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Think of a great friend from high school or college, somebody you would like to see more often. Then imagine that friend is a teacher/entertainer who loves the subject matter as much as you do. The great friend’s notes and attention to class-in-session details are Hall of Fame quality.

Then consider a favorite teammate from sports or the debate club or jazz band, the one who’s a key performer and always has plenty of one-liners to keep it light.

Finally, think about the coolest person you know at work, school (classmates, teachers, coaches or parents), or maybe someone who stands out in your neighborhood. Add in a sense of modesty that belies the person’s professional standing. Cool and accomplished, but never brags. Good stuff.

In your mind, you have just imagined the Kraken Hockey Network trio of play-by-play man extraordinaire John Forslund and two of the sport’s most compelling analysts, nationally-renowned Eddie Olczyk and rising personality JT Brown. Now deep into their third season together – with Forslund and Brown in Year Four – the game conversation flows as smoothly and naturally and quick-reflexed as Brandon Montour jutting and cutting through all three zones on the ice. Victory or defeat, Kraken fans are appreciating and welcoming the close-knit trio into their personal viewing spaces more than ever this season as KHN has expanded reach via KING, KONG, Prime Video and more than a dozen broadcast affiliate stations across Washington, Alaska, Oregon, Idaho and Montana.

Second (Period) to None

On this January game night at Climate Pledge Arena, the second period is about to begin. Many Kraken fans know what comes next, or at least will recognize it here, typically before any call on the middle-frame action.

“Welcome to the period of the long change,” said Forslund, repeating some version of that introduction as a signature move of his game calls. It’s a prime example of the future Hockey Hall of Famer’s nightly teaching of the sport as he unfolds what happens on every shift. Hockey’s shifts, of course, ideally last about 40 to 45 seconds in order to keep the five freshest skaters on the ice at all times.

Hockey players “changing on the fly” is unique to team sports and sets up a strategy every game, even before the puck is dropped. Players and coaches alike have a system for making those changes. When the teams switch sides in the second period, those players exiting the ice have a longer distance to skate from the defensive zone, which can wreak havoc and scoring chances if play suddenly reverses and the exiting players have reached the bench quickly enough to replacements on the ice.

Forslund routinely mentions the long change when situations arise, such as this game, pointing out that starting goalie Philipp Grubauer has a longer distance to sprint to the bench during a delayed penalty call, in turn holding back an extra attacker until the goalie arrives. Olczyk has a keen eye for when Kraken players are tiring on the ice, alerting fans to the danger of extended shifts and adding the long-change element during the middle 20 minutes. Brown’s habit between each period is to pore over stat sheets to discover (often to affirm his own analysis) which players are averaging longer shifts than desired by the coaches, especially against a strong opposing forward line.

“It's a longer change than the first and third periods,” said Forslund during the first intermission one night (for more, check out the video embedded in this story). “I point that out because a lot of the scoring plays, penalties because of too many men on the ice, and general chaos are all caused because of long changes. Players get more fatigued depending on how well a team manages the puck. If they can't get off the ice quick enough, that leads to scoring chances and eventually goals.”

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      Bob Condor and KHN's John Forslund discuss the period of the long change and it's impact on the game.

      Dan Bylsma Concurs

      For his part, Kraken coach Dan Bylsma agrees that second periods can generate chaos and especially lead to tired defensive pairs, who lose a competitive edge even if they are elite defenders.

      “Making a long change with us in the offensive zone allows your next group to come out to continue that puck possession and force the other team to be playing tired [foes not able to exit because it results in a player short for dangerous extra seconds],” said Bylsma. “In most NHL buildings, you have the benefit of seeing time on ice stats during play, the actual shift length of the players on the ice. When you look up and see their team’s defensemen are at a minute, 45 [seconds], you know they are playing tired. Playing tired usually means playing slower. So when a player like Matty Beniers, who might be 35 to 40 seconds into his shift, and we have possession in the offensive zone, he chooses to come to the bench for a fresh center to jump into play [in that particular case, it was Yanni Gourde, who shortly thereafter assisted on a goal]. That’s part of playing the game right and being a good teammate.”

      Teamwork in the Broadcast Booth

      The partnership of Forslund, Olczyk and Brown is visible and palpable on game nights, whether it be Forslund and Olczyk in the Climate Pledge Arena home broadcast booth high (but not too high) above center ice with Brown between the benches. Or it might be Forslund and Brown in the home booth when Olczyk covers a TNT national game. During road games, there are times when all three are in the booth—and you know that requires liking the idea of being around each other.

      On this night, the teamwork is bolstered, as always, by the regular support crew of Robbie Neilson (stage manager who, among other duties, feeds Forslund handouts for sponsor and team promotions spots to read), Joshua Blyth (all things audio and tech who is rightfully proud of the homey atmosphere in the booth with hockey memorabilia adorning the walls) and Dave Edwards (providing live stats of all types). The support crew love the “talent” as much as we all do. They get the opportunity to hear everything and be part of what is an undercurrent, overcurrent and throughline current of banter every game. Olczyk has his own routine with Neilson – not sure it all makes sense to anyone but those two (or maybe just Eddie at times), but it is clearly a pair with a friendship and respect for the other’s work (Neilson’s first broadcast gig in a long Seattle career was assisting legendary New York Yankees announcer Mel Allen).

      What Doesn’t Meet the Eye

      There are booth visuals fans don’t see but are part of the routine: Forslund stands pretty much the entire game, part projection of voice and part “just being juiced.” He moves around quite a bit (it mirrors his vocal tempo) when there is a commercial break or off-camera moment. The play-by-play man notes Vancouver and Calgary are two arenas in which he has to sit because of low ceilings. Otherwise, Forslund leans over the windowless table to call the action (those of us who sit directly below him on the press bridge have the good fortune to watch a live game in the NHL’s best arena while listening to John’s call).

      Olczyk sits most of the game and has a slash-camera monitor that he monitors closely because it originates from a corner position in which Olczyk, a Stanley Cup-winning player and former NHL head coach, can leverage his deep knowledge of how most goals or scoring chances develop far before the shot is taken. He is working with the production truck on a constant basis to have replays ready, and he is not afraid to use his mark-up pen and/or give “stop it there” on-air directions to the truck video operators.

      None of Olczyk’s slash-cam study prevents the veteran analyst from commenting on plays, near-misses, good sticks by Kraken defenders and, of course, any poke he can make at Forslund, which this night involved his partner’s recent haircut (he approved) and a running gag about the infomercial “Clapper” automatic light-switch product (a forerunner to today’s world of voice-control home devices) when the arena lights went black briefly in the starting moments of the game.

      Taking Note of the Notes

      The contrast in handwritten game notes between Forslund and the analyst next to him depends on which one is flanking that night. Olczyk scribbles a few notes on his lineup sheet, relying on encyclopedic-type mental knowledge of players and coaches and trends. Brown is a devotee of Forslund’s notes preparation and carries his own notebook and customized system, becoming a bit more elaborate each season.

      Fast forward to Tuesday’s game against Anaheim. When Eeli Tolvanen scored a first-period goal, Forslund immediately gave props to Brown about Tolvanen being “one of your focal points at the top of our pre-game show.”

      “Just the way I planned it,” said Brown, lightly and clearly in a self-effacing manner.

      “You ‘re a good planner, thoughtful, detailed, always prepared,” said Forslund, giving us a hint of how much he admires Brown’s work ethic in a second hockey career following his NHL playing days.

      “It doesn’t always work out most of the time,” said Brown.

      “Go with baseball,” said Forslund. “If you hit .300 you are a star player. You’re at least eight of 10 [in the accuracy of Brown’s pre-game focal points] in my book... and that’s the only book that counts.”

      Forslund’s copious notes that he prepares for every single broadcast [he often posts them on social media] are works of art and labor in equal parts. Recently, the columns and numbers and passages allowed him to instantly tell fans that Sidney Crosby has just reached the top-10 all-time in NHL points in road games (“surpassing the great Joe Sakic”) by scoring the only Pittsburgh goal in a 4-1 Kraken in last Saturday’s Kids Game.

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      Listening, Decompressing, Bringing the Energy

      It’s the second intermission of this early January game, and the Kraken are trailing Edmonton 3-1. As is now habit on KHN broadcasts, one of the Kraken assistant coaches is KHN interviewer Piper Shaw’s guest, this night Jessica Campbell. Up in the booth, Forslund and Olczyk don headsets and listen intently. After the live interview, which airs moments later on KHN, the two partners go quiet to relax just a bit before the third period.

      When Kraken forward Jaden Schwartz makes it a one-goal game with 12 minutes left, all three broadcasters are bringing energy. Forslund looks at his notes to tell fans the Kraken alternate captain has five goals and seven points total in his last five games. A few shifts later, Olczyk praises the play of the fourth line, and at ice level, Brown seamlessly works in a comment about better rebound control at the Kraken end. As the Kraken threaten to tie the game, Olczyk is standing now and noting that fourth-liner Brandon Tanev, on a late-game shift, is out with Chandler Stephenson and Jared McCann.

      The energy is humming up in the booth and in the headsets with all three colleagues and friends adding their take on a potential Kraken rally. It falls short when a typically nimble Oliver Bjorkstrand stumbles and Forslund says Oilers star Leon Draisaitl “puts it away” with an empty-net goal and 4-2 final. But John, Eddie and JT keep the conversation going until the horn sounds, and Forslund throws it to the post-game show. They wouldn’t have it any other way.