PST) NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to ...

01/04/2026

DOLBY AND DOUYIN EMPOWER THE NEXT GENERATON OF CREATORS WITH DOLBY VISION

January 4 2026, 18:00 (PST) DOLBY AND DOUYIN EMPOWER THE NEXT GENERATON OF CREATORS WITH DOLBY VISION Douyin Users Can Now Create And Share Videos With Stun...

02/03/2026

L3Harris Appoints Ken Sharp Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, Ken Bedingfield President of Missile Solutions

MELBOURNE, Fla., March 2, 2026 - L3Harris Technologies (NYSE: LHX) today announc...

02/03/2026

Nielsen reveals New Zealand's top ad spenders and categories for 2025

Harvey Norman tops New Zealand's biggest ad spenders as retail leads and telcos and beverages sure Auckland March 3, 2026 - Nielsen's New Zealand'...

02/03/2026

aconnic and Arqit join forces to present the first quantum-safe industrial OT security gateway firewall at Mobile World Congress 2026

aconnic AG (ISIN: DE000A0LBKW6), Munich, and Arqit Quantum Inc. (Nasdaq: ARQQ, A...

02/03/2026

Advanced Systems Group Promotes Jody Boatwright to Chief...

Advanced Systems Group, LLC (ASG), a technology and services provider for media creatives and content owners, has appointed Jody Boatwright as Chief Strategy Of...

02/03/2026

Lightware TPN ecosystem powers smarter networks and strea...

Lightware, an industry leader in signal management, is reinforcing its commitment to simplifying complex AV environments with the continued evolution of its TPN...

02/03/2026

ZEISS Cinema Hosts First US Aatma Lens Demo Event in LA

ZEISS Cinema opens its doors to an exclusive screening, filmmakers Q&A and hands-on showcase of the new ZEISS Aatma lens family on Tuesday, March 10, 6:00-9:00 ...

02/03/2026

DoPchoice Introduces SNAPBAG Round for the New Astera Qui...

To expand the creative potential of the compact Astera QuikBeam, DoPchoice introduces the SNAPBAG Round. The new light-shaping accessory transforms the powerfu...

02/03/2026

Douglas Dubler Master of Light - Five Decades Shooting w...

Douglas Dubler On a rooftop in New York City, veteran photographer Douglas Dubler watched the sun's angle shift across the urban landscape, his internal cl...

02/03/2026

ZEISS Expands Otus ML Lineup with the New 1435

ZEISS is expanding its Otus ML lens family with the introduction of the new ZEISS Otus ML 1.4/35. This manual-focus lens is designed for photographers who live ...

02/03/2026

Matthews Intros White FlexiMount and Phone Mount Kit by D...

Matthews Studio Equipment now offers the new Dinkum Systems White FlexiMount and Phone Mount Kit, a compact, highly adaptable setup for mobile content creation...

02/03/2026

SES and Africa Mobile Network Reach Milestone: Connecting 5.8 Million in DRC, Expanding Rural Coverage

Luxembourg, February 26, 2026 - SES and Africa Mobile Network (AMN) have expande...

02/03/2026

Ausfilm and Screen Australia launch joint UK market initiative

02 03 2026 - Media release Ausfilm and Screen Australia launch joint UK market initiative Ausfilm and Screen Australia have announced Partner with Australia (...

02/03/2026

Fox Corporation President and Chief Operating Officer John Nallen to Participate in Upcoming Deutsche Bank's 34th Annual Media, Internet & Telecom Conference 2026

28/02/2026

FOX Sports Waves Green Flag on 2026 IndyCar Season With Driver's Eye, Heads Up Display, Live Drones

With two features seen in Formula 1 coverage, the broadcaster aims to bring view...

28/02/2026

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth Visits L3Harris Solid Rocket Motor Site

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth addresses a crowd of approximately 1,500 L3Harris employees in Camden, Arkansas, as part of his Arsenal of Freedom tour....