Kelly Hrudey of Hockey Night in Canada headlines impressive broadcasting panel But when he speaks about his current role, as a studio analyst on
CBC’s , Hrudey talks about how dissimilar it is to prepare for a game as a broadcaster as opposed to putting on the goaltending equipment. The butterflies are the same, but for different reasons. “There is a different rush, there’s no question about it,” Hrudey recently told Examiner.com. “When you want to get better as a hockey player, you work on specific things in practice to get better – you just work harder. But in broadcasting, you just can’t work harder you can’t stuff more information in your head. You’re just trying to get the info out there and try to have it make sense.” “We all see the game a little differently, and I find that when talking about the game or watching the game with other people from different areas, that there’s always a chance to learn something about the game,” Hrudey admitted. “I think it’s great to be able to even sit with some buddies over a beer, and you walk away from the table going, ‘you know, that was interesting.’ So I’m really looking forward to being able to take part in that discussion about the game.” A member of the Kings during eight seasons from 1988 through 1996, Hrudey spoke fondly of his stint in Los Angeles, and the memories of his time here are ones that he truly treasures. “We experienced so many highs and lows here,” Hrudey explained, “and my wife and our three daughters had such a great time interacting with the people here… the thing that I cherish the most about those years was that it was the phase in my life where I had my biggest personal growth, as a hockey player and as a person.” And two important teammates during that time left an indelible mark on Hrudey.
“I was so very impressed with how handled things with such grace and dignity,” Hrudey recalled. “I remember we were going through a tough stretch, and (then head coach) Barry Melrose was in the locker room getting after each of us individually, as he needed to do. Well, before he reached Wayne’s locker, Wayne stood up and said to everyone, ‘Enough of this – I’m a lousy hockey player right now… but tomorrow I’m coming to practice early, and I’m going to be a great player in practice, and that’s what all of us need to do in order for us to turn this thing around.’ And we did just that.”