Knights broadcasters’ chemistry shows most when they’re split up

Call it an “unspoken language” between Dave Goucher and Shane Hnidy. Maybe even a sixth sense.

The Golden Knights’ TV broadcasters have called games together long enough to know how to play off each other.

They have each others’ cadences down to a science. Hnidy has an idea of when Goucher will wrap up a thought to follow up with his analysis, and Goucher knows when to turn it over to Hnidy.

It’s easy to read off each other when the two are calling games inside the Bud Light Lounge at T-Mobile Arena. They can motion to each other or look at each other while being shoulder-to-shoulder.

But it’s a completely different ballgame when Hnidy isn’t next to Goucher, but rather at ice level between the benches during select Knights games. Then that chemistry really comes into play.

There are no hand signals or visual cues Hnidy can go off of when he’s at ice level. All the former NHL defenseman has at his disposal is a headset, a monitor and the jumbotron above him.

But it’s an up-close view of the action that serves as a different perspective for fans tuning into Vegas 34 during Knights home games, including Saturday’s game against the Seattle Kraken.

“I think chemistry happens when you’re in the booth, or you’re down below,” Hnidy said. “For whatever reason, it’s been instantaneous between Dave and I.”

The norm for NHL games

Hnidy, who played 10 seasons in the NHL, got his start in broadcasting with the Winnipeg Jets after retiring in 2011. He joined the Jets when they relocated from Atlanta and became the Jets’ full-time TV analyst in 2014 on TSN, then was hired by the Knights in 2017 and has been with Goucher ever since.

Hnidy’s broadcast career started between the benches. He did a majority of Jets games at ice level, so doing it from time to time isn’t different to him. He’s also been doing it for Knights games since their second season.

It’s become commonplace when NHL games are broadcast on the national level. ESPN and TNT Sports will usually carry two- or three-person booths, with a former player at ice level.

It provides a unique perspective that commentators can’t get when calling games in a booth. But it can also be a challenge not knowing when to interject a thought without cutting the other person off.

That speaks to Hnidy and Goucher’s chemistry, which they both agree has been there from the moment they got off the plane in Vancouver on Sept. 17, 2017, and called their first preseason game together for the Knights.

“Fortunately, maybe one of my strengths is being able to read play-by-play because I worked with a lot of different ones from early in my career to now, and you certainly have to read off them,” Hnidy said. “You don’t want to jump them when you’re in the play. That’s easier when you’re in the booth.

“That’s the No. 1 thing when you’re between the benches. You have to go off the feel of the game and off the play-by-play call.”

That’s where the production truck comes into play, Hnidy said. Producers will be more vocal in that instance, especially if Hnidy has a play he wants to break down at the next whistle when applicable.

“When I’m up and he’s down, we have such a good sense for each other that we don’t really talk over each other, because that could be the danger of it,” Goucher said. “You can’t see the person. I can’t see that far across the ice to know when he’s going to wrap up the spot, but if he’s a foot away from me, that’s different.”

Feel the rush

The area Hnidy occupies covers four of the more lucrative seats in the arena, called the “Dream Seats.” Those normally sell for close to $1,000 and are blocked off whenever these games happen.

Money is involved and the seats sell, so it’s not happening every game.

Goucher doesn’t mind Hnidy being on the ice for a handful of games, but he’s glad it isn’t an every-game occurrence.

Goucher isn’t changing much in his calls. A slight difference might be he’ll draw Hnidy in through a more obvious way than he would when they’re in the booth. Other than that, the two have been able to read off each other so well that it doesn’t take much for one another to get their point across.

For that reason, Hnidy doesn’t change much in his approach, either. The only hindrance is Hnidy doesn’t have a full view of the ice. He loses sight of the far corners, but relies on the scoreboard underneath him on the jumbotron and his monitor to see what Goucher might have a better view of.

Being a former player, it’s a cool feeling for Hnidy to be closer to the action. It’s a sort of rush where Hnidy feels more in the game, where it gets his juices flowing back to his playing days.

Being inside T-Mobile Arena helps with that immersive feel.

“The music comes on during warmups, my water bottle is vibrating,” Hnidy said. “I love being down there where certain things happen.”

Certain things happen meaning all the banter going on that can’t be repeated on air, or feeling the highs and lows of the game as they progress.

But while there is excitement in being at ice level, it does come with a warning label that flying objects may find their way in Hnidy’s direction.

One instance was when he called a game with TSN in Toronto. He and ESPN analyst Ray Ferraro were both at ice level. Hnidy, at 6 feet, 2 inches, stood next to the 5-9 Ferraro and “overreacted” to a flying stick. Hnidy jumped back a couple of feet, while Ferraro stayed in place.

Hnidy learned from that experience during a game this season. A flying puck came his way, and he calmly moved out of the way. The one who reacted the most was captain Mark Stone in almost disbelief that the puck didn’t connect.

“Knock on wood, I’ve had a lot of pucks and sticks that come your way,” Hnidy said.

No place like the Lounge

Though he loves being close to the action, Hnidy said there’s nothing better than calling the games from Section 16 at T-Mobile Arena.

Hnidy and Goucher call it the best view in the house. The location is tucked perfectly in the crowd to get the full reaction of the fans, and at the perfect angle visually to see everything that’s happening.

Goucher said they’re almost spoiled by their spot, considering in most arenas, “we’re on the surface of the moon” at the top of the press box. There’s a disconnect, Goucher said, when you’re far away.

One thing’s certain: There’s no disconnect between the two, even if Hnidy isn’t next to Goucher in the booth.

“What you lose by not being side by side, it’s almost mitigated by the fact that we know each other so well,” Goucher said. “We have a sense of where the other person is going that it almost isn’t maybe as much of a disadvantage as it might be.”

Contact Danny Webster at dwebster@reviewjournal.com. Follow @DannyWebster21 on X.