NEW YORK -- Cam Janssen couldn't stop trembling.
He played nine seasons in the NHL as an enforcer, appears on television in St. Louis and co-hosts a successful hockey podcast. But holding a microphone to ask questions of a fake Rod Brind'Amour, while a camera recorded them in a small Manhattan conference room at NHL headquarters? That rattled him.
"I'm shaking. I'm sweating through this," he said after the interview ended. "The coffee didn't help, either."
Janssen turned to Ashlyn Sullivan of NBC Sports Philadelphia, who was standing in as Brind'Amour during a mock pregame interview. "Was it OK?" he asked. "I need to be better. I think your answers were better than my questions."
Welcome to the NHL Broadcast Training Camp, a two-day seminar at the league offices in early July that gave eight current and former players a crash course about working in the media. TV personalities from ESPN, TNT and NHL Network ran them through a gauntlet of game broadcasts, intermission debates and in-game interviews, while network executives offered advice on everything from social media strategy to the temperature of their hot takes.
The players discovered that life on the other side of the mics and cameras can be intimidating.
"I thought I was going to be good at a couple of these, and I didn't think I was. All of a sudden, I was nervous," said Janssen, who co-hosts the "Cam and Strick" podcast. "Honestly, it's like playing a game. I turn a puck over a couple times. I get smacked around on the bench. Then I go out there, have a big hit and have an energy shift. Now everybody's happy again."
The previous two NHL Broadcast Training Camps have created or enhanced several on-air talents. The program's most notable graduate was former NHL defenseman and current ESPN analyst Erik Johnson, who attended in 2024. His name was thrown around at this year's seminar like a former valedictorian -- a living proof of concept.
"Some of the players just have a natural ability to be able to work in this business, and for others it's going to take a little work. But what I love is the passion that they all have for being here. They're really good students," said Steve Mayer, president of NHL content and events. "Hockey players like to be coached. They only know how to be coached. They listen. You can see a marked improvement in just a couple of days here."
THERE HAVE ALWAYS been ex-athletes populating sports broadcasts, whether it was Red Grange on the first incarnation of "Monday Night Football" in the 1950s or Mark Messier and P.K. Subban breaking down Stanley Cup Final games in 2026.
But in recent years, the roles filled by ex-pros have gone beyond the traditional game analyst or intermission panel contributions. ESPN's Johnson, for example, will serve as color commentator and rinkside reporter on some broadcasts, while also getting material in formal sit-down interviews.
For example, Johnson got Nathan MacKinnon, his former teammate on the Colorado Avalanche, to discuss the death glare he gave a small stuffed animal after MacKinnon and Team Canada lost Olympic gold to the U.S. in Italy.
"There's an interesting dynamic between those who have just left the game and those are still playing," Mayer said. "They're friends, they're teammates, they've been in the trenches, they understand tendencies and they know how to get something out of these players. A simple question, a laugh. They just understand that connection and it shows."
What makes a successful player to analyst transition?
"Knowing how much work it takes to put into it and being OK with a paycheck that's less than what they're used to making," said Noah Coslov, ESPN senior director for on-air talent recruitment and development, who was a panelist at the broadcast camp.
Coslov said players must understand that the scope of their hockey knowledge needs to broaden for the audience at home.
"A lot of players aren't used to consuming hockey in the way it takes to deliver hockey to fans. When they play, they're worried about themselves, their own conditioning, the scouting report," he said. "When you're delivering it to fans, it's every team, every night, knowing storylines. Oftentimes you have different eyeballs on you."
Or as ESPN's Steve Levy, another camp counselor, told his students: "The truth is, guys, this is not hockey. This is television with hockey. It's an entirely different skill set," he said. "You've got the hockey. This is the TV stuff."
Michele Zarzaca, director of talent relations at TNT Sports, is always aware of the TV stuff.
"The one thing about TNT is we're an entertainment network that does sports. So we have to be cognizant of the fact that we have a different audience demographic that watches TNT," she said. "When we're doing the NHL, we have hardcore NHL fans who just want to see the game, and I'm one of those. We have a studio component that's a little more entertaining. They still talk hockey and they're still legitimate hockey people, but it's a little more entertaining and lighthearted in order to try to bring some of these new fans into the sport."
New York Rangers defenseman Sean Durzi, one of the eight players at the broadcasting camp, appreciates what players such as Subban and TNT's Paul Bissonnette bring to hockey TV.
"People want to be entertained. I think what those guys do for the game is unbelievable," Durzi said. "I don't know if everyone can be like those guys, with a good mix of analysis, fun and energy. But I think it's something I can do."
DURZI AND RYAN REAVES, an unrestricted free agent forward who played for the San Jose Sharks last season, were the two active players at this year's broadcast camp. They were joined by a range of former NHL players, three of whom last played in 2025: Jack Johnson, a 19-year NHL veteran defenseman and Stanley Cup winner; Tyler Johnson, a 13-year veteran and two-time Cup winner; and Pat Maroon, the three-time Cup champion glue guy who has earned broadcast experience with NHL Network and Scripps Sports.
"I actually got notified from the NHL about two days after I announced my retirement that they wanted me to come to this," Tyler Johnson said. "But I couldn't leave in like four days. The timing was off. So I made a point of emphasis that I was going to go this year."
The other players at the camp had been out of the game longer. Former Pittsburgh Penguins and Tampa Bay Lightning winger Ryan Malone last played in 2015. Janssen's last season was 2013-14. Dwayne Roloson, the only goalie at the camp, ended his 14-year NHL career after the 2011-12 season.
After breakout sessions on Day 1 -- and a "meat" and greet that night at a local steakhouse -- Day 2 of the camp saw the players separate into four groups of two and cycle through five different "modules" that emphasized a different aspect of sports media.
Janssen and Reaves asked questions of the fake Brind'Amour in the interviewing module, hosted by Sullivan and NHL Network's Lauren Gardner. Reaves crushed his audition with "Rod the Fraud," save for one error that Reaves caught immediately: not bringing the mic up to his interview subject's mouth after asking the question.
Both players opened their interviews in a casual way, asking faux Brind'Amour, "How are you doing?" While disarming in a longer conversation, they were told in the time crunch of a pregame interview that a more specific question -- such as "How are you doing after your team's historic break in action before the Eastern Conference finals?" -- would be more effective.
"I want to learn. I mean, look around here. It's very intimidating. You got the best of the best everywhere you look, and I just want to know how they do it," Janssen said. "You've got to be a sponge, and you've got to get your reps in, too."
A short distance from the interview module was a larger conference room where TNT's Eddie Olczyk was explaining game prep, analysis and mastering the art of the telestrator.
His first lesson: "The fans don't want bulls---. So just be honest, be legit and have an opinion."
The panel went through the mechanics of being a game analyst, from the basics (knowing jersey names and numbers) to the nuances of when to jump in with a take. After a preamble, Olczyk had Durzi come up to analyze a Nikolaj Ehlers goal for Carolina Hurricanes in the Stanley Cup Final. Olczyk was on play-by-play, calling the Ehlers goal and then cupping his hands to generate a few seconds of crowd noise as Durzi waited for his moment to jump in as the color analyst.
The cheering stopped. "Edzo, this ... is ... hockey!" Durzi said, excitedly. "Mistakes, skill, shooting! This is everything you want to see in a Stanley Cup playoff game!"
Olczyk, who has been a broadcaster for decades after finishing his career in 2000, liked what he heard from Durzi but wanted more of a personal touch.
"You can say I played against the guy. I played in the league. I know what he can and can't do," he said. "That's how you separate yourself from everybody else. I can't do that anymore."
Down one floor and through a long hallway, TNT's Brian Boucher and Jody Shelley were in small conference room with a circular table. Their job was to explain the nuances of being between the benches during broadcasts. It's more involved than it looks, from marking moments for eventual replays to knowing when to chime in with analysis. Specifically for the TNT announcers, how to handle being at ice level when other members of the three-person booth are upstairs.
"You're part of the crowd. You're part of the energy. You're watching the benches, the coaches, the trainers, everything that's happening, because you can pick up on something," said Shelley, who also works on Columbus Blue Jackets broadcasts. "You might see the bench erupt because on a blocked shot. You're like, 'Oh, OK. That might be important.'"
BACK UPSTAIRS, Levy stood behind a desk in a small studio, video screens buzzing with a constant scroll of NHL team logos behind him. This was one of the most stressful modules the players would visit because it's the one that would give them something for their reel: a few minutes of intermission panel interaction and analysis.
An accomplished studio host, Levy came prepared with a bullet-pointed manifesto that detailed his philosophies on what works and does not work on the air. Don't lie to the audience. Listen to your broadcast partners. That kind of stuff.
"Lead with your best. Guys always come out with a headline. I don't care what the headline is. The headline is coming out," Levy said. "'I love that play that guy made,' and now tell me why. But the first thing out of your mouth has to be, 'I love that play.' You've instantly grabbed me. 'I hate that play.' You got me now too. Now tell me why you hate the play."
Just around the corner, TNT announcer Kenny Albert stood in front of a large flat screen that was showing action from Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals between Carolina and the Montreal Canadiens. While Levy focused on between periods, Albert was covering everything else: an on-camera opening segment and in-game analysis. He would call a game with one of the students, praise their energy and offer some sound advice.
After calling highlights with Jack Johnson and Durzi, there was a discussion with Albert about the different roles on an NHL broadcast. "For a studio [guy], like a Biz or a P.K., they're the more entertaining personalities. Then other guys are just more the straight men. So it's a combination," Albert said.
Durzi agreed. "There's high-end analysts, and then there's the energy guys. The media personalities," he said.
The Rangers defenseman made no secret he would like to one day become part of that latter group when his playing days are done.
"I'm a big fan of making people feel immersed in a segment. I think the best panels make it feel like you're so zoned in on what they're saying that you forget what's going on in the real world. I think that's the beauty of sports," said Durzi, who was acquired by New York from the Utah Mammoth in this summer's Vincent Trocheck trade. "I always had an interest in all of it. Thought I'd give it a try. It's a lot of fun. I'm learning a lot."
Durzi is a big sports fan, and hence a big consumer of sports broadcasts. That world fascinates him.
"The entertainment business is interesting to me because it's a competitive field. What do people want to see? Who's got the best broadcast? And you notice it now in talking to these guys [at the camp], every single network is trying to be the best," he said. "How they get the edge, whether it's new panel or what we're going to talk about today, that's all interesting."
THERE WAS NO QUESTION that Durzi was the star participant at this edition of the NHL's summer school. He had earned the reputation among broadcasters as the go-to player for interviews while with the Mammoth. At the Broadcast Training Camp, Durzi's curiosity and his innate broadcasting talents were lauded by several panelists.
"I think it's even more interesting when the guy is still playing," Mayer said. "After a taste of this, does he think about the interviews that he does, the content that he's involved with? Does he look at it a little differently? Does he retire a bit early because he knows he has a future?"
Durzi, 27, will enter his sixth NHL season.
"Talk about experience. Talk about growing as a person. I think this is something you can't put a price on. The experience is invaluable, and I didn't know that until I've actually done it," he said. "Whether going into broadcasting or just becoming a smarter person, I think this is one of the best things that I've done so far."
After two nervous but exhilarating days, the NHL Broadcast Training Camp ended. The players' education continues on the NHL Player Development app, which is a league supported centralized hub that provides current and former players with access to personal growth programs, career development, education and wellness resources. But now, these budding broadcasters also have a network of peers and mentors to help them along this career path should they choose to walk it.
"They're going to put in the work. They're going to try to improve themselves and get better. We're providing the first potential way for them into broadcasting and to learn a little bit about it," Mayer said. "Some will leave here and go, 'Hey, it's not for me.' But others, I think, will be doing this for a while well after this."
