Brian Engblom, color analyst for Lightning TV, will be front and center as TSN broadcasts 30 tournament games over the course of 13 days starting on Friday at the Ice Hockey Federation World Championships in Czechia this year. (On NHL Network in the US, certain TSN broadcasts will be available.)
Engblom from Ostrava, where he will offer color for Team USA’s Group B opener against Sweden, was interviewed by the Tampa Bay Times on the eve of the tournament’s opening. Both teams will have Lightning players: Victor Hedman is on Team Sweden, and Mikey Eyssimont is on Team USA. The forwards from Tampa Bay, Nick Paul and Brandon Hagel, will also compete for Team Canada in Group A.
The following is Engblom’s perspective on covering worlds for the second year in a row, how the game has changed, and what to look out for (some responses have been condensed for clarity and brevity):
Regarding the impact of the 13-foot-wide international rink on the game:
Zach Werenski, a defenseman for the Blue Jackets and Team USA, told me that after just one pre-tournament game in Bratislava, he got here and said, “Oh my goodness, I was beat.” At the end of the game, I was quite exhausted. only due to the ice’s increased breadth. Forwards adore it because it gives them more space to maneuver. They do need to skate a little bit more, but that works to their benefit. The defensemen are living in a nightmare.
Splitting can never go too far. On the ice, you have to be aware of your whereabouts. Since it’s a long distance back to the front of the net, you can’t get into the corner. You’re clueless. You’re still in the corner when that puck finds its way back into the slot. Good luck. You’re through.
We thus discussed such topics, including the gameplay of the game. You are aware of how each player rims the puck in the offensive zone? That takes a lot longer, though. He said that he must have missed the puck by five feet when we went to cut it off. Thus, while there are certain differences, they are primarily for the defensemen.
It’s very important for defensemen to play inside the dots and be aware of their surroundings. You can’t just start chasing people. When we played the Russians in 1983, we thought to ourselves, “Oh my god, are you kidding me?” We were pushed around by them.
On a Team USA squad filled with the best NHL players, we spoke with Brady Tkachuk of the Senators for a brief while, and he was beaming since he was currently playing on a line with Cole Caufield of the Canucks and Johnny Gaudreau of the Blue Jackets. He’s going to move from the corner to the front of the net as usual, and those two dangle all over the place and are capable of shooting the ball.
Regarding the World Championships broadcasting experience: The setting is really unique. It’s really intense, but it’s also a lot of fun. In 13 days, we’ll play 30 games. We will play two games a day at the very least, and you will play three games a day four times. Bryan Mudryk, the play-by-play broadcaster for TSN, and I will be together. I believe this will be the 25th play-by-play man I have ever worked with when we settle down to begin. I’ll just listen for a little while to get a sense of his cadence and rhythm, and then we’ll just go. He’ll treat me in the same manner.
