Weekes to help deliver 'unlimited buffet of hockey' with Frozen Frenzy

Welcome to the NHL Chat Room, NHL.com's weekly Q&A feature where we talk to key figures in the game, gaining insight into their lives on and off the ice. This week, we feature ESPN and NHL Network analyst Kevin Weekes, who will be part of the on-air team for the Frozen Frenzy on Tuesday.

For the fourth season in a row, the NHL will have a dream day for fans when all 32 teams will be in action with 16 games in staggered start times across the day.

The action starts with the New Jersey Devils at the Detroit Red Wings (6 p.m. ET; ESPN, SN+) and ends with the Boston Bruins visiting the San Jose Sharks (11 p.m. ET; ESPN, NESN, SN+). 

In between, there will be 14 other games with plenty of storylines and action to follow.

"It's like an unlimited buffet of hockey you can eat and drink and literally consume what you want," said analyst Kevin Weekes, who will be in studio at ESPN for all of the action.

Weekes lives and breathes hockey. The retired goalie played 348 games during his 11 NHL seasons and helped the Carolina Hurricanes get to the 2002 Stanley Cup Final, a five-game loss t the Red Wings. He's been an analyst of the game since 2009 and is always working the phones to break news.

"Having the opportunity to whip around and take fans to get good slices of different games that are going on, it's really chaotic," he said. "It reminds me of the early weeks of March Madness, it's kind of like an early hockey version of hockey euphoria that starts in the first month of the season and gives you a first look at all the teams, all the storylines, all the players all the markets and everybody's involved. It's a hockey bonanza for the ultimate hockey fan, it's that for the casual fan and it's that for the new hockey fan as well, so you can't beat that."

It's more challenging that just analyzing one game, but one Weekes takes in stride.

"The best part about being on air all the time for me between ESPN and the NHL Network is there aren't too many days where I'm not breaking down games," Weekes said. "Even on the days I'm not, I'm always watching hockey. I'm a hockey junkie, for those of you who don't know. I've been that way since I was a kid."

Weekes spoke to NHL.com about the Frozen Frenzy, how he prepares for it, teams he feels will contend for the Stanley Cup and more.

For new hockey fans or people who don't know, can you describe the Frozen Frenzy and what makes it so special?

"What makes a Frozen Frenzy so special is the fact that all 32 teams are playing; it's a hockey bonanza. The games are starting early on the East Coast. Every team around the League is going to be playing, so you can see all your favorite players and all the other players, too. We'll have interviews, sounds, highlights from all 16 games throughout the course of the evening and will have whip around coverage, which is always very fun."

As a former player and someone who lives and breathes hockey, how much do you enjoy this day with wall-to-wall hockey and the staggered start times?

"As a broadcaster, it's a ton of fun to work as well just because it's so dynamic and it's unpredictable. At any given moment, we could be seeing a hat trick from Sidney Crosby and then we'll go and then see an incredible save by Logan Thompson and then a big play by Quinn Hughes to then see what Cale Makar is doing or what Kirill Kaprizov is doing, and nobody gets left out. Fans love their team. They love their market. They love their players and sometimes if it's not their team, they could feel left out. But this night, nobody could feel left out, so I think that's part of what makes it special."

Can you take us through your day Tuesday? What you do before going to the studio and how you prepare?

"It's going to start with family like every day does. My in-laws are here visiting us from Calgary, staying with us. They just had their 49th wedding anniversary. My sister-in-law and one of our nephews will be visiting us from Calgary, so I'll get up, help out with the kids. My daughter, Irie, had a birthday Sunday. We'll get her and my son Princeton up, cook them breakfast, get them to school. Then I'll do a quick workout, and we'll get a walk in with the kids. I'll go into the hyperbaric chamber, and make sure that I'm oxygenated and clear minded and feeling great before the day, especially after the workout because it's a big night ahead. I might try to get a 40-minute nap in, wake up, shower, iron my suit and my outfit for the night, and then make the drive to Bristol, which can be anywhere from 2-4 hours depending on the time of day and how traffic is."

So, once you're there, how do you prepare for the action when it's not just one game you have to break down, but could be one of 16 games?

"So, it's wall-to-wall action of games. It could be like, 'All right, we start Boston. OK, let's go now to St. Louis. OK, LA started. What's happening in Vegas?' So, you can't really prepare as you would or just one game, but I just love the chaotic unpredictability of it all. That also as a broadcaster is really fun. I particularly love that when we do that on the NHL Network. It's another way to serve up NHL fans anywhere at any time because every team is involved, so that's really cool.

"Every day, I talk to different people around the League from coaches to maybe assistant coaches, goalie coaches, GMs, owners, agents, players. People around the game maybe not only the NHL level but maybe some college hockey or junior hockey folks, people in Europe. So, that's a typical day for me and that will just all be compacted into one day for the Frozen Frenzy."

It’s the fourth year of the Frozen Frenzy. Talk about how it's changed from Year 1 to now.

"It's become a bigger and bigger hit, and you know it's a huge deal. This year at ESPN, we're going to have everything contained in our brand new studio, which is amazing and state of the art. It's got every tech feature. It's a sports junkie's dream in that in that studio just because we have so many different resources in tech assets available then we will unveil a lot of them and utilize a lot of them too. Also, I don't want to spoil too much of it because we want to get the element a surprise for the viewer, but we have another new piece of tech that we unveiled and that I used last week, which is a clicker, which gives us the ability to do our own replays and breakdown tape, so that was really cool."

We see you on ESPN, NHLN, breaking news, but you're also a father of two. Have the kids realized what Dad does for a living or are they too young?

"Last year during the Frozen Frenzy, I was just coming out of the fog of us having our second kid around this time, so it's crazy how the world turns. And now you fast forward it, she has a little idea. She sees when I'm on TV and she says that sometimes now, and then Princey jokes around and sometimes he'll say, 'Breaking news, breaking news!' It's a wild rollercoaster ride, but it's a part among the best things that we've ever done for sure and we're very grateful."

Lastly, any Stanley Cup prediction yet or surprise teams to look out for?

"I haven't given out my Cup prediction yet, but I still believe that if they're healthy, it's going to be either Carolina, Florida or Tampa. We know the Panthers are going through it right now in that regard. I would say a sleeper team that has a chance to do some real damage is the Washington Capitals if they play the way they're capable of. The East is stacked right now, but Logan Thompson is one of the best goalies in the League. The Caps have a lot more depth offensively. They're younger, they're faster and they're well-coached by Spencer Carbery.

"In the West, I think the Minnesota Wild and/or the Utah Mammoth can make a run this year, but the key thing for me with those two teams is how confident they are. I thought Minnesota was real confident in the back half of the stretch last year and then they weren't as confident in the playoffs as I've seen them in the regular season. In the case of Utah, if Karel Vejmelka stays healthy and if Sebastian Cossa can play the way he needs to play with this new opportunity, they should be set up well. I love their young players. They're dynamic. They're explosive. They're fun to watch and their special teams have been good, too."