- Ryan Reaves was one of only two active players at the NHL’s Broadcast Training Camp in Manhattan
- ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski wrote that the veteran enforcer crushed his mock interview with a stand-in Rod Brind’Amour
- Read below for what Reaves and a group of ex-NHLers learned about life after hockey
Ryan Reaves might have a second career waiting for him.
The 39-year-old enforcer spent part of his offseason at the NHL’s Broadcast Training Camp, a two-day crash course at the league’s Manhattan offices that teaches current and former players how to work in television. ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski wrote up the scene, and Reaves came off as a natural.
He was one of just two active NHLers to go through this year’s camp. Reaves drew the interview module, holding a microphone on a stand-in for Panthers coach Rod Brind’Amour, and nailed it. He even flagged his own slip right away, forgetting to bring the mic back to his subject after asking a question.
Eight players went through the gauntlet in all. TV voices from ESPN, TNT and NHL Network ran them through game calls, intermission debates and in-game interviews, while network executives weighed in on everything from social media to the temperature of a good hot take.
The nerves were real. Cam Janssen, a nine-year NHL enforcer who already hosts a podcast, admitted the little conference room rattled him.
“I’m shaking. I’m sweating through this. The coffee didn’t help, either. Honestly, it’s like playing a game. I turn a puck over a couple times, I get smacked around on the bench. Then I go out there, have a big hit and have an energy shift. Now everybody’s happy again.”
Reaves fit right in with that crowd. He is an unrestricted free agent this summer after a season in San Jose, and he has spent 15 years building the kind of loud, quotable personality that plays on camera. The retired names around him, guys like Pat Maroon, Jack Johnson and Tyler Johnson, are a little further down the road toward life after hockey.
Reaves still wants to play, and he has never been shy about saying so. But if the phone stops ringing, the booth already looks ready for him.
