In NHL.com's Q&A feature called "Sitting Down with …" we talk to key figures in the game, gaining insight into their lives on and off the ice. In this edition, we feature broadcaster Kenny Albert .
When Kenny Albert was stuck at home during the coronavirus pandemic -- 146 straight days without heading off to an NHL game or an NFL game or the Olympics -- he decided that this was the time. He had stories and wanted to share them.
Albert, the longtime broadcaster who wears more hats than most people own, sat down with a blank page and 70,000 words to write. It took him two years, some of that at home during the pandemic, some of that in hotels and between prep sessions on the road.
“I always thought about writing a book,” Albert said. “I felt like I had a lot of stories to tell from the various sports and travels. … My family, my wife and daughters, had always been sort of pushing me to possibly do it. And I never really felt like I had the time, we’re all scrambling around and writing a book is a pretty daunting process, as I learned.”
But then came March, 2020. And, until he left for the NHL bubble in August, he was stuck at home. He set out to make it happen, telling all the stories he’s amassed in a career calling games for Fox Sports, MSG Network, TNT and NBC, doing hockey, football, baseball, basketball and the Olympics. The result was “A Mic For All Seasons,” which came out in October and has forwards written by Wayne Gretzky and Walt “Clyde” Frazier, both colleagues of Albert’s.
“It was very exciting when I first saw it, when the first boxes arrived at my house in late August, and then the official publication date was October 10, which was about two months ago,” Albert said. “And now here we are.”
Albert will be signing copies of his book from 4-6 p.m. ET at the NHL Store NYC on Tuesday ahead of the game between the New York Rangers and Toronto Maple Leafs at Madison Square Garden. The book even has its own Instagram site, @amicforallseasons, where Albert is posting some of the book’s travels, run by one of his daughters.
NHL.com talked to Albert about his writing process, stories he shares in the book, and what’s happening in the NHL. Plus, a gift he’d hand out this holiday season.
What was the process of writing the book like?
“I thought about using a ghostwriter, but I enjoy writing, did a lot of it in high school and college. I decided I wanted to do it myself. It’s my stories, I wanted it to be my voice. … The whole process writing it was probably two years. It was the first year, starting during the pandemic, and then on and off. There were times where once the seasons all started up again, I might have not done anything for a month or three or four weeks. And then, on planes and in hotels, really continued the process. I remember at one point when I was at 30,000 words -- because [the document] has the little number up there in the upper right-hand corner -- as I'm typing, and I was thinking to myself, how am I ever gonna get to 70,000?
“I wanted to talk about early life growing up in a sportscasting family, getting into it, doing a lot of broadcasting in high school and college, and there's a lot of stories from my two years in the American Hockey League with the Baltimore Skipjacks, which was a period that I would never trade in for anything.
“There’s a chapter on each sport, a chapter on travel tales, a chapter on Olympics, a chapter on the over 200 analysts that I've worked with, a chapter on how we did everything during the COVID pandemic, broadcasting off monitors. And then, a really important chapter in my mind, paying it forward, advice to young high school and college sportscasters that want to get into the business. And so it's really a combination of all those things. It was a lot of fun.”
Are you ever going to slow down?
“The summer's a little bit slower. But, as I wrote in the book, when you love what you do, it doesn't feel like work. Even though there's so much preparation and travel that goes into it, each and every game, I never really feel like I'm going to work. So that's one of the themes that I wove into the book.”
What are some of your favorite stories that are in the book?
“From a hockey standpoint, the favorite story is definitely a fake arrest that I was the victim of on a prank set up by Barry Trotz. He was my roommate on the road for two seasons when we were both with the Baltimore Skipjacks in the AHL. I was hired when I was 22. Barry was about 26 or 27. He was the assistant coach. And to save money at that level, sometimes they'd have the radio guy room with the bus driver. In our case, they had the radio guy room with the assistant coach.
“At one point early in the second season, I was interviewing Barry and he said something that came out funny. I don't remember what it was, but I didn't play it on the air. But I made the mistake of going and playing the tape for some of the players and they got a big kick out of it and word got back to him. He said I'll get you back one of these days.
“It was the only time we flew all year. We flew up to the Maritimes in Canada to play like six games up there. We flew from Baltimore to Boston, Boston to Halifax and then Halifax to Sydney, Nova Scotia, three flights. And they had told us that our luggage, our personal luggage, might not make it on. They were small planes, regional jets, and they had to get the hockey equipment and the sticks on first. That was the priority. We land in Sydney, Nova Scotia, and it's a small airport, we get off. We go down the steps of the plane onto the tarmac. And there's a gentleman waiting at the bottom with a clipboard with my name on it. He says, ‘Is this you? Come with me.’
“I thought they wanted me to identify the luggage, what the luggage looked like. They put me in an official car and these two older gentlemen start driving around and questioning me, ‘Is your passport valid? Have you ever been arrested? Do you know anyone that's in trouble? Do you have anything illegal in your bag? And I knew I didn't do anything, but I couldn't figure out what was going on. And like 15 minutes later, they pull up at what looks like the team hotel and they told me that it was a prank. ‘Trotzy’ set that up.”
What have you seen from the Rangers this season?
“I think on paper, leading up to the season, I felt like they would certainly be one of the one of the top teams in the League, when you look at the team they put together over the last three or four years, reaching the Conference Final two years ago and then last year bowed out a little earlier than most people expected.
“But there's so many good teams in the East. So once playoffs start, it obviously comes down to matchups and goaltending and injuries and a little bit of luck. But I felt leading into the season, they would certainly be one of the favorites and Peter Laviolette's done a great job. They've gotten terrific goaltending, not only from [Igor] Shesterkin, but with Jonathan Quick coming in. In my mind they have one of the best groups of defensemen from one through six in the League. And then, up front, superstar players mixed in with some youngsters and veterans on the third and fourth lines like Barclay Goodrow and Nick Bonino and Blake Wheeler. You look what Bonino's done, such an underrated player with face-offs and shot blocking, etc. Vincent Trocheck, he's one of the top face-off guys in the League.
“So, it's a great mixture of players in my mind and, again, come playoff time, there are a lot of factors that come into play, but I certainly felt like heading into the season they would be one of the favorites and they've gotten a great start.”
Could we see a Stanley Cup Final at Madison Square Garden?
“It’s the 30th anniversary of the ‘94 Cup. So maybe there's some karma there. And also 10 years since their trip to the Final in 2014. So, years that end in four have been pretty good for them over the last 30 years.”
What are you looking forward to at the Winter Classic?
“The outdoor games are always so exciting and with TNT we had the opportunity to call a really cold one in Minnesota two years ago. We kept the windows open in the booth in the first period. And, unfortunately, Darren Pang was freezing down at ice level. Keith Jones and I were up in the booth, window open in the first period and then we made the executive decision to shut it. I think it was minus eight at puck drop. And then last year at Fenway, an iconic venue. Just so much fun calling that game with Eddie [Olczyk] and ‘Jonesy.’
“Really looking forward to going to Seattle, you have the two newest franchises in the NHL, who have obviously had such great success. Vegas, going to the Final their first year and then winning the Cup last year, and Seattle, winning a playoff series in their second season. Two young model franchises playing in the League's marquee event.”
What has been the most fun to watch this season?
“I think just the continued development of the young superstars around the League. That's been a lot of fun to watch. We had Connor Bedard's first goal here in Boston, it was his second game. Being in the building to witness that and call that goal was a lot of fun. Just watching the Hughes brothers, Jack and Luke in New Jersey and Quinn in Vancouver, and what they've been able to do. … They’ve become among the top players in the League at a pretty quick pace.”
If you could give a gift to anyone in the NHL, what would it be?
“I would give Keith Jones a golden microphone for his terrific two decades in broadcasting before abandoning us and moving over to the executive suite.”
Has it been fun to watch him make this jump?
“So much fun. During the playoffs, once he took the job [as president of hockey operations for the Philadelphia Flyers], he was still with us for the last three weeks during the Conference Final and the Final so he was wearing both hats at that point. But he's such a great guy. He's one of our favorites, all of us that that had the opportunity to work with him and just so happy for his success so far with the Flyers this year.”
