Storytelling is an under-appreciated part of sports team coverage. When fans get to know their heroes on a human level, they become more invested in the games they play.
That’s our philosophy for Seattle Kraken and hockey coverage here at DJLR (examples here, here, and here). It also goes for the TV broadcasts – not just before, after, and between games, what’s known as “shoulder” programming, but during the games themselves.
Stephen Brashear-Imagn Images
Take, for instance, the NHL debut of Finnish rookie Jani Nyman last Mar. 12 at Climate Pledge Arena. Because the team had taken their TV production in-house beginning in the 2024-25 season, the new Kraken Hockey Network was up to the moment. “There’s nothing that falls through the cracks,” says VP of broadcasting Ryan Schaber, “because we’re in the meetings, we’re in the planning sessions.”
KHN Screengrab
In this case, Schaber and his team prepared for Nyman’s first Kraken game. “His family flew over from Finland, and his parents are in the stands. We know where they’re sitting, we know their names, we know all the stuff.” They put that knowledge to use when the visiting Montreal Canadiens took a penalty midway through the 3rd period.
Here’s how we described what happened next: “With the Kraken trailing by two goals, Nyman authored a storybook chapter – with the help of (Jordan) Eberle, who broke into the league when Jani was six years old. From behind the goal line on a power play, Eberle sees Nyman streaking down the slot.
“In a (Finnish) flash, Nyman turns pass into shot before Montreal goalie Jakub Dobes can react. ‘An amazing pass,’ Nyman said with a huge grin. ‘Easy work to score. It’s almost an empty net.'”
Schaber recalled the as-seen-on-TV moment in an interview with Sports Video Group. “So when he scores a goal in his first game, we have a shot ready to go.” The feel-good emotion of Nyman’s parents celebrating went viral in social media posts and feature stories – but that never would have happened without the visuals from the Kraken broadcast. A screenshot of the joyous scene captured by the quick-reacting KHN team is the image above.
‘More Cameras, More Drama’
ROOT Sports, an RSN (Regional Sports Network), capably aired Kraken games for their first three seasons. But RSNs around the country are increasingly being placed on more expensive tiers by cable systems, significantly restricting the potential audience.
That paywall worked against a young franchise still introducing its sport and looking to grow its fan base. In response, the Kraken last season created team-owned KHN to broaden its reach. Games would now be telecast over-the-air, free to viewers in a five-state region (KING-5 and KONG-6/16 in Seattle), as well as streaming on Amazon Prime.
@ryanschaber_ X screengrab
“We’re in the same building as the players and the coaches,” explained Schraber. “Where they practice (Kraken Community Iceplex) is our office.
“We’re around these guys and we have access to them. We’ve built great relationships and rapport with them, so it becomes a lot easier to tell those stories and have a little bit more insight.”
Schraber learned early on that Kraken ownership would put its financial muscle behind the fledgling KHN.
“One of our investors is Jerry Bruckheimer, a Hollywood producer. One of the first meetings I had, he said ‘Hey, more cameras is more drama.’ So we’re like, ‘Okay, cool!’ We already had a pretty big production with ROOT Sports, so we were just enhancing here and there. We have ice-to-ceiling coverage now, we have five robo-cams, five super slow-mo cameras, we operate 12 cameras every single game.”
KHN continues to pursue innovations. “Where we’re trying to evolve is things like cable cams and drones. It’s difficult inside an arena with the (crowd safety) nets in hockey. We also have a historical landmark for a building we play in. It’s renovated and new but it’s really hard to do anything in there because it’s all a lot of red tape.”
What isn’t a concern are the voices of Kraken TV, John Forslund on play-by-play, alongside analysts Eddie Olczyk and J.T. Brown. “World-class talent, the best talent in the league in my opinion.”