"I'm just looking forward to the interaction with the fans," Kayal said. "If I'm doing something on the ice and the crowd responding, or the direct dealing with different contestants for games, I'm looking forward to all of it. Whether I'm on the ice or in the stands or on the bandstage, it's going to be fun."
There's something different about this new gig as opposed to settling into a radio studio. More than 17,000 people will be serving as a live studio audience, and all eyes will be on Kayal from time to time.
"I'm just hoping to be able to get people fired up and engaged," Kayal said. "During the downtime of both TV timeouts and intermissions, we just want to keep people on the edge of their seats and hopefully get a good a good reaction with whatever we're doing."
An avid golfer, Kayal has twin 5-year-old daughters, who are already constantly asking when hockey will be on TV. Now, they'll be able to see their dad helping to run the show at the hockey game.
"I'm very comfortable on the mic, but I'm just hoping I don't fall on the ice when I make my way out there, because me and ice don't really mix too well," Kayal laughed. "But other than that, it should be a blast."
