MATT MCCONNELL -- COYOTES PLAY-BY-PLAY MAN TALKS JOURNEY THROUGH CAREER

MATT MCCONNELL -- COYOTES PLAY-BY-PLAY MAN TALKS JOURNEY THROUGH CAREER

By: Matthew Blittner

Matt McConnell, entering his fifth season as the television play-by-play for the Arizona Coyotes, chatted with yours truly about a variety of topics:

Included are: his expansive broadcasting career, changes to broadcasting since he broke in, and his relationships with some players.

BIGGEST CHANGE IN BROADCASTING SINCE YOUR CAREER STARTED: “The biggest change from the broadcast standpoint is the technology and the information that is available to us as we prepare for a broadcast. Back in 1993, there weren’t even standardized notes to go off of, in terms of prepping for the game. From what the viewer sees, it’s the technology and this started with the invention of high definition. The enhanced technology has really helped fans enjoy the game, more so than they have in the past. We have real time stats now that we can use. Websites that networks subscribe to. Now even the delivery of games has been enhanced. The NHL has an agreement with FOX Sports to stream games this season. FOX Sports now has the FOX Sports GO app, so, for say Coyotes fans, they can watch the games anywhere in the country through the app, so long as they subscribe. Back when I started there were just a few areas where fans could watch the games and that has really changed with the advent of the new digital platforms.”

CAREER: “I’m like Mario Mendoza, no actually I’m the Michelle Patio of broadcasting. I started in Anaheim in 1993-96 as a radio broadcaster. Then Pittsburgh in ‘96 to do radio and 10 television games per year. In ‘99 I used that experience to do Atlanta Thrashers television. I was there for 10 of the 12 seasons they were around. Took a brief trip to Minnesota and then came back after the lockout year of ‘04-’05. Then I did studio and television play-by-play. When the team moved to Winnipeg the Coyotes came calling. I’ve been with them now for six seasons. It’s kind of a running joke that I will do this for every team in the NHL, but I’m very happy here in Arizona and hope to be here a very long time.

“With television going away after the first round of playoffs for local broadcasters I would hope that the league could do what TBS and Turner have done with the Final Four, where they can have a team stream and you can watch your team’s channel. That would be pretty cool. I don’t know if it’s possible, but it would be awesome. This would be something that the networks would have to undertake since they control the playoffs after the first round. It would give all of us at the local level, the opportunity to call a Stanley Cup Final. In Baseball, I remember when the Pirates won the World Series in ‘79. They used the home announcers on the home games, Pirates in Pittsburgh, and the Orioles in Baltimore.”   

STYLE CHANGES: “As you gain more experience and a better familiarity with the league you let the game dictate what you say and how you prepare. I say this all the time to young broadcasters, don’t be concerned with creating your own style or gimmick or catch phrase, it comes over time. Your style evolves over time. It becomes what it is with experience. I never try to put myself ahead of the game, which sometimes broadcasters have a habit of doing. The fans are more concerned with what is happening on the ice, so it’s very important to respect the game and let the beauty of the game come through.”

MEMORABLE GAME AND GOAL: “The memorable night of my broadcast career, my 15 seconds of fame, had nothing to do with hockey, rather it was basketball. I got to call a Toronto Raptors game for TNT. I was with the Thrashers and we were in toronto and had plane issues, and the next day the weather turned bad. Marv Albert, who was scheduled to call the game was having problems with his voice from a triple overtime game for the Knicks the night before and with the weather being bad, he couldn’t make it. I got a call from Turner Sports and they asked if I could do basketball and Charles Barkley and all the guys made fun of me since I only had one suit with me for the trip, so they showed a split screen of me wearing the same suit for both games.

“Then when I was in Pittsburgh I got the chance to call Mario Lemieux’s 600th goal, which, was a real special night. Being around that Penguins team with Lemieux, Jagr, and Francis, I grew up a Penguins fan and followed the Pens back in the late ‘70s. The other special one was when the Coyotes made their run to the Western Conference Finals in ‘11-’12. The team was in bankruptcy and we literally came within three wins of going to the Stanley Cup Final. We beat the Blackhawks in six games. Mike Smith had the greatest game I’ve ever seen by a goalie in that game. Just tremendous. It was my first experience with the “whiteout” in Arizona. Nobody gave us a chance. They beat Nashville in the second round. Then lost to the Kings in five. That whole year was special. They hung a huge Coyotes banner on the side of the airport throughout the playoffs. When they clinched the division in Minnesota after the second to last game of the season. There were probably 500 people waiting for us at the airport. After we beat the Blackhawks it must have been about 1,500 fans. It was one of the greatest things i’ve ever seen.”

FAVORITE PLAYER AND HATED PLAYER: “I don’t have any hated players, I understand not everybody loves every player, but they all have jobs to do. In my home office I’ve got a good guy wall of fame. Maybe not the greatest players but just great guys. Mario Lemieux, he was always great to me. Very unselfish. Teemu Selanne. When my family went to Scandinavia on vacation he invited us to his house but he was away. A lot of players have been wonderful people. My top-3: Mario Lemieux, Teemu Selanne, and Shane Doan. Shane is an unbelievable role model for kids. He’s a guy who has been good to all of us for a very long time.

SHANE DOAN: “Shane has had an unbelievable career. What I admire is how he handles himself off the ice. He’s always the last guy off the ice, always working out. Working out in Columbia doing dryland workouts with his son. Works on his one timer. When you get to meet a person's parents you really see where they get it from. His dad Bernie and his mom Bernice have been around us a lot and they are some of the best people you'll ever meet. We see them when we go up to Alberta. He’s a poster child for hard work paying off. He’s been tremendous. When my mother passed away during the last lockout, I see shane, and he said it’s great to be back and he pulls me to the side and says I’m really sorry about your mom, and I was really stunned since a player had never done that to me before. He’s shown me more than any other player in 20 years of experience.”

MARIO LEMIEUX: “I was there from ‘96-’99. He played in the ‘96-’97 season then decided to retire. The Penguins had lost to the Flyers in five games. He scored his 600th goal that year. I give it a big call and then find out that nobody heard it. Then I found out we had been interrupted for the OJ Simpson verdict so my call was basically heard by nobody. It was a tremendous thrill for me, to be around him.”