1 Columbus Blue Jackets News Clips August 14, 2020 Columbus Blue

Columbus Blue Jackets News Clips August 14, 2020

Columbus Blue Jackets PAGE 02: Columbus Dispatch: Blue Jackets steady themselves, corral Lightning to even series PAGE 05: Columbus Dispatch: Columbus Blue Jackets hope Oliver Bjorkstrand is regaining his scoring touch PAGE 07: The Athletic: Blue Jackets get another big response, beat Lightning 3-1 in Game 2 to draw even PAGE 12: The Athletic: Big stage in Toronto delivering national attention for Blue Jackets’ Seth Jones PAGE 15: Sportsnet.ca: Blue Jackets' Korpisalo chooses great time for hottest run of career PAGE 17: NBC Sports: Korpisalo, Wennberg help Blue Jackets even series with Lightning

Cleveland Monsters/Prospects

NHL/Websites PAGE 18: The Athletic: Pronman: Which prospects improved their NHL Draft stock at summer U20 camps? PAGE 21: Sportsnet.ca: From EA to the NHL: How synthetic audio is helping tell story of the game

Columbus Dispatch / Blue Jackets steady themselves, corral Lightning to even series By Brian Hedger – August 14, 2020

This time, all they needed was the standard three periods. After playing almost three games for the price of one in a five-overtime marathon Tuesday, the Blue Jackets made sure Game 2 ended Thursday after just 60 minutes. Also, the Jackets evened the series at one game apiece with a 3-1 victory that continued the resilience they’ve shown thus far – seven games into a postseason that began with a five-game series against Toronto in the playoff qualifying round. Joonas Korpisalo again led the way for Columbus, making 36 more saves for a win after setting a modern-day NHL record with 85 stops in the series opener. Ryan Murray, Oliver Bjorkstrand and Alexander Wennberg supported their goalie with goals, and Pierre-Luc Dubois finished with two assists. "I think we were more comfortable out there, more comfortable in our game," said Murray, who tied it 1-1 with 7:08 left in the first period. "It just seemed like we were more solid all over the ice. Korpi made some big saves when he had to, and just ... big blocks, good sticks and I think we just played a really complete game." Andrei Vasilevskiy made 19 saves and Nikita Kucherov scored the goal for Tampa Bay, which outshot the Blue Jackets 37-22 after finishing the first game with an 88-63 edge. The Lightning really cranked up the offensive pressure in the second half of the third period, after Wennberg put Columbus up 3-1 with 8:33 left in the period on a high-skill move. Murray put the Lightning on the power play 1:29 later and that began a frenzied finish that kept both Korpisalo the defenders in front of him busy. Tampa Bay outshot the Jackets 6-1 in the final 7:29 and had six attempts blocked, including three in a row by Boone Jenner, Seth Jones and David Savard in a span of 38 seconds in the final minute. "We had a couple huge kills tonight," Murray said. "That one at the end of the game was absolutely massive." Devin Shore made his postseason debut for the Blue Jackets, who were without Cam Atkinson (unfit to play). They also dressed rookie forward Emil Bemstrom, who took Nathan Gerbe’s spot on the fourth line after being scratched the previous three games. Things didn’t exactly start great, though. The only way it could have been worse for the Jackets in the first 12 minutes of the game would have been if Korpisalo had struggled too. He did allow Kucherov’s goal to go into the net off a backhand on the short side of the net just 5:24 into the game, but the Finnish netminder was razor sharp the rest of the way – going 32 for 32 on saves the rest of the way. "It’s been huge," Bjorkstrand said of Korpisalo’s play in the first two games. "You know, he’s making big saves for us and he (did that) that in the first game. It’s just awesome to have him in net."

If Korpisalo’s legs are a little wobbly, though, it’s understandable. He’s the main horse the Jackets will ride with Elvis Merzlikins "unfit to play," and so far he’s more than handling the workload. The Lightning kept him active again, too, dominating right away. Tampa Bay built a 10-0 edge in shots, took a 1-0 lead on Kucherov’s goal and made it difficult for the Blue Jackets just to get the puck out of their own end, let alone create offense of their own. It only resulted in Kucherov’s goal, though, thanks in large part to a great penalty-kill midway through the first period with star defenseman Seth Jones in the penalty box for tripping. Jenner and Vladislav Gavrikov contributed to the Jackets’ 21 blocked shots with one each and Korpisalo came up with a pair of saves against Tampa Bay defenseman Victor Hedman to kill it off. Eight seconds after the second of those stops, Nick Foligno finally made Vasilevskiy work with 12:33 left in the period, putting the Jackets’ first shot on goal and then watching Murray tie it at 1 just 19 seconds later. The first playoff goal of Murray’s NHL career gave the Jackets some needed juice and was the first of two counter punches Columbus landed to close out the period. "Murr made a good read," said Dubois, who picked up his first assist on the play. "For a defenseman to cut in front of the net like that, it was a really smart play by him. It wasn’t a great pass, but he ... I guess he’s a goal-scorer. He’s a sniper now. He tapped it in." The second counter strike was a power-play goal by Bjorkstrand with 1:25 left, which was his second goal of the playoffs and second of the series –giving the Jackets a 2-1 lead after 20 minutes. Dubois dished out the primary assists on his goal too, continuing his rise into the type of impact center the Blue Jackets need in the playoffs. As for the shot, it was another beauty from Bjorkstrand, who dropped to one knee in the right circle and one-timed the puck past Vasilevskiy to the far side. "I thought the penalty-kill, that first penalty kill was very important for us," Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella said. "The penalty kill was very important for us after they scored the first goal. We can’t go down 2-0. I’m not sure what happens there (if they do)." The goalies were the story in the second. Vasilevskiy stopped all 10 shots he faced and Korpisalo went 14 for 14. Korpisalo was again the busier of the two and had to make some big saves in the final five minutes, including one off an open shot by Blake Coleman and another during a late scramble around the net. It was more of the same in the third until Wennberg scored, which put Columbus up 3-1 and provided some breathing room. Going around the right side of Tampa Bay defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk, the Jackets’ center dragged the puck between his legs and then kicked it forward with his skates for a close rush to the net. He lifted the puck over Vasilevskiy’s blocker into the net, which sent the Blue Jackets’ bench into a big celebration. It was Wennberg’s first goal since Game 1 of a first-round series against the Washington Capitals in 2018.

"It’s a really big goal for us, to give us a little bit of room," Tortorella said. "He’s had an up and down few weeks here. He’s beginning to solidify his game. He was a very important guy in today’s game, not just the goal but he was put in a lot of different situations. He was very important."

Columbus Dispatch / Columbus Blue Jackets hope Oliver Bjorkstrand is regaining his scoring touch By Brian Hedger – August 14, 2020

The shot didn’t have much of chance. Late in the second period of the Blue Jackets’ 3-2 five-overtime loss Tuesday to the Tampa Bay Lightning, a bitter playoff series-opening defeat at Scotiabank Arena, center Pierre-Luc Dubois had the puck knocked off his stick and watched it bounce over to the hash marks outside the right faceoff circle. It wasn’t there long, as the whack of a stick quickly sent it screaming toward the net on a sharp angle and the majority of players in the NHL probably wouldn’t have scored off it. This shot, however, was launched by forward Oliver Bjorkstrand, and it put the Blue Jackets up 2-1 with just 48 seconds left in the period. It went over goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy’s shoulder, hit the crossbar, slid across and nestled into the far side of the net. It was quite a goal, skillfully scored by the Jackets’ leading goal-scorer this season. It was also Bjorkstrand’s only goal and only point in the first six games of the postseason, preceded by a stat line filled with goose eggs against the Toronto Maple Leafs in a best-of-five series during the playoff qualifying round. To put it nicely, that’s just not enough production. If the Blue Jackets are going to extend their playoff existence beyond this first-round rematch against the Lightning, which continued Thursday with Game 2 in Toronto, they’re going to need more from Bjorkstrand than just solid minutes. They’re going to need more goals, whether they’re similar to his beauty Tuesday or uglier varieties. He gave the Jackets a 2-1 lead in Game 2 with a precise wrist shot from the right circle off an assist from Pierre-Luc Dubois late in the first period. One of the things coach John Tortorella has enjoyed seeing from Bjorkstrand the past two years was a significant uptick in his "compete level" along the walls. Despite a wiry frame (6 feet, 177 pounds), Bjorkstrand’s willingness to enter the fray against much larger opponents had gotten to an impressive level prior to suffering a fractured left ankle Feb. 20 at Nationwide Arena against the Philadelphia Flyers. "He just got knocked off pucks," said Tortorella, who played Bjorkstrand on either the third or fourth lines and even scratched him from the lineup because of it during his first couple of full NHL seasons. "I think he’s improved tremendously with his strength and the mental part of the game, where he has the strength and he’s willing to do it along the boards. He’s willing to fight for pucks. "I think he’s improved tremendously there." That part of his game has dipped a bit since returning from ankle surgery, but it doesn’t appear to be the main reason Bjorkstrand only had one goal in the Jackets’ first six playoff games. That’s more tied to his inability to convert the scoring chances he’s getting into goals.

According to NaturalStatTrick.com, Bjorkstrand went into Game 2 against the Lightning tied with rookie forward Alexandre Texier and veteran center Boone Jenner in even-strength scoring chances all with 16 over six games. An even bigger issue, however, is that eight of Bjorkstrand’s chances were the high-danger variety. That led the team in that category, and he didn’t score a goal off any of them. Another challenge facing Bjorkstrand is finding chemistry with two other forwards to form a strong line for the Blue Jackets. Tortorella put him on the right wing of Dubois’ line to start a two-week playoff training camp, with Texier on the left wing, but that line has been broken up and reunited multiple times since. Bjorkstrand started out Tuesday playing opposite Cam Atkinson on a line centered by Riley Nash but found himself as part of a couple of different combinations before Tortorella finally settled on playing him with Dubois and rookie Liam Foudy for most of the third period and all five overtimes. Thus far, nothing had really clicked, and the Jackets went into Game 2 still waiting for their top goal- scorer to emerge. "I was playing some good hockey," Bjorkstrand said of his pre-injury play. "I didn’t expect to be able to come back and play playoff hockey this season. So, for me, it’s just exciting that I have the opportunity to help the team make a playoff (run) here."

The Athletic / Blue Jackets get another big response, beat Lightning 3-1 in Game 2 to draw even By Aaron Portzline – August 14, 2020

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ten observations from the Blue Jackets’ 3-1 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday in Game 2 of their first-round series in Scotiabank Arena: 1. Like it never happened When the Blue Jackets suffered a historic gag job in Game 4 of their qualifying series against Toronto, it was widely wondered — here, there and everywhere — what the residual effect would be one day later in Game 5. But there wasn’t one. The Blue Jackets played exactly to their liking and dispatched the Leafs with seeming ease to clinch the series. Fast forward to Tuesday’s series opener against Tampa Bay, when the Blue Jackets lost the fourth- longest game in NHL history, finally succumbing to the Lightning midway through the fifth overtime period. It’s the kind of loss that could have devastating effects — physically and mentally — for the rest of the series. But the Blue Jackets barely blinked in Thursday’s Game 2. They overcame a sluggish start to grab control by the end of the first period, and they rode another strong outing by goaltender Joonas Korpisalo to a 3-1 win. “That’s what we do,” Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella said. “You keep asking me that question; it’s what pros are supposed to do. I don’t think it’s anything special. It’s the proper way to go about your business. “We’ve had a lot of opportunities with the ups and downs in the last couple of weeks to work at that.” Ryan Murray, Oliver Bjorkstrand (power play) and Alexander Wennberg scored for the Blue Jackets. Pierre-Luc Dubois had two primary assists, and Korpisalo stopped 36 of 37 shots. How did the Blue Jackets feel after Tuesday’s marathon? “Pretty good, actually,” Murray said. “(Seth Jones) had 60 minutes (on Tuesday) and he was still flying out there. His legs are good. Everyone bounced back. We’re all in good shape. We’ve had lots of good skates and good practices, so I think everyone bounced back pretty good.” The series, now tied 1-1, moves along with Game 3 on Saturday. 2. Wennberg … wow! It’s a move Wennberg has tried before, but usually when he’s on the ice after practice, goofing around with the goaltenders. This is the first time it’s worked in a game, though, and what a moment it was. The Blue Jackets were up 2-1 past the midpoint of the third period when Wennberg took a neutral-zone pass from Liam Foudy and skated into the Lightning zone with speed, with Tampa Bay defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk on him.

Wennberg pulled the puck back off his forehand, swatted it through his legs off his backhand, kicked the puck back onto his stick with the inside of his right skate — seriously, watch this replay — and shoveled the puck into the far corner of the net before crashing into goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy. That might be Milbury’s best work. Serious question: Does Wennberg’s goal knock somebody off this list? Wennberg’s goal gave the Blue Jackets a 3-1 lead and some all-important breathing room for the stretch drive of the game. “I’ve tried it before,” Wennberg said sheepishly after the game. “Obviously, it worked out really good this time — the perfect timing. It’s not often it works that great. I’m just happy it did this time.” It was Wennberg’s second goal — and his second point of the postseason — after he scored in Game 1 of the qualifying round against Toronto. He continues to drift in and out of good graces with Tortorella, who has moved him all over the lineup this postseason, hoping and waiting for him to find a fit. “Obviously, it’s a really big goal for us, to give us a little bit of room,” Tortorella said. “He’s had an up- and-down few weeks here. “He’s beginning to solidify his game. He was a very important guy in today’s game — and not just the goal. He was put in a lot of different situations and was very important.” 3. Korpisalo continues to shine During the qualifying series win over Toronto, Korpisalo had a .956 save percentage. Ridiculous, right? After two games versus the Lightning, it’s at .962. He has made 230 saves on 239 shots after making 36 stops on Thursday. Tampa Bay scored just 5:24 into the game when Nikita Kucherov pulled a puck from below the goal line and banked it off Korpisalo and into the net off his backhand. That was the Lightning’s fourth shot of the game. After that, Korpisalo stopped all 33 shots he faced. “We’ve all seen him play this past season,” Dubois said. “He was an All-Star, and then he gets injured. Then he comes back and (there’s) another break. We all know what he’s capable of, we all know in the dressing room that he’s one of the best players in the NHL and he’s feeling really good right now. “Every time we make a little mistake, he’s there to stop the puck and gives us the confidence to try plays. That’s all you can ask from a goaltender. Since Game 1 when he started, he’s been amazing for us.” 4. Kill to the rescue The Blue Jackets had a sluggish start to the game, and it nearly cost them dearly. Columbus was down 1-0 on Kucherov’s goal, was down a skater because of Jones’ tripping penalty at 10:30 of the first, and was being outshot 10-0 by the Lightning. Is it crazy to say the game was already hanging in the balance? “That first penalty kill was very important for us,” Tortorella said. “We can go down 2-0, (or) I’m not sure what happens there.”

Instead, the Blue Jackets blocked two shots during that penalty kill, one by Boone Jenner, the other by Vladislav Gavrikov. They allowed only two shots on goal to the Lightning, both 60-foot snappers from Victor Hedman that Korpisalo easily denied. The Blue Jackets didn’t get their first shot on goal until the 12:33 mark of the first, but it was a pretty even game the rest of the way. The kill stepped up late in the game, too. Murray was called for holding at 12:56 of the third, but the Blue Jackets protected a 3-1 lead. This time Zach Werenski, David Savard and Gavrikov blocked shots as the Jackets limited Tampa Bay to just one shot, another 60-foot wrister, this time by Mikhail Sergachev. “It was a good momentum swing,” Murray said of the first-period kill. “We had a couple of huge kills tonight. The one at the end of the game was absolutely massive. That kill was big in the third, and the one in the first was huge, too.” The Lightning are 0-for-6 on the power play so far in the series. 5. Murray’s first playoff goal Murray was injured and out of the lineup last spring when the Blue Jackets swept Tampa Bay, so he’s giving the Jackets a slightly different look against the Lightning in this series. How many third-pairing defensemen would pinch in so deep in the offensive zone as Murray did in the first period Thursday? Murray was trying to chip the puck down deep to Dubois, but it got caught up in the crush of bodies in the corner, which included an official. Murray pursued it further, eventually outworking two Tampa Bay players to send it along the boards. Then, Dubois gathered it on the other side of the net and Murray skated to the front of the net. “Eventually it got over there, and I saw some room out front,” Murray said. “(Dubois) put it right on my tape.” Dubois was impressed. Not only because Murray decided to go hard to the net but also because he adjusted to get his stick blade on the pass. He one-touched it past Vasilevskiy. “It wasn’t a great pass,” Dubois said, “but I guess he’s a goal scorer. He’s a sniper now. He just tapped it in.” It was Murray’s first postseason goal in 17 playoff games. 6. Atkinson, Gerbe deemed ‘unfit’ Shortly before the Blue Jackets took the ice for warmups, forwards Cam Atkinson and Nathan Gerbe were ruled out of the lineup and deemed “unfit to play.” No further information was provided. Atkinson was the only player in Tuesday’s five-overtime thriller not to generate a shot on goal. Just before Tampa Bay’s Brayden Point scored the winner, Atkinson failed to skate away from Lightning defenseman Victor Hedman for a short-handed breakaway. Hedman knocked him to the ice and sent him slamming into the Lightning net behind Vasilevskiy, but no penalty was called. The Blue Jackets were furious about the no-call. It’s unclear whether Atkinson was injured on that play.

Devin Shore made his Blue Jackets playoff debut but played only 5:52 over nine shifts. Emil Bemstrom, who played in the first three games of the qualifying series, was back in the lineup, too. 7. They hate Texier Blue Jackets rookie left winger Alexandre Texier has a point in four of the previous five games, all assists. He assisted on Bjorkstrand’s power-play goal that gave the Blue Jackets a 2-1 lead at 18:35 of the first period. It’s clear that Texier has gained Tortorella’s trust. He drew 19:24 of ice time Thursday, trailing only veterans Nick Foligno (20:25) and Jenner (20:55) among Blue Jackets forwards. Texier has worked his way up to the Jackets’ first line, with Dubois at center and Bjorkstrand on the right. But what has become increasingly noticeable in Texier’s game is his ability to get under his opponents’ skin with his physical, chippy play in the corners. He’s the most wanted Frenchman since Jean Valjean. Kucherov wants to kill him. Tampa Bay defenseman Zach Bogosian had to be pulled away from him by officials. Hedman has tried to decapitate him a few times. This is how Texier is known to play, but he has yet to fully realize that in his NHL career. The lights are starting to flicker on for the 20-year-old. 8. Break up the power play After going 0-for-14 on the power play in the qualifying series versus Toronto, the Blue Jackets have scored man-up goals in each of the first two games of this series. Dubois scored in the opener, and Bjorkstrand scored Thursday. Dubois made a perfect feed from below the goal line to Bjorkstrand in the right circle, even though he couldn’t quite see his target, he said. “It was a nice play by Tex to get it low to me,” Dubois said. “I wasn’t sure where Bjorky was exactly, but I know with his shot, he can score from anywhere. I just had to put it in that space for him and he’d take care of the rest.” It wasn’t all good on the power play, though. The Jackets had a power play at 5:33 of the third period after Point was called for high-sticking, but it looked more like a penalty kill. The Lightning, despite being down a skater, had possession of the puck for most of the two minutes, often controlling it in the Columbus end. “I’m just hoping we can get it more consistent,” Tortorella said. “We had a chance in the third period to give us a little bit of breathing room, and we spent it in our end zone with them forechecking. So there’s still a ways to go with that.” Tortorella, though, has washed his hands of the power play. He has turned it over to assistant coach Paul MacLean, who came aboard at midseason. “Mac is taking care of that,” Tortorella said. “As the series goes forward, special teams comes more to the forefront. Hopefully, we can get more consistent with it.”

9. Goalie move Korpisalo was the starter and Matiss Kivlenieks was his backup for a third straight game, but that’s not the only indication the Blue Jackets have given that Elvis Merzlikins is injured and “unfit to play.” Columbus added Veini Vehviläinen to its roster on an emergency basis, bringing him into the bubble in Toronto and putting him in quarantine. The guidelines suggest that Vehviläinen will be in quarantine for at least one week. Vehviläinen was cut by the Blue Jackets at the end of their training camp in Columbus before they headed to Toronto to enter the bubble. He has never played above the AHL level. The Jackets have not said what’s wrong with Merzlikins, who hasn’t been seen or heard from since he was part of the epic Game 4 meltdown versus Toronto. The Blue Jackets were up 3-0 with less than four minutes to play before losing the lead and losing in the first OT. 10. Snippets and tidbits Tortorella’s record versus Jon Cooper during the regular season is 3-12-2. His record versus Cooper in the playoffs is 5-1. … After playing an NHL-record 65:06 on Tuesday, Jones played “only” 28:31 on Thursday. He made a potentially goal-saving play on the first shift of the third period when he skated hard after Tampa Bay’s Barclay Goodrow, lifting Goodrow’s stick a split second before he was able to shoot on Korpisalo on a breakaway. … Dubois had the two primary assists, led the Blue Jackets with four shots on goal and won 11 of 16 faceoffs. … Didn’t expect this: The Lightning had a 38-15 advantage in hits. … The Blue Jackets are off again on Friday in advance of Saturday’s Game 3.

The Athletic / Big stage in Toronto delivering national attention for Blue Jackets’ Seth Jones By Aaron Portzline – August 14, 2020

COLUMBUS, Ohio — For three years now, Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella has been telling anybody who will listen that defenseman Seth Jones deserves to be mentioned among the top blueliners in the NHL. But the coach of a small-market franchise — even a microphone magnet like Tortorella — can scream it from the mountaintops with little success in a league where the Canadian and big-city franchises draw most of the attention and respect. People have to see Seth Jones to believe him, perhaps, and that’s what has happened over the last week and a half in Toronto. “On this stage, people are finally beginning to see what we’ve seen for a number of years,” Tortorella said. “People are taking notice of him, and good for him. He deserves that.” There’s no bigger stage in hockey than a postseason series against the Toronto Maple Leafs, and Jones was outstanding in the Blue Jackets’ 3-2 qualifying win over the Leafs. There is no better way to attract eyes than a five-overtime thriller, and Jones was historically astounding in Columbus’ five-overtime loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday in Game 1 of their first-round series. Jones set an NHL record by playing 65 minutes, 6 seconds across a whopping 76 shifts. Twenty-five of his shifts were more than one minute in length (an ideal shift is typically 45-50 seconds), and one late in the second overtime lasted just under two minutes (1:59). Former NHL defenseman Adrian Aucoin, who routinely had 30-minute nights during his 1,100-game career, said he usually drifts in and out of games now, switching channels and finding other things to do with his three sons. But not Tuesday. He watched the entire eight-period marathon. “Jones is out there throwing around his body, jumping up in plays, jumping past forwards on the backcheck,” Aucoin said. “Guys were hitting him quite a bit, too, and I don’t think people realize how taxing it is to get hit like that. “Honestly, I was flabbergasted by Jones. It was unbelievable. And he didn’t even look tired, didn’t seem like he slowed down. “I kept telling my kids, ‘Do you understand that Dad’s groins would have been done two minutes into the first overtime?'” In recent days, both Toronto coach Sheldon Keefe and Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper have said they consider Jones and his playing partner, Zach Werenski, to be one of the top defensive pairings in the NHL.

Columbus assistant coach Brad Shaw, a former NHL defenseman, coaches the team’s defensemen and runs the line changes from the bench during games. He’s always watching ice time to make sure he’s not overworking a pair. “I knew after regulation that Jonesy had played quite a bit already, but he’s the kind of guy who seldom looks fatigued on the ice,” Shaw said. “He’s an easy guy to keep putting back out there. “I tip my hat to Z (Werenski), too, playing over 60 minutes so well. These guys play against some pretty good players, too, so that’s a tough sled for over an hour of ice time. It was fatiguing enough just standing behind the bench and going through it as a coach.” Jones played 27:07 in regulation, which is fairly average for him. He stayed at that roughly nine-minutes- per-period pace for the first (8:52) and second (9:33) overtimes before Shaw realized he needed to dial it back. Werenski finished with 61:14, the fourth-highest total in NHL history. He played 24:10 in regulation and, like Jones, swelled in the first (8:25) and second (9:10) overtime periods before drawing back. “We started using a three-pair rotation more as we got into the third and fourth overtimes,” Shaw said. “It was just too taxing on our top four guys.” In an NHL postgame dressing room, the scoresheets usually arrive a few minutes after the doors open for the media. Players grab them from public-relations staffers to see what kind of statistics they accumulated — ice time, shots on goal, blocked shots, faceoff wins and losses, etc. Tortorella has never liked to see them in the room. When he first arrived in Columbus they were banned, but with cellphones today there’s no stopping the flow of information. After Tuesday’s game, the Blue Jackets’ ice-time totals were passed around the room quicker than ice bags. “We talked about it after the game, just how easy (Jones and Werenski) make it look, even at those minutes,” Blue Jackets captain Nick Foligno said. “That’s the incredible part. It looks like Seth and Z can just skate forever.” The rest of the Blue Jackets are no slouches, either. Foligno’s ice time (50:09) was the 11th-highest figure ever recorded by a forward, while Boone Jenner’s (48:26) was the 14th-highest. Liam Foudy, in just his eighth NHL game, set a league record for ice time by a rookie (42:27), while Alexandre Texier is No. 2 on the list (42:20). Every Columbus player set personal ice-time highs for regular-season and playoff games except forward Nathan Gerbe (17:23), who missed part of the game after getting dropped by an open-ice hit from Tampa Bay’s Ryan McDonagh. “When you look over and see how (Jones and Werenski) are not laboring,” Foligno said, “it actually helps the group. If they’re not tired, then you’re sure as hell not going to be tired.” Former Blue Jackets coach Ken Hitchcock knows a thing or two about coaching heavy-minute defensemen. In a lengthy NHL coaching career, he has coached Sergei Zubov, Darryl Sydor, Derian Hatcher, Joni Pitkanen, Alex Pietrangelo and Jay Bouwmeester, among others.

He, too, watched every minute of Tuesday’s game. “What you’ve got in Columbus is two guys (Jones and Werenski) who can manage the game,” Hitchcock said. “Winning in the playoffs means playing long stretches where nothing happens, and you go long stretches where you’re tied or up or down a goal, and you have to properly manage a game like that. “Jones has a big motor. He doesn’t make tired plays. He just manages the game properly. Those two, they don’t put themselves in vulnerable positions where they’re chasing the game. That pair never gets hemmed in, even though they’re up against the other team’s best players.” It’s Jones, though, who really gets Hitchcock excited. “You evaluate a game he’s just played, and you can’t find an error he’s made,” Hitchcock said. “When you have a defenseman who plays half the game and plays error-free, that’s gold.” Aucoin spent his final NHL season in Columbus (2012-13) as the Blue Jackets made a furious sprint to the finish only to miss the postseason due to a standings tiebreaker with Minnesota. (The Blue Jackets were in the Western Conference back then.) His family lives in Chicago, but he and his family still cheer for the Blue Jackets. They were fully invested in Tuesday’s game, he said. In the build-up to the NHL’s return to play, he started noticing more talk about the Blue Jackets, he said. And there was a theme. “Everybody was talking about Seth Jones and him being back in the lineup for Columbus, how they now have a chance,” Aucoin said. “How many players — single players, giving their team a chance — can you say that about?” Jones is a four-time All-Star, so it’s not that he has been entirely ignored. He has finished ninth (2019), fourth (2018), and 18th (2017) the last three seasons in voting for the Norris Trophy, given annually to the league’s top defenseman. But Aucoin said he thinks the NHL is finally coming around to considering Jones one of its true superstars. “He’s a game-changer, and as an ex-player who liked to be considered an all-around defenseman, there aren’t many guys in each generation you can say that about,” Aucoin said. “Shea Weber in his prime? (Chris) Pronger? “When you think about those guys, the question is, ‘When do you not want Seth Jones on the ice?’ And he’s just going to get better and better because he’s so confident. He’s just a little bit bigger, faster, lankier than the rest.”

Sportsnet.ca / Blue Jackets' Korpisalo chooses great time for hottest run of career By Chris Johnston – August 14, 2020

TORONTO — It’s starting to look like Joonas Korpisalo might be the only thing that can save us from 2020. The stoic Finn has certainly had a significant hand in getting the Columbus Blue Jackets to where they are in these bubble-bound playoffs, tied 1-1 with the Tampa Bay Lightning and seemingly getting stronger with each test of mental fortitude. This is the stuff that legends are made of. Korpisalo, at age 26 and with more than 180 professional games on his resume, has timed the hottest run of his NHL career with the first six career starts he’s ever made in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. “It’s just awesome to have him in net,” teammate Oliver Bjorkstrand said after Thursday’s 3-1 victory over the Lightning. From the Stanley Cup Qualifiers to the Stanley Cup Final, livestream every game of the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs, blackout-free, on Sportsnet NOW. As committed and stout as Columbus plays defensively, they’ve needed some help. Korpisalo turned aside 36 shots in Game 2 against Tampa, bringing his total to 154 in the last three outings alone. And no, that’s not a typo. His recent body of work includes a shutout to eliminate the Toronto Maple Leafs — one of two he posted in that qualifying series — and a record-setting 85-save masterpiece during Tuesday’s quintuple overtime loss to Tampa. “You just try to go save by save. Not thinking too much and just grinding through it,” Korpisalo said by way of explanation for how he kept his concentration into the eighth period. Losing in that manner could easily break the spirit of some players and teams, especially when Tampa surged ahead on a Nikita Kucherov goal less than six minutes into Game 2. But Korpisalo didn’t let another puck get past him, giving teammate Pierre-Luc Dubois time to find his legs and the chance to set up Ryan Murray and Bjorkstrand for big goals, before Alexander Wennberg iced it with a glorious individual effort in the third period. Korpisalo has a .962 save percentage to show for these playoffs so far and it would be unreasonable to expect him to continue allowing fewer than two goals per game with this much work. But sustainability is a concern for another day. The Blue Jackets rank 22nd of 24 teams with an expected goals percentage of 40.51 at even strength during this return-to-play and yet they’ve managed to outscore opponents 13-7 in that game state. No wonder the Leafs have already gone through end-of-season media availabilities and the Lightning are having to answer questions about why this series won’t end up being a repeat of last year.

Korpisalo backed up Sergei Bobrovsky during the sweep of Tampa in April 2019 and got the nod from John Tortorella to start this post-season largely out of loyalty. The Blue Jackets coach wanted to reward the work he put in during four seasons as the backup and ended up going to Elvis Merzlikins for a game and a half in the Toronto series, only to see Merzlikins get injured. Now he needs Korpisalo. The Blue Jackets have recently flown Veini Vehvilainen to Toronto in order to have him enter the NHL bubble, observe quarantine and give them a third goaltending option behind Matiss Kivlenieks But they only have six games of NHL experience between them. Fortunately, Korpisalo has been more than up to the task for a Jackets team that has already played 28 periods of hockey in its seven playoff games. “We all know in the dressing room that he’s one of the best goalies in the NHL and he’s feeling really good right now,” said Dubois. “Every time we make a little mistake he’s there to stop the puck and give us confidence to try plays and that’s all you can ask from a goalie. “He’s been, since Game 1, since he started, he’s been amazing for us.” Do you need further proof? With Thursday’s performance, Korpisalo became the first goalie in NHL history with 121 saves through two games of a playoff series, surpassing Curtis Joseph’s 118 for St. Louis against Toronto in 1993.

NBC Sports / Korpisalo, Wennberg help Blue Jackets even series with Lightning By Sean Leahy - August 14, 2020

The Blue Jackets evened their First Round series with the Lightning thanks to goals from Oliver Bjorkstrand and Alexander Wennberg, and another great performance from goaltender Joonas Korpisalo. After their five-overtime defeat Tuesday, the Blue Jackets looked plenty fresh in Game 2. It was Tampa who got on the board first with a Nikita Kucherov goal 5:24 into the game, but that was all the Lightning would get. Korpisalo followed up his 85-save performance with 36 stops Thursday afternoon. Ryan Murray tied the game seven minutes after Kucherov’s goal, and then Oliver Bjorkstrand and Pierre- Luc Dubois hooked up on a power play goal for a 2-1 Columbus lead. With Erik Cernak sitting in the box, the Blue Jackets power play wasted no time cashing in. Bjorkstrand was left unattended by the Tampa penalty kill, so when Alexandre Texier cycled the puck to Dubois behind the net, Bjorkstrand was wide open for a one-timer. The Lightning kept pushing for an equalizer, winning the possession game and dominating the front of the net. But Korpisalo was there every time. A pair of power plays, including one late in the third period, also didn’t amount to anything. Tampa’s failure while pushing for an equalizer led to the stunning solo effort from Wennberg, who delivered the game-breaker with 8:33 to go after dancing around Kevin Shattenkirk. “It’s not often it works that great,” Wennberg said of the move. “I’m happy it did this one time.” Through six games, Korpisalo has a .965 even strength percentage and has now stopped 154 of the last 158 shots he’s faced. There’s no one even close to him in the early Conn Smythe Trophy hunt. Game 3 is Saturday at 7:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN. No. 2 Tampa Bay Lightning vs. No. 7 Columbus Blue Jackets (Series tied 1-1) Tuesday, Aug. 11: Lightning 3, Blue Jackets 2 (5OT) (recap) Thursday, Aug. 13: Blue Jackets 3, Lightning 1 Saturday, Aug. 15: Tampa Bay at Columbus, 7:30 p.m. ET – NBCSN Monday, Aug. 17: Tampa Bay at Columbus, 3 p.m. ET – NBCSN Wednesday, Aug. 19: Columbus at Tampa Bay – TBD *Friday, Aug. 21: Tampa Bay at Columbus – TBD *Saturday, Aug. 22: Columbus at Tampa Bay – TBD *if necessary

The Athletic / Pronman: Which prospects improved their NHL Draft stock at summer U20 camps? By Corey Pronman – August 14, 2020

There’s been a little bit of movement in the hockey prospects world as some European national camps have gone on and leagues are starting to prepare for the 2020-21 season. Here are some preliminary notes and thoughts from the camps this summer. Germany U20 Camp (Three games vs. Switzerland’s U20 team) Tim Stutzle, C, Mannheim (2020 draft-eligible): Stutzle had one goal and three points in three games versus Switzerland. It was an up and down showing, with the occasional flash of high-end ability that displayed his great skating and playmaking. He was able to gain the zone a lot with his skating and skill, and roam around the ice well. I thought overall he looked good, but I would say he wasn’t as dominant as I thought he’d be for a player of his talent given the quality of his opponents. John-Jason Peterka, RW, Munich (2020 draft-eligible): Peterka played on a line with Stutzle the entire tournament. While I thought Peterka was fine, I was hoping for a little bit more from a projected first- round pick. He showed flashes of his great hands and good speed, but I didn’t see him make a ton of plays. And like Stutzle, that line didn’t play at the level I thought it would. Peterka’s a good player, but you want to see a 5-foot-11 forward be dynamic, and I didn’t see that guy show up in Switzerland. Peterka was drafted by London in the CHL Draft, leading to questions if he would come to Canada instead of playing in Germany next season. I asked him this following the conclusion of Germany’s U20 camp. He replied, “This is hard to answer. I am concentrating now on my preseason – getting ready and looking forward to the draft and the following camps. From there we go and decide.” Lukas Reichel, LW, Berlin (2020 draft-eligible): Reichel played on a different line than Stutzle and Peterka, and without as much help produced more than either, with NHL scouts praising Reichel as the player who helped his case the most of the three top prospects in the event. I don’t think he dazzled, but he showed good speed, skill and compete. There was some momentum for his draft stock in the last few months of the season and the camp was another showing of why I think he’s going to go in the first round. Russia U20 Camp (Four games vs. Sochi’s junior team as part of the Sochi Open) Rodion Amirov, LW, Ufa (2020 eligible): Amirov was one of Russia’s top scorers and was consistently dangerous throughout the event. His great skill was on display often, including a lacrosse-style goal and, in general, making defenders miss with his puck handling. He made more plays to his teammates than I’ve seen in the past, but he also didn’t play as fast as I’ve seen him before. NHL scouts watching the event thought he looked like a player who could go in the teens in the 2020 draft. Maxim Groshev, RW, Nizhnekamsk (2020 draft-eligible): Groshev helped himself as much as any draft- eligible player this summer. He was first in goals and tied for second in points for Russia. In an interview with The Athletic, Russia’s U20 coach Igor Larionov praised Groshev’s speed and work ethic, including several great backchecks where he broke up grade-A scoring chances to go with the offense. He’s a very

skilled and speedy player who looked like a bull in how he created offense at the net with pace. He’s not a great passer, but I see a player who can be an effective up and down winger in the NHL. Egor Afanasyev, LW, Windsor (Nashville): Afanasyev was one of Russia’s top players in his first national team appearance since he was 16 years old. He made a lot of plays to his teammates to create chances, and on the power play the unit flowed through him. His skating still isn’t good enough, but the rest of his game looks very desirable, as Larionov pointed out. “He’s big and powerful, he can pass the puck well and he can score goals,” Larionov said. “He has a lot of potential, he’s like a North American power forward with a Russian skill set.” Mikhail Abramov, C, Victoriaville (Toronto): Abramov was Russia’s top center, building off a strong 2020 season in the QMJHL. “He was good, close to great. He’s creative. He made other players better,” said Larionov. Abramov’s vision stood out consistently. His skating is still average, but his skill/IQ/shot combination looks good enough to give him a real shot to become an NHL player. Vladislav Firstov, LW, UConn (Minnesota): This was Firstov’s first appearance for the national team and it was some of the best hockey I’ve seen him play in the past two years. I still have minor questions on his skating and how dynamic an offensive player he is, but he stood out among his U20 peers as a player who could drive the bus offensively and help a power play. Larionov was a fan. “He worked his ass off every night,” Larionov said. “He reminded me of Chris Kunitz. He passed the puck well, he scored goals, got under people’s skins and got the job done.” Artemi Kniazev, D, Chicoutimi (San Jose): Kniazev was named the top defenseman in the Sochi open with five points in three games. It was some of the best hockey I’ve seen Kniazev play in the past few years. His skating and puck-moving ability made a difference when he was on the ice, and he created a lot of offense. Larionov had the following to say about him: “He has ability to join the rush, he takes a lot of chances. He plays a little like [Alexander Romanov] last year. Romanov needed to learn how to have balance in his game and take care of your defensive play, and Artemi needs some polish as well.” Daniil Chayka, D, Guelph (2021 draft-eligible): Chayka is a late 2002 birth date, very young for the Russian U20 team and didn’t look out of place among players who were one or two years older. “His hockey IQ looked top notch,” said Larionov. I wouldn’t say Chayka’s offense popped, but he looked like he was able to move pucks and think creatively at that pace, to go along with good size and skating ability. That package looks like the potential to be a first-round pick in 2021. Yan Kuznetsov, D, UConn (2020 draft-eligible): Kuznetsov was one of the youngest players in college hockey as a 17-year-old last season. He held his own but it was a big level jump for a player his age. I’ve always appreciated the size and mobility, but wondered about the offense. At the U20 camp I don’t think his puck game stood out like his pure athletic tools, but he showed good puck poise and made a lot of good decisions. “I like him very much,” Larionov said. “He was strong defensively and made some plays with the puck. He’s smart, he’s reliable, his work ethic was exceptional. He looks like a good NHL prospect.” Czech Republic U20 Camp (Three games vs. Slovakia’s U20 team) Stanislav Svozil, D, Brno (2021 draft-eligible): I saw Svozil live in February at the U18 Five Nations in the Czech Republic, and I was impressed with how well he played against older players as an underage player and was a top player for the Czechs. He did the same thing as a U18 player on the U20 team this

summer, looking poised and capable. He’s a very good skater with great hockey sense, allowing him to skate and make plays versus older, stronger players. Svozil has the looks of a top prospect for the 2021 NHL Draft. Jaromir Pytlik, C, Sault Ste. Marie (2020 draft-eligible): Pytlik led the tournament in scoring with two goals and six points in three games. Despite his big numbers, I wouldn’t say he blew me away with his play. I liked how he moved the puck inside the offensive zone and how he played in the tough areas of the ice. His game lacks flash in terms of speed and skill, but he does tend to find a way to produce and play big roles wherever he goes. NHL scouts are split on whether he’s going to be a real player in the league for some of the reasons I discussed. Jan Mysak, C, Hamilton (2020 draft-eligible): Mysak had one goal and four points in the three games of the tournament and was one of the Czech Republic’s better players. He’s more noticeable than others on a consistent basis because of his great speed. Mysak showed very good vision, but I wouldn’t say he stood out as a truly dangerous offensive threat, especially as an undersized forward. When I see Mysak he reminds me a bit of Dillon Dube at the same age, and Dube turned into a quality NHL player, although I don’t think Mysak’s speed is quite as good. Finland U20 Camp Finland’s U20’s had some intra-team scrimmages a few weeks ago. I wasn’t able to watch the camp, so I talked to Finland’s U20 coach Antti Pennanen about who he thought stood out during the camp. Eemil Viro, D, TPS (2020 draft-eligible): “He was our best defenseman,” Pennanen said. “He was better than those older players like Ville Heinola or Santeri Hattaka. He was good defensively, he’s skillful, he’s a very good skater. He will play in the NHL someday.” Kasper Simontaival, RW, Taapara (2020 draft-eligible): “He was very impressive,” Pennanen said. “I didn’t have too much expectations, but he was very good with the puck. He has a lot of hockey sense, a great attitude.” Matias Mantykivi, C, SaiPa (Boston): “This guy is so good, he is such a smart hockey player,” Pennanen said. Mantykivi went in the sixth round because of his size and skating, and the coach recognized Mantykivi’s game could slow down at times. “He could play in the KHL, and why not in the NHL, because he is so smart,” Pennanen said.

Sportsnet.ca / From EA to the NHL: How synthetic audio is helping tell story of the game By Emily Sadler – August 14, 2020

New camera angles, giant screens, fluorescent lighting around the rink framing the main event – hockey’s got a new look this summer. Fans at home have no doubt noticed it sounds a little different, too. With the COVID-19 pandemic eliminating the possibility of proceeding with fans in attendance, the NHL decided to bring in some help in the form of synthetic audio in an effort to create a more normal atmosphere. If it feels like the players are living in a real-life video game, you’re not far off. All that audio, aside from the organic stuff – skates on ice, pucks on sticks, chirps on opponents – is supplied by EA Sports’ NHL division, makers of NHL ’20 and the upcoming NHL ’21. “What you’re hearing inside the real-life games right now are the exact same sounds that we use in our product,” said David Pritchett, presentation designer at EA Sports’ NHL franchise headquarters in Vancouver. From the Stanley Cup Qualifiers to the Stanley Cup Final, livestream every game of the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs, blackout-free, on Sportsnet NOW. As the “vision holder” for the video game product’s visual and audible elements and overall presentation, Pritchett was a major driving force in creating the audio hockey fans have been hearing since 24 return-to-play teams set out in their quest for the Stanley Cup earlier this month. Upon seeing how EA’s FIFA division supplied in-game sound for the return of the Premier League in June, the NHL reached out to Pritchett’s team with a question: “What opportunity is there for NHL to do something similar?” While the video game relies on artificial intelligence to trigger a series of audio reactions programmed to be at the ready at all times, applying that same audio to real-life sports means doing it manually — with an audio operator located at the rink and manipulating the synthetic sound in real time. Where soccer’s sounds come in rolling waves, slowly building to a crescendo as the beautiful game unfolds on an expansive sea of green, hockey provides a much greater challenge with its fast, frenetic pace and unpredictability. (Make it playoff hockey in the year 2020, put it in a bubble, and anything can happen.) Like every aspect of the NHL’s unique return-to-play setup, plans between EA Sports and the NHL came together quickly over the course of about a month and a half of meetings, mock-ups, test-runs, and fine- tuning – done remotely and via Zoom, of course. “There’s a fine line there, where we want something that sounds authentic, but we need to be careful with that,” Pritchett said. “What we’re really doing is helping with the storytelling of the game.” Working in EA’s favour was the NHL’s desire to create a more neutral in-game atmosphere, with both sides getting a home-team feel as far as crowd reactions and goal horns go.

“The NHL made it very clear that they don’t want it to be something that’s kind of in-your-face, and I totally support that as well,” he said. “They use it more as a background tool, just to add a little bit of something so that we’re not constantly reminded that we’re in this COVID era, I suppose. And I think that’s great.” The NHL also wanted to keep things positive – i.e., more cheers than jeers. “There were things that we knew we didn’t want, like booing on referee calls,” Pritchett explained. “We wanted to keep it positive, for sure – that’s the number one thing – but we also didn’t want to be in this weird situation where it felt like the NHL was making commentary on the reffing in the games.” (Hockey Twitter will look after that part.) So, what’s in a game? It starts with the general crowd noise, the audible anticipation, as the baseline sound of every game’s broadcast — that comes in the form of a three-minute audio loop, mimicking the atmosphere of a rink full of excited fans and void of any “audio landmarks” that would stand out. “If you listen really, really closely, it’s like this mix of close-up fans that you can actually hear reacting to the play plus the 17,000 fans at the same time,” said Pritchett. Then there are shot reactions – “Literally, I’ve written down in my notes here: ‘oohs and aahs,’” Pritchett said with a laugh. These match up with goals, saves, or misses, with every possible reaction coming in at varying voracities, from a glove save in the first play to a Game 7 overtime winner with Lord Stanley on the line. There’s also applause for a nice play or save, and even a fight loop for the rowdy fans (not) in attendance. As much as it sounds like Pritchett’s team and the league have got it down to a science – for every action, there is an equal and augmented reaction – it turns out it’s actually more of an art. “When we were in discussions with the NHL as to what type of person should be handling the hardware and doing this in real time during the games, we stressed to them the importance of having somebody that was more artistically oriented as opposed to technical,” Pritchett said. “This is not a technical tool – this is an artistic tool.” The tool he’s talking about is called the Ableton Push 2, operating a system called Ableton Live. “It’s typically meant for DJs. It’s more of a musical tool, it’s meant for live-mixing, on the fly, at clubs and things like that and it’s intended to be easy to use and super intuitive,” said Pritchett. “The idea is that it becomes so intuitive for the operators that they’ll have one hand on that piece of hardware and not even have to look at it while they’re watching the game … clicking buttons and be using rotary dials as it happens, almost like a musical instrument.” The result is a symphony of sounds that make up a hockey game. And while it may seem like there’s an entire orchestra behind the audibles, it turns out it’s all the work of a one-man band. That’s where Jeff Kozak comes in. Equipped with the Ableton operating system and EA’s collection of clips, it’s Kozak who’s actually applying the sound effects in real-time to every single Western Conference game in Edmonton’s hub city, making the big game sound more like… well, the big game. (Michigan-based audio operator Matt Coppedge is doing the same role for every Eastern Conference game in Toronto’s hub.)

Sound is second-nature to Kozak, whose extensive musical experience began when he first started playing piano at a young age and grew as he took up the violin, performing in symphonies and on stage for about 12 years before transitioning to the technical side of things. Without knowing it, you’ve heard Kozak’s contributions to hockey broadcasts before – over the course of his 31-year career, the freelance sound mixer has traveled wherever hockey goes, helping bring thousands of hockey games (including All-Star Games, outdoor classics, and Stanley Cup Finals) to life on the small screen. “I know what the building’s supposed to sound like in between play. I know what the crowd reaction is going to be on certain aspects of the play – a great body check, a fabulous save, a puck sliding by an open net super slowly,” Kozak said. “I was really actually invigorated by the chance to do this.” Kozak, who’s used to being tucked away in the sound suite of a technical production truck, is now located up – waaay up – at the press box level of Edmonton’s Rogers Place where normally a commentator and analyst would watch and call the game. This new vantage point has forced him to re-think how he watches the game he’s made a career in, in order to get fully in sync with the ebb and flow of narrating a hockey game through the collective gasps and roars in place of the 18,500 fans that would typically fill the seats at the home of the Oilers. He’s used to listening to a flurry of other voices through his headset – commentators, producers, directors, fellow sound technicians. Now, his focus is solely on the dozen players battling on the icy stage below him. “They tell me everything that’s going on on the ice. I can hear their dialogue up here – it’s astounding,” he added “So, I’m mixing the game live, to them, and it’s super helpful. It really is.” In front of him throughout every game is the Ableton Push 2’s panel of 64 colour-coded buttons – eight rows of eight, with dials above each row to adjust the volume and intensity of each sound and reaction. Kozak was able to configure the grid to his own preference like a personalized, colourful Rubik’s cube of a keyboard, all lit up come game time and ready to be played as soon as the players set foot on the ice. “I can load that with whatever sounds I want in a way where I can make it easy for my hand just to rest on a button and I know that my index finger is a cheer or my thumb is a goal or my pinky is different sound, and I can colour-code all that. And then with my left hand, I have all kinds of different crowd intensity samples – so, as play is moving up the ice, I’m making it louder just like people would cheer a rush up the ice in a real crowd,” Kozak explained. “I’m trying to replicate that, but not too much because I still have to be conscious of the fact that I am sweetening the game, I’m not trying to re-create the crowd. The game is dictating to us what it should sound like.” Kozak didn’t have much time to prepare – he learned about the job opportunity just a few weeks before traveling to Edmonton from his home base near Peterborough and, once settled inside Edmonton’s bubble, he received the fully-loaded hardware and software just two days before the puck dropped on the first exhibition game. For two days, he called up old hockey games on YouTube, studying the rise and fall of the ambient sound and reactions, recording those games using his own applied audio, and then listening back to compare.

Through that process, Kozak learned that the natural tendency is to put in too many sound effects. “Less is more, for sure,” he noted. “There’s commentary overtop of it … the skate sounds and the sticks and the dialogue from the ice. You have to leave some room in there for everything.” Tom Wilson, noting how at times it is a little bit weird and quiet on the ice playing in front of no fans: "Conversations with the other team are a little easier" — Samantha Pell (@SamanthaJPell) August 5, 2020 Kozak’s biggest takeaway? “The thing I noticed right out of the gate was, because I’m used to seeing the game on a monitor in a broadcast, was how fast it is up here — it’s just so incredibly fast,” he said. Have any plays snuck up on him? “Well… Connor McDavid,” he said, with a laugh. “The other night, that goal under the crossbar…” “At times, it’s very difficult to see the puck up here because you’re so high … It was up and under the crossbar, and I was trying to figure out where the puck was and it was in the net. Just an incredible goal.” That half-second pause between the puck zipping past the goal line and Kozak’s finger releasing an eruption of fan noise from the would-be hometown crowd is something he’ll “forever remember.” It also brought a human element to a process driven by technology. “It is comforting to know that that does happen in real life,” he said with a laugh. “But it’s not comforting when you’re the person pushing the button.” Now about three weeks into the action – and working up to three games a day – in Edmonton, the action has slowed down for Kozak and he’s clearly having fun with what is a “really unique opportunity.” “As the games have gone by, it’s gotten much easier. The game’s slowed down enough that you can make the decision,” he said. “And 99.9 times you’re correct – unless it’s Connor McDavid with that backhand under the crossbar.” There are a lot of new normals these days, and it takes some time to get used to them. The league and its broadcasters went into this process knowing there would be room for plenty of growth and adjustments to come, and we’ve seen that already. Prior to the real competition starting up, the idea of synthetic audio was to have it input only into the broadcast feed – not into the arena itself. That changed at the end of the exhibition games, when the NHL tried feeding it straight into the rink for the players to hear, too. “The feedback we’ve been getting from players and officials is that they’re very happy with what they’re doing,” said Kozak. “It’s putting them in a place where they feel like things are somewhat normal. That’s probably something we’re most proud of – is the fact that we’re being transparent and neutral.” With plenty more games on the way, expect more evolution – and more unique soundbites. Just as no two hockey games are the same, no two crowds sound exactly alike, either. Kozak, Coppedge, Pritchett and the NHL will continue to collaborate as competition progresses to bring in new sounds as the stakes get higher.

As Pritchett pointed out: “You really have to be thinking about the long game as well, over time – like, what am I going to reserve for those really big moments?” We’ll have to wait and see. And listen.