
Stanley Cup Final: ESPN Offers Visually Appealing Return with Two On-Ice Skate Cams, Cabled Aerials, 10 Super Slow Mos, and More Multiple players and coaches will wear microphones for in-depth audio coverage By Brandon Costa, Director of Digital
Monday, June 20, 2022 - 3:18 pm
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlights
For many at ESPN, the return of the Stanley Cup Final to the company's programming lineup is not only a fitting culmination to its first full season of NHL coverage since 2004, but also a stark reminder of how far the network has come in just 15 months since the news first broke of the Walt Disney Company's seven-year rights agreement with the NHL.
Inside the ESPN production truck during Game 2 of the 2022 Stanley Cup Final. ESPN's lead producer and director team for the NHL is Jeff Dufine and Doug Holmes. (Photo: Phil Ellsworth/ESPN Images)
We started this thing with nothing. Actually, we had one thing: we had the music, says Jeff Dufine, lead producer of ESPN's NHL game coverage. Literally, a year ago, that's all we had. We didn't have production teams. We didn't have any operations folks lined up. We didn't have trucks. We didn't have equipment. It's been a huge lift, but we're really proud about how we got here and the product we put on the air.
In essentially a summer, ESPN recruited a group that produced north of 150 games for ESPN, ABC, and ESPN+ during the 2021-22 campaign that has included a playoff run and, now, the Stanley Cup Final, which continues Monday evening as the series shifts to Tampa for Game 3 with the Colorado Avalanche carrying a commanding two games to none lead over the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Specialty Cams for Star Power Cameras have been a star of this series so far, most notably specialties ranging from a cabled aerial camera (SkyCam Wildcat), Ankle Cams in the lower corner boards, two Skate Cams (on-ice shallow depth-of-field rigs operated by Zac Laszuk and Steven Smith.), and more than 10 super slow-mos.
SkyCam Wildcat is up in both arenas to offer a fresh, aerial look to ESPN's game coverage of the Stanley Cup Final. (Photo: Phil Ellsworth/ESPN Images)
ESPN is also working closely with Canadian broadcasters Sportsnet and TVA, as well as NHL Network and the NHL itself to share those resources and adding about 25 more camera angles for the front bench to utilize. That includes a camera in the Situation Room in Toronto that can be shown on-air during a replay review.
Dufine says the various angles are simply enhancing a series that is full of fantastic storylines for me and director Doug Holmes. The overarching storyline simply being a matchup between a two-time defending champion looking to cement a dynasty and a young, star-powered team on the rise.
We're fortunate. These, I think, are the two best teams in hockey, says Dufine. Colorado's been that team the entire regular season and we all know that Tampa's going for three in a row. But when you look at it like, both of these coaches are super insightful. They're a walking soundbite, You can't go wrong. They're both phenomenal when, when we meet with them and they're really bright NHL minds. You look at their teams and there's Hall of Famers everywhere you look.
Maximizing Space at Each Venue Behind the scenes, the production compounds for the Final are a split between NEP Broadcasting in Denver and Game Creek Video in Tampa. Games 1 and 2 in Colorado saw NEP's EN2 A and B units as well as SS32 and ST32 anchor the operations, while the shift tonight to Games 3 and 4 in Florida welcomes Game Creek's Spirit A and B units, as well as Maverick and Edit 3.
Due to space limitations, ESPN chose to park its live production compound outside of Ball Arena for Games 1 and 2 of the series. (Photo: Phil Ellsworth/ESPN Images)
According to Erin Orr, Senior Manager, NHL Remote Operations for ESPN, each of the venues offers unique layouts and challenges to tackle when introducing an event at the scale of a Cup Final. In Denver, ESPN made the call to move the broadcast compound outside of the traditional dock location inside Ball Arena and instead position it in a remote lot outside. The regular dock simply didn't offer enough space for the resources needed by all parties. This required a cable bridge linking the broadcast trucks to the broadcast panel and extensive cable planning for execution.
Compound space is also tight in Tampa. There requires a well-coordinated arrival and parking of the trucks to ensure the space is utilized to its fullest capability Tampa is also not without unique limitations. Compound space in Florida is very tight and requires a very organized dance to ensure all trucks arrive and get positioned to the exact coordinate within the limited space. Additional cable infrastructure has been added to both venues, as well, to support a robust sharing of resources between ESPN and other broadcasters on site.
ESPN has added a second Skate Cam for the Stanley Cup Final. Here, operator Zac Laszuk runs a rig shooting images with a shallow depth of field during Game 2 in Denver. Operating the other rig is Steven Smith. (Photo: Phil Ellsworth/ESPN Images)
Orr praised the operations team for juggling the grab bag of obstacles that faced the crew this postseason - and in this series, in particular. That ops team includes senior operations specialist Jeff Werner, Associate Manager, Operations, Catherine Carroon, Remote Operations Coordinator Carson Kenney, operations specialists Brock Wetherbee and Jon Winders, and operations producers Katy Abbott, Tim Denyes, Phil Erwin, Diana MacLeod, Matt Pecarovich, Andrew Schneider, and Dave Walker.
Together, production and operations worked hand-in-hand and learned the importance of discipline, communication, respect, and, above all els
More from Sports Video Group
13/07/2025
Live From MLB All-Star 2025: MLB Network Marks Five Straight Years of Onsite MLB...
11/07/2025
Behind the Mic: Amazon Prime Preps for First Season of NBA Action; MSG Networks ...
11/07/2025
SVG New Sponsor Spotlight: Suite Studios' Craig Hering on Adapting to Client...
11/07/2025
2025 SVG Content Management Forum Breaks Down AI's Impact, Continued Transit...
11/07/2025
A Journey HOME: University of Nebraska's HuskerVision Goes IP Leaders from the HuskerVision and Lawo share their IP learnings By SVG Staff
Friday, July 1...
11/07/2025
CMSI, Remote Picture Labs, Ace ESPN's Cloud-Based Editing Efforts for Wimble...
11/07/2025
Netflix Enters the Live-Boxing-Production Ring for Round 2 With Historic Taylor-...
10/07/2025
5G for all? What the DFL's use of Easy5G and RefCam could mean for events in...
10/07/2025
Save the Date: PGA TOUR Studios Welcomes SVG Remote Production Summit on Oct 14-...
10/07/2025
Cloud on the Road: How Remote-Production-Service Providers Are Adapting to a New...
10/07/2025
Seattle Kraken's Ryan Schaber on the NHL Team Taking Live Game Productions I...
10/07/2025
FOX Sports Reboots Small Control Room in Los Angeles as Hub for Vertical-First P...
10/07/2025
SVG Sit-Down: MSE's Zach Leonsis, ViewLift's Rick Allen Go Deep on Joint...
09/07/2025
Monumental Sports & Entertainment, ViewLift Unveil Broadcast/Streaming Joint Ven...
09/07/2025
SVG Europe Audio State of Wireless Mics Forum: If we lose the spectrum, it...
09/07/2025
Tech Focus: Athlete Audio - Venues Provide Sound Just for the Players From locker room to field of play, personalized systems help rev up the athletes By Dan D...
08/07/2025
Groundbreaking Gamecocks: Inside University of South Carolina's Four-Control...
08/07/2025
Monumental Sports & Entertainment's Samantha Brady on the Power of the RSN...
08/07/2025
Live From 2025 FIFA Club World Cup: FIFA, HBS Focus on Tournament Wrap, With an ...
08/07/2025
SVG Rewind: NESN Goes Behind the Scenes of 1975 Red Sox Retro Broadcast NESN is following up the retrocast with a week-long celebration of the Green Monster By...
07/07/2025
1-2 Punch: The Cloud, Generative AI, and the Future of Sports-Content Distributi...
07/07/2025
Tests and decisions: Formula E host broadcaster Aurora on launching new AR graph...
07/07/2025
Building tension: Using new AR graphics for storytelling at the Formula E penult...
07/07/2025
Altitude Sports' Matt Krol on the Success of the RSN's In-Arena Postgame...
07/07/2025
SVG Rewind: Four NFL Clubs Bring Us on Set of Respective Media Day Shoots An in-depth conversation with 49ers Laura Johnson, Ravens Jay O'Brien, Las Vegas R...
07/07/2025
Cosm To Build Fifth Shared Reality Venue in Cleveland as Part of Bedrock's ...
02/07/2025
Progressive realism: Aurora on taking up the broadcast reins for World RX alongs...
02/07/2025
Great speed: New host broadcaster Aurora on getting the World RX 2025 season pro...
02/07/2025
Seat of its pants: Aurora boxes clever and looks ahead for the FIA as new host b...
02/07/2025
UEFA Women's Euro 2025: EBU, BBC Sport and Sunset Vine talk coverage plans, ...
02/07/2025
UEFA Women's Euro 2025: Women's Super League launches new content series...
02/07/2025
UEFA Women's Euro 2025: Ignite puts fans and players front and centre with t...
02/07/2025
Storytelling in the Live Game Broadcast: ESPN Director Jimmy Platt Breaks Down t...
02/07/2025
CONCACAF's Miguel Angel Garcia on the Gold Cup's Enhanced 2025 Productio...
01/07/2025
SVG New Sponsor Spotlight: Spyrosoft's Jonathan Witty on Futher Business Exp...
01/07/2025
The NIL Effect: How the Shifting Business of College Athletics Impacts On-Campus...
01/07/2025
Cherry on the cake: Inside the technical production of the Tour de France 2025 w...
01/07/2025
NESN's Josh Jun on Keeping Alternative Broadcasts Fresh for Boston Red Sox, ...
01/07/2025
TNT Sports Races Back Into NASCAR With Fresh Look, Familiar Edge Production approach emphasizes creative freedom, bold storytelling, casual-fan-friendly tone B...
27/06/2025
How smarter compression is creating a sustainable future By Michael Burns
Monday, June 23, 2025 - 14:13
Print This Story
Live sport is especially vulnerab...
27/06/2025
Behind the Mic: FOX Sports Ratchets Up UEFA Women's EURO 2025 With Top-Class...
27/06/2025
RTL Group To Acquire Sky Deutschland By George Bevir, Editorial Director, SVG Europe
Friday, June 27, 2025 - 8:00 am
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story ...
27/06/2025
Frictionless, At Scale: The Current State of Live Video Streaming Techology Leaders from Bitmovin, Comcast Technology Solutions, Harmonic, IMAX, and Phenix brea...
27/06/2025
Marquee Sports Network's Nick Steger on Meeting the Moment of the Contending...
27/06/2025
NHL Draft 2025: The League Is Primed for First Decentralized Draft in Non-Pandem...
26/06/2025
10th-Annual SVG Regional Sports Production Summit Presents Useful Roadmap for th...
26/06/2025
The Big Cloud Debate: Public vs. Private vs. Hybrid Tech leaders from CineSys, Diversified, and Net Insight breaks down all flavors of cloud By Jason Dachman, ...
26/06/2025
Program Productions' Jess Kowatch on Training the Next and Current Gener...
25/06/2025
SVG College Summit 2025: Select Sessions Now Available to Watch on SVG PLAY Tackling the latest in college sports video: NIL, live production, virtual productio...
25/06/2025
ESPN Is Set To Bring AR Graphics to Wimbledon, Revamps Bunker and Studio 18 VO B...