We're getting a better sense of the on-air players covering the NHL in the new Rogers Sportsnet 12-year deal, starting with the play-by-play men.
Jim Hughson will remain the #1 NHL announcer. Bob Cole will be along for the ride, too.
The other two main voices are a bit of a surprise. One has been in exile for almost a decade and the other a newcomer to national telecasts.
I first heard about Paul Romanuk on the 506 Forum. They were speculating that this guy, who had been living in London, England since 2005, would come back to work for Rogers. Turns out they were right.
Romanuk's background is quite impressive. And he has been calling international hockey in his time in England.
Dave Randorf has covered the World Hockey Championships and the Montréal Canadiens for TSN-Habs for the past 4 seasons. Rogers couldn't draw over major TSN players such as Chris Cuthbert, Gord Miller, and James Duthie, but in the end, did get Randorf.
Rogers announced the 4 in its upfront earlier today. The announcement does trigger a few unanswered questions.
Won't they need more than 4 play-by-play announcers?
The CBC uses 4 teams to cover fewer games than Rogers has in mind for Saturdays. Looks like Rogers will use its local Western crews to cover those teams on a Saturday.
The announcement made clear that Bob Cole will work Saturdays only. The assumption is that Cole will virtually be on CBC during the regular season. If Hughson is on mostly Saturdays, Romanuk and Randorf would cover Wednesdays and Sundays along with Saturdays.
We still don't even know if Rogers will carry a doubleheader on Wednesdays.
Which announcer will handle Western games?
Will Rogers farm that out to its local announcers? For example, if Vancouver is playing Calgary at 10 pm ET on a Saturday night on CBC, will Rogers use a national crew or a local crew?
If Rogers sends out a national crew, will they work their way back East on Sunday for the City TV Sunday night game.
What does this mean for Dean Brown and Mark Lee?
Dean Brown has fewer options than when this week started. Brown can work Senators radio broadcasts and perhaps help out on TSN in case of conflicts. With Randorf's departure, Chris Cuthbert and Gord Miller will have to call Leafs, Habs, and Sens for TSN local feeds.
Mark Lee might get the call on particularly busy Saturdays. Otherwise, Lee isn't a factor in the new Rogers regime. He will have work for CBC Sports, but he would have lost football and hockey over the last few years.
Both Brown and Lee could get a call for the first round of the playoffs, depending on Rogers strategy.
What about the CFL studio show without Randorf?
Well, this isn't a hockey related question. TSN certainly had Randorf in its plans for the upcoming CFL season. James Duthie, everyone's logical choice, won't be stepping into the chair. Dave Hodge, Rod Smith, Rod Black, Farhan Lalji, and Brian Williams are the other internal candidates. The first exhibition game is on Monday, and someone will be there in the studio.
photo credit: CFL
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Posted by: Chad | June 03, 2014 at 11:30 PM
So, some additional background on Romanuk and Randorf:
- Romanuk called hockey for TSN from the late 80s until 2001. He was the network's lead hockey voice after Jim Hughson left in 1994. (I fondly remember him for his World Junior work.) Has called Spengler Cup on both Sportsnet and TSN during his time overseas.
- Randorf does have experience as a national NHL play-by-play voice with TSN. He was No. 2 behind Gord Miller from 2002 until Chris Cuthbert's arrival in 2005. (Of course, back then, TSN didn't do as many games and so he wasn't on that much.) Randorf's most famous playoff call to date is probably Andrew Brunette's OT winner in game 7 of Wild-Avalanche in 2003. "Upset in the mile high city!"
The four guys announced by Rogers is a very strong lineup, in my opinion. However, it would seem to me that these are the four "full time" guys that will have regular work. I'm sure there will be others that get spot duty. Almost certainly Kevin Quinn (who does Oilers games currently) will get some national work, I would think. Perhaps Dean Brown does Sens radio and occasional Rogers TV work. However, I doubt we hear much of Mark Lee anymore. Just my guess on that.
Posted by: Tyler | June 04, 2014 at 05:43 PM
Thanks for the Randorf update. I did some research but obviously that fell short. His voice is OK but I know some have a hard time. I have enjoyed him doing the Canadiens games the last few years.
I get the impression that the Canucks, Flames, and Oilers announcers will go national on Saturdays (and maybe Wednesdays for the late game) based on the upfront. The idea of Shorthouse and Garrett (for example) being on CBC in the late game will take some getting used to hearing.
Posted by: Chad | June 05, 2014 at 11:30 AM
Well the Flames local TV crew of Rob Kerr and Charlie Simmer was fired by Sportsnet at the end of the season, so they have that hole to fill as well.
Posted by: Kyle | June 05, 2014 at 01:51 PM
Here we are talking about Rogers local announcers filling in and they have 2 openings in Calgary. Seems like Rob Kerr wasn't in the chair for long. Not sure why Calgary has this high turnover rate.
There will be announcers who will lose out when Rogers announces its picks. Maybe the "losers" will want to move to Calgary.
Posted by: Chad | June 05, 2014 at 02:34 PM
Randorf doesn't have the best voice, but he's exciting to listen to, I think. No disrespect to Dave, but Rogers had to settle. He's no Miller or Cuthbert.
Good point about a new play-by-play voice being needed for Flames regional games. (They actually need a new radio voice, too!) It's a good gig, it will be interesting to see who gets it.
Not sure what the deal is though with turnover. I do know that when Peter Loubardias was fired, he was told that new bosses didn't like his work. But having heard Kerr a few times, I felt he was actually worse: over the top yelling, and just overall not pleasant to listen to.
Posted by: Tyler | June 06, 2014 at 12:47 PM
The Edmonton announcers are pretty good. I do like Shorthouse and Garrett of the 3 Rogers crews out west. I hope Calgary gets a better team. Maybe Kelly Hrudey would work some local Flames games depending on how/if Rogers uses him.
Randorf isn't bad; I've become used to him. And not a bad gamble by Rogers, especially under the circumstances.
Posted by: Chad | June 06, 2014 at 03:48 PM