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An Interview with a Habs Broadcaster - Eric Engels
by Patrick Hoffman on 03/17/10 at 07:28 PM ET
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Everyone knows that in Montreal, the Canadiens are at the center of everything. Everyone talks about them, thousands of fans go to the Bell Centre to watch them play and most of all, everyone seems to live and die by what they do.
One person who understands this better than most is a Habs blogger for HockeyBuzz.com and a radio broadcaster for Team 990 - Eric Engels. Eric was kind enough to take time out of his busy schedule to tell us about how he got into the game, how he got into writing about the team and the game, how he got into broadcasting and his current thoughts on the Canadiens.
PH: How did you get into hockey?
EE: In 1986, the Canadiens were riding rookie Patrick Roy, with the hope of getting the team and its fanbase back in touch with its winning culture. I was three years old at the time, but my first memories of hockey involved the Habs winning the Stanley Cup. I started playing the following year, and in case it wasn’t obvious, the sport has become a deep passion of mine.
PH: Growing up, who was your favorite team/player?
EE: There was the Canadiens, and only the Canadiens. That’s a mentality that might be unique to Montreal in regards to the NHL. There are few fans in these parts that cheer for others when the Habs have missed or been eliminated from contention. As for players…that’s a bit different. Growing up and playing competitive hockey there were certain players I want to borrow from, and they were ultimately my favorite, regardless of what team they played for. Here’s a short list, with reasons for why these guys were my favorites:
- Mario Lemieux was my first, and the reasons are obvious. I think he was the best player of all time.
- Watching Peter Forsberg play was a revelation. Before Peter, I had never seen a player who had better awareness, and his ability to be physically aggressive while in possession of the puck seemed unprecedented to me. A clutch player with sublime passing skills, and a fearsome guy to play against; he could punish you physically and if you chased him when he had the puck, he made you pay every time. And he had the propensity to make others look foolish. Peter Forsberg is exactly what the Montreal Canadiens have been missing for so many years.
- Saku Koivu will go down as my favorite player of all time. I could write a book about what Koivu means to me, in terms of his inspiring story and his incredible ability that was scarcely recognized for what it was when he played here. If you ask players who have played against him and players who have played with him, they’ll unanimously tell you he’s one of the smartest players in the league. He’s cerebral. He’s clutch. And most importantly, he’s all guts and heart. It was my dream to one day meet Koivu; little did I know I would get to speak with him on a daily basis over his final years as a Montreal Canadien.
- He may never break the records Gretzky established, but in my view, Sidney Crosby is the best player I’ve ever seen. He’s an innovator. I’ve never seen anyone with as much ability work as hard as he does, and moreover, never seen anyone who can do what he does. And his zest for sensing the moment and executing is freakish. He’s 22, and I don’t think it’ll be five more years before people begin referring to him as the best player of all time.
PH: At what point in your life did you know that you wanted to be involved in hockey as a writer/broadcaster?
EE: Short of stepping on the ice and playing for an NHL team, I always wanted to be involved in some capacity. I never thought it was a possibility until I tried. I’ve been knocking down obstacles ever since, and am quite proud of what I’ve accomplished in 4 years of working the NHL beat through the different channels of communication (blogging, radio etc…)
PH: Besides the Team 990 and HockeyBuzz.com, what other outlets have you/do you cover hockey for?
EE: I report for XM Radio, and attend all Canadiens home-games. I have access to the entire organization, practices, press conferences etc… I host the Habs weekend pregame and postgame shows for the Team990 and write daily blogs for http://www.hockeybuzz.com. For a short time I wrote for the Montreal Gazette’s online section devoted to the Canadiens; www.Habsinsideout.com Also, through Hockeybuzz.com’s affiliation with Comcast-Versus, I’ve done some work at www.Versus.com.
PH: How did you get the Canadiens Radio Gig at the Team 990? What are your responsibilities at the station?
EE: I had gained some notoriety through the growth and success of my work at http://www.hockeybuzz.com. In an attempt to broaden my experience, I took an internship, working on Canada’s best radio program: “Melnick in the Afternoon” (By the way, that’s not a matter opinion…it’s a fact. If you listen to Mitch’s show you won’t find a better one in the country.) Given my access to the team and my previous experience, Mitch, and the people at The Team990, felt that I had the knowledge to host my own show. After my four month internship was complete, I landed the Habs pre-post game shows on the weekends, and I’ve been doing that for the last two seasons. My responsibilities include editing audio clips that correspond to the given topics of conversation of that day, booking great guests (players, managers, media etc…) and the actual hosting duties themselves.
PH: What do you try to bring listeners whenever you are on the air?
EE: It’s a long season, and even though Montreal has successful sports teams (the Alouettes- Grey Cup Champions-CFL, the Montreal Impact who are also champs of their soccer league) the Canadiens are a much more prominent discussion than anything else. So, naturally the ebbs and flows of the season give way to a lot of irrational—in the moment—opinions. I try to bring context and a frame for the events that sway opinions on a daily basis. I try to rationalize each event, focusing on how things are never as bleak or as great as they seem. I try to make it clear that I have a superior knowledge of all things hockey, so that what I say can be considered valid and credible. And mostly, I try to have good guests—who can do all those things for me.
PH: What is it like being the Habs’ blogger at HockeyBuzz.com? Why do you think your blog has been such a success since joining the blogging world?
EE: I think Eklund and the writers at hockeybuzz have done a great job at creating discussion about the passion that unites us all. The site encourages its fans and readers to blog and share their opinions. The interaction you find there is somewhat similar to what you find on message boards and forums across the net, and its most impressive to me that readers can create profiles and actually make friends through our blogs. I marvel at where my blog has come from and what it has become. I consider the content to be engaging, and I’ve built my reputation on providing a deeper analysis than you can find in most places that discuss the Canadiens. I’m privileged to have the latitude to offer my opinion, and I take great pleasure in converting someone’s opinion based on what I have to say. The participation has been overwhelming, and I spend a lot of my time (be it intentionally, or just by circumstance) gauging the temperature of the fanbase on any given issue. Whenever I write a blog, I’m mindful of the arguments I intend to make and the counters to my points. I try to bring attention to some aspects of the game that are often ignored, and I try to bring further context to an issue that seems black and white—but is much greyer than people have perceived. I try to be consistent, I try to be right and I admit when I’m wrong. I don’t pretend to know something if I don’t, and when I make assertions they tend to be based on facts and supported by sources. I’ll never be perfect, and each blog won’t be as good as my best, and I won’t always get it right, but I’m ok with all of that—and I think my readers are as well.
PH: Now for some actual talk - where do you see the Habs’ finishing come April? Do they have what it takes to make the playoffs?
EE: 6 wins in a row have put the Habs in favorable position. Barring an epic failure, the Canadiens will be participating in the playoffs.
PH: How far do you think the team can go in the playoffs if they make it?
EE: It’s too early to tell. It depends on who they draw in the first round and how and where they finish in the standings. There are signs that suggest they can make it past the first round, perhaps even further. They’ve won a lot of close games, they’ve won without playing their best at times and won handily when playing their best. They’ve beaten all of the top teams, and they’ve won stretches of games when the schedule was unfavorable and they were suffering from devastating injuries. They’ve had great goaltending and special teams all season and if those trends could carry into the post-season I’d imagine they represent an unsavory first round match-up for anyone in the Eastern Conference. Their obvious limitations are at the forward position, in regards to their lack of size down the middle.
PH: Any words of wisdom for readers here at Kukla’s Korner?
EE: I would say that no matter what you do, in whatever industry you find yourself in, you need the resolve to be unwilling to accept the word “no” if you believe in yourself and your ideas. There were a lot of people who told me I’d never have a radio show on the Canadiens, in Montreal. Plenty more who told me I’d never be credentialed to cover the Habs and have full access to the team. Every door that’s been opened for me has been one that I’ve knocked on. And when there was no answer on the other side of the door, I pushed on it. Set specific goals, and go after them. And when you think something’s entirely improbable, it doesn’t hurt to ask for it. At the worst, you won’t get what you want but you also won’t have to regret never finding out if you could have.
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Tags: Eric+Engels, Montreal+Canadiens, Team+990,
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About Goal Line Report
Patrick has a tremendous passion for hockey. Besides covering the Rangers and the NHL for Kukla’s Korner, you can also find Patrick’s work over at RLD Hockey, Rangers Tribune, and TheGoodPoint.com.
Prior to writing for the above mentioned outlets, you could find Patrick’s musings at hockey web sites/outlets such as TheHockeyNews.com, The Fourth Period, Spector’s Hockey, Hokeja Vestnesis, Blueshirt Bulletin, SNYRangersBlog.com and many more.
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