Marc Moser Previews The 2018-19 Avalanche Season

Marc Moser is in his first year as the Colorado Avalanche television play-by-play announcer after spending the previous 11 seasons in the Avs' radio booth. Moser's tenure with Colorado began during the 1997-98 season as an in-studio host and producer of all Avalanche radio broadcasts.
The host of the Marc Moser show every weekday afternoon on Altitude Sports Radio, Moser has also served as a television host and analyst for Altitude TV since 2006-07 and is a regular contributor on "Golf At Altitude."

An alum of California State University Sacramento, Moser also worked with the Sacramento Kings (NBA), Sacramento Gold Miners of the Canadian Football League and CSUS football and basketball prior to arriving in Denver in 1996. He also spent 18 years as a NASCAR announcer at Colorado National Speedway.
Moser talks with ColoradoAvalanche.com about his transition from radio to TV and his observations of this year's Avs squad.

What is the biggest change you've seen from the beginning of your time with the Avalanche until now?

In today's world with digital and social media, it's opened things up for fans so much. You couldn't even imagine the kind of coverage from everybody, especially on both the TV side and radio side 20 years ago. It just didn't exist, and now fans have such access to guys and understand their favorite players better and see what they're like on and off the ice. To me, there's more connectivity between teams and fan bases than there ever has been.

Is your broadcasting style going to change going from radio to TV?

I'm going to say no. There are certain liberties that you can take on the radio side of things, especially when you're working by yourself for the most part. That won't translate over to the TV side, but I'm still going to be me. I am who I am as a broadcaster, I am who I am as a guy who takes a great responsibility to be a conduit to the fans. People have come to know me over the years, the way I am as a person, it's all just who I am. I'm probably going to reel it back just a little bit, but I'm still going to be me so that part won't change.

With the change from radio to TV, how much more time are you going to spend on your hair/wardrobe?

Are you saying I didn't look good before? I'm not super good at makeup, Lauren Gardner helps me with that a little bit. I try to be as professional as I can be, even on the radio side of things. I may throw a couple new ties into the mix so they might come flowing in and make their way onto the screen, but I'll keep myself looking good.

How has the atmosphere around the team changed from last year at this time?

It's amazing, it really is. Last year I don't think anyone knew what to expect because they were coming off such a difficult year. One thing I did know was that they had 48 points, but it was a much better team than a 48-point team so I knew they were going to be an improved club. But obviously I didn't know how improved they were going to be. The most fun for me is watching the mindset of a team develop led by all the leaders in that room. Gabe Landeskog, Nathan MacKinnon, Erik Johnson and Tyson Barrie, I mean they really took the reins. They took control and they established a mindset and the room was and still is an awesome room. That's one of my favorite things about this club right now, I've been around all the good rooms and all the difficult rooms over the years, this is one of my favorite rooms. The mindset of these guys, the staying hungry aspect of this club I think is going to really propel them this season. Once you get in the playoffs, you don't want to get out and these guys have showed it from day one of camp. They are flying, and they are ready to go and it's good to see. I think Avalanche fans should be very excited that these guys are taking nothing for granted, they are as serious as they could possibly be about getting there and staying there.

Has the change in skill and speed around the league affected how you call games?

I've always been a high energy guy, so maybe the league is coming to me. No, I'm just kidding. When you see the youth and the speed, I always say to myself "this league can't get any faster" but it has. Everybody can skate, even fourth line guys are flying, seventh defensemen too. Everybody's got such a high level of skill. I talk about it all the time with Peter McNab and, of course he was in his heyday in the 70's, he said the skill nowadays is just unreal. These guys are just terrific players but watching this league get faster, maybe it's perfect for my style too. I am a high energy guy, I have a passion for the game and these guys are flying. Maybe it's a really good mix.

What is the best part about your job?

I love the game, and I love going to the rink. If the fans out there can't be at the game, whether it's on the TV side or the radio side--and Conor McGahey is going to do an awesome job on the radio--you're the conduit to the fans. It's a huge responsibility, a really important thing that people can trust you. So my favorite part is having the people trust me that I'm going to deliver to them what they want and what they need in coverage of their hockey club. I take it super seriously. I work with an unbelievable Altitude Television group and the radio group. They are really awesome people and they're really good at their jobs, so they're going to make it easier for me. But my favorite part is being able to relay what's going on, on the ice to the fans. It's an awesome responsibility, but it's awesomely fun too.

What is your most memorable moment with the Avs?

Super easy, being on the ice when the Avs won it in 2001, and being not 15 feet from Joe Sakic when he hands the Stanley Cup to Ray Bourque and he throws it over his head. It was just an unbelievable feeling, and the interesting part is that I was not with other people. I was on the other side of the rink where the Avs had all gathered after the final horn and so the doors fling open and I was the first guy out there. I remember going out there and the guys are going crazy around me and I stopped and stood and I did a pirouette, looking around the rink because I couldn't hear myself think and I didn't know when I would ever be in that position again. So I had to visualize that because it was such an awesome feeling. The fans were unbelievably good and just being out there and watching those guys celebrate, the joy that they had, and of course Ray lifting that Stanley Cup was something I'll never forget.

Do you think high expectations are good for this team after last season?

I think it's OK for them to believe that they're good. It's OK for them to believe that they belong with the better clubs in this league. It's a young team, it's a growing team, but these guys all want it. I don't know what the future holds in terms of postseason play and all that sort of thing, but I do know that this is not a spike team. They're building something here that is going to have long-term sustainability for this club, getting into the postseason and that's what you shoot for. You don't want to be in and out, you want to be a team that's there every year. I definitely think that there is going to be a deep run in the future for this club.