Friday night games aren't the norm in the first half of the season. As a matter of fact, tonight's game in Arizona is the third of three Friday night tilts on the Panthers schedule before the turn of the new year. Therefore, we'll hit on a few game preview items before we dive into today's mailbag. We don't usually get a chance to do this here!
Based on what we heard from Andrew Brunette after yesterday's practice, Aleksander Barkov and Anthony Duclair could be back in the lineup tonight if they're cleared. The Panthers are 6-2-1 over their last nine games; pretty impressive considering Duclair has missed the last six, and Barkov, although limited to just over 18 minutes, returned last game from an 8-game absence. Throw in the brief recent absence of Gus Forsling, and the Panthers highly touted depth has passed its first big test of the season. Nobody wants injuries, but over an 82-game NHL season, they're going to happen.
Doug Plagens' Panthers Mailbag: Friday Night Games, Music Favorites
Also, it's looking like Olli Juolevi will make his Panthers debut tonight in Arizona. Juolevi was a great pickup from Vancouver; the fifth overall pick in the 2016 draft by Vancouver, Bill Zito was able to acquire him without trading away a "regular" from the roster. Juolevi has always had a high ceiling, and has good size at 6'2" and is still just 23. Since debuting in North America in the AHL in '18-19, he has only played 89 professional regular season games. He's still developing, is still young, and if he can get into a rhythm, he could blossom into an impact player for the Panthers. Juolevi's progress will be exciting to watch.
Thanks for the questions this week! You'll see some variety… I'll always take questions about hockey and broadcasting, but I received some great questions about music this week. Keep them coming!
Now, your questions…
@nhlsensandstuff: How did you get into doing play by play?
First of all, I had always wanted to call play-by-play; preferably hockey. I was a student at Lake Forest College in Illinois- small school of about 1,400 when I entered as a freshman in 2003- and I began working with the student-run radio station on campus, 88.9 WMXM. We were "The Max in Music", but we also had a growing sports department led by my friend Brien Rea- two years older than me, and now part of the Dallas Stars television coverage on Bally Sports Southwest. Brien did play-by-play for hockey and football, and during my sophomore year, which would have been his senior year, I took over as his color commentator on the hockey broadcasts. We went on the road with the team, I saw how everything worked, and had a chance to observe Brien's call, which has always been outstanding on play-by-play.
Over the weekend of February 11 and February 12, 2005, the team was traveling to the banks of Lake Superior- the longest road trip on the schedule- to visit the University of Wisconsin-Superior and the College of St. Scholastica (Duluth, MN), and Brien wasn't able to make the trip. I filled in, and that was the first time I'd ever done hockey play-by-play. The following season, I took over after Brien graduated, and I had two seasons of hockey and football play-by-play under my belt upon graduation.
After graduating from Lake Forest in the Spring of 2007, I did a 14-month Master's program in broadcast journalism at Syracuse University, and while I was there, I was a broadcast intern for the Syracuse Crunch. I had a chance to shadow Bob McElligott, then voice of the Crunch and current radio voice of the Columbus Blue Jackets, for a whole season. I learned a ton from Bob, and still consider him one of my best friends and mentors in the business. I had a chance to contribute to the Crunch broadcasts in several ways that season, including filling in on play-by-play during a weekend when Bob was "called up" to fill in on Blue Jackets radio. After my program at Syracuse ended, I applied for jobs, and in September of 2008 I was hired by the Idaho Steelheads of the ECHL for my first full-time broadcast job. The rest is history!
@Raven_of_Kotos: Is there an album that you would consider a perfect album?
Another music question! I love it! I think there are a number of perfect albums. Smash from The Offspring, Weezer's Blue Album, Weekend Warriors from Secret Lives of the Freemasons, Strung Out's Twisted by Design… There are a lot of albums I consider to be "perfect".
But I'll take it one step further: I believe one band has pitched a perfect catalog. That's right… no duds. That band, in my opinion: a Chicago-based punk rock trio known as The Lawrence Arms. Their sound is unmistakable, their writing is unique, they have never had a lineup change, and they're a trio! Nobody combines the grittiness of Midwestern punk rock with catchy sing-alongs like The Lawrence Arms. They just have zero bad songs, and they have music for every mood. I've had a chance to see them live a couple times; in Cleveland and in Chicago. They absolutely rip in their live shows, too.
@parallelcircle: Best song on [Jawbreaker's 1994 album 24-Hour Revenge Therapy]?
I really, really enjoy Jawbreaker. For those who don't know them, there was a fantastic documentary called Don't Break Down that came out a few years ago. It's a great watch, even if you don't know anything about the band. They should have been huuuuuuge. I'm just glad I had a chance to see them at the Vans Warped Tour 25th Anniversary Festival in Mountain View, California in 2019. Anyway, my favorite song on this album: "Do You Still Hate Me?". The opening riff of this song, and the chorus, are actually the first things I think of when I see this album cover. Therefore, I have to say it's my favorite song on the album.
@ColbyDGuy: #DearDoug, if someone offered you $2 billion and all you had to do was eat soup for a week, would you do it?
A week of nothing but soup? $2 billion? What kind of soup are we talking about? Kidding. Yes, I would. It could even be old, past-the-expiration-date soup and I'd do it.
Thanks for the questions! 'Til next time, folks!
