Bringing the ‘Game Presentation’ Full Circle
Vaughn is valued across the operation for his good-natured professional demeanor and deep experience at delivering whatever content needs pulling and loading on the twin boards, sometimes turning around the request in mere seconds. More than once Tuesday, he calmly found the piece of content and/or answer Salemi needed as the game transformed into the plus-column for the Kraken.
Perhaps most effective is Vaughn’s success at serving as the unified voice for Salemi and Shabaz from the master control room. Gross works on his own channel to connect with camera operators while Vaughn has one ear with the master control crew and one with Salemi as she spins her nightly masterpieces.
“Most teams don’t have a position like mine,” said Vaughn. “It’s common in broadcast trucks to have a director and a producer working together, but less so in game presentation. While Alex is calling cameras and focusing on the hockey [and fan reactions], I’m looking to organize replays and graphics and any fun stuff, maybe find a certain celebrity in a suite working with a robo-op [wireless camera operator] … Caitlin is three or four steps ahead of me and I’m one or two of steps ahead of Alex so he puts up the content [on the boards] at just the right moment each time.”
Amplifying the Kraken Rally ‘Time’
On this night, during a late-game timeout, Salemi chooses a video montage of famed TV/movie sports coaches from the likes of “Friday Night Lights,” “Any Given Sunday” and, naturally, Team USA coach Herb Brooks (played by actor Kurt Russell) with the finale sound bite, “This is our time!” The crowd instantly goes high decibels.
Soon after, Montour is chasing a puck deep in the Montreal zone and passing to Shane Wright in the high slot. Wright one-times a shot for a goal that cuts the lead to 3-2 at 15:17 of the third period. Fans are full throttle, seconds later spontaneously chanting, “Let’s go Kraken!” as Salemi and the control room show crowd shots and replays of the goal.
During a stoppage with 2:38 remaining, Salemi is the first headset voice to note the Kraken net is empty. She clearly knows the sport, the first to call penalties and icing all game. She tells the channel, “Be ready with the energy meter please” if there is a [Kraken] offensive zone faceoff break. Montour, with assists from Vince Dunn and Jaden Schwartz plus Jordan Eberle screening net front, scores the regulation equalizer before the energy meter is tapped. Pure decibels of joy ensue.
Where It Starts is Where We End
The game-night entertainment show has officially won awards from relevant professional organizations, but most of all has fans talking to other fans, friends, hockey newbies, you name it. It’s proper to give props and a virtual standing ovation for all participants in both the 1:30 p.m. gameday run-of-show meeting held by Salemi and the 4 p.m. camera position meeting led by Gross, who always asks for any “good news” (Tuesday included one robo-cam operator happily reporting “the raccoons have returned” to his yard).
But there is only one place we can finish. That is with the passion for hockey Salemi first gushed as a young girl and now pours into Kraken home nights with a calm, witty, urgent and grateful game-entertainment call. The launch point came from attending one of many ECHL games with her parents while growing up in Hampton Roads, VA.
“I grew up in a hockey household,” said Salemi. “When I was eight, we were at a game. I turned to my dad, asking, ‘Why can’t girls play?’ He was like, ‘They can.’ So I started playing [on boys’ teams with the Juniors Admirals] and played up until I got pregnant with my son [who is now 11, older brother to a six-year-old sister].”
The hockey love fully blossomed over 11 seasons with the American Hockey League Rochester Americans before getting her chance at a long-pursued NHL opportunity with the Seattle expansion franchise. She started in a support role and gradually advanced to calling game entertainment for all Kraken home matchups this season and last.
“I simply love the sport as a whole and value the community aspect I can bring in to fans each game night,” said Salemi. “I really like being able to showcase our players, and bringing the fans closer to them…The best part is I see this as my way giving back to the sport that did so much for me growing up while getting fans to fall in love with it too.”
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.nhl.com ’
