Live From NHL Stadium Series: ESPN’s Front Bench Brings Aura of Ohio Stadium, Passion of Both Fanbases to Viewers at Home

Famous college football venue makes a beautiful setting for Red Wings-Blue Jackets

The 2024-25 NHL regular season is hitting its final phase, and for two teams vying for a Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference, the visiting Detroit Red Wings and host Columbus Blue Jackets will fight to move up in the standings at a unique location on Saturday night: the revered Ohio Stadium. ESPN’s front-bench duo of lead game director Doug Holmes and lead game producer Jeff Dufine will present this matchup with the utmost of concentration on both the action on the ice and the pageantry that surrounds it.

“We have to make this a spectacle that feels as big as possible, but not sacrifice our game coverage,” says Holmes. “That’s a balance that you’re constantly thinking about.”

Director Doug Holmes and Producer Jeff Dufine will be at the front bench of Saturday’s game.

Going Back to College: Crew Adjusts With Preplanning, Experience From Other Outdoor Games

College is a place for individuals to learn and grow, and this outdoor game on the campus of Ohio State University is a chance for ESPN’s production staff to go back to the drawing board. The crew has done numerous games in the outdoor elements, including their first at the 2023 NHL Stadium Series in Raleigh, NC at North Carolina State University’s Carter–Finley Stadium. Their first foray into outdoor hockey two years ago was the first step in feeling comfortable with how to cover a broadcast of this magnitude.

“You learn from having done it before,” continues Holmes. “The creativity aspect of this game, and the collaboration that we need to have with the league, is something that’s a lot different than covering a regular event.”

After this first trial run, last year at MetLife Stadium showcased the network’s growth and commitment to making this game a much bigger televised product. From the inclusion of the “Best Seat in the House” concept to embracing the culture of the host state, the front bench found a groove that truly highlighted the game’s intended purpose.

Ohio Stadium will host the first-ever outdoor professional hockey game in Columbus, OH.

“Of the 100 games that we do during the regular season, this is the most unique because each [stadium] has its own nuances,” says Dufine. “Through multiple meetings and onsite visits, we wanted to put a plan in place to show off this venue.”

For this year’s affair in Columbus, OH, this return to a college football stadium necessitated a conversation with their production colleagues on ESPN’s college football side. Most notably, Holmes and Dufine wanted to understand the best location for their cameras in a stadium that was originally built more than a century ago. This accurate camera mapping, along with diving into the university’s gameday traditions, would create a recipe for success.

“We needed to understand the lay of the land, but also know the things that are interesting about Ohio State, the Horseshoe, how the band is integrated into the entertainment, and other aspects of what it’s like on gameday,” continues Dufine. “We have to take all of that information and incorporate it throughout the course of a hockey game.”

Play-by-play announcer Sean McDonough will call the game from this location.

Making the Most of Extra Space: Bigger Footprint Allows More On-Air Talent, Full Studio Set at Field Level

Not only is production planning impacted by the venue, but the typical seating for ESPN’s commentary team will be altered as well. Situated within a college-football-sized field, the rink is a lot smaller than what it would be inside of an enclosed arena. NHL Events is also jam-packing the area around the rink with multiple activations, including musical performances on a dedicated stage, ample seating for the Ohio State Marching Band, room for the Blue Jackets’ goal cannon, branding with nods to the Ohio State Buckeyes helmet stickers, and more.

“We’re fitting into a larger footprint in this stadium, so [play-by-play announcer] Sean [McDonough] will call the game from a suite on the 50-yard line and not the typical football booth,” adds Dufine. “[Analyst] Ray [Ferraro] will still be between the benches, but he’ll have a lot more space.”

A Skycam will be covering the game from above the ice.

Reporter Emily Kaplan, who’s another staple on NHL on ESPN, will provide her in-depth coverage and be assigned to the bench of the Columbus Blue Jackets. With added space in the gigantic stadium, two more reporters were added to the list. Analyst Kevin Weekes will be assigned to the bench of the Detroit Red Wings, and analyst Marty Smith will tap into his love for college football by highlighting specific areas of Ohio Stadium. A roaming RF SteadiCam will follow Smith through various parts of the building.

In addition to more on-air talent on the main broadcast, NHL on ESPN studio programming will also be onsite. Unlike last year, the trio of host Steve Levy and analysts Mark Messier and P.K. Subban will be anchored at a full studio desk down at ice level. They will provide pregame, intermission, and postgame coverage from this position, but they will also preview the Boston Bruins-Pittsburgh Penguins matchup prior to puck drop at 3 p.m. ET.

A jib camera will provide swooping shots of the rink and the crowd near field level.

Time to Lock In: Front Bench Focuses on Game Coverage With Full Slate of Technologies

The NHL Stadium Series is unlike any other game on the NHL on ESPN calendar. It requires many layers of planning, investment into the host stadium to intertwine these storylines into the live game, and doing so with precision. From ESPN’s vantage point, it’s a game that can put their love for the game in the spotlight.

“Stadium Series is a game that we mark on our calendars with lots of gold stars around it,” says Linda Schulz, VP, production, ESPN. “It’s a fun, creative, and huge production, and the game itself always delivers great hockey.”

For the front bench, it requires seasoned veterans like Holmes and Dufine to find pockets of time and space in the production to show all of the activity going on outside of the rink, within the stands, and around the stadium while also fulfilling their main task of broadcasting a hockey game. The hefty arsenal of onsite technologies, which include a Skycam, a drone, a rinkside extended jib camera for additional aerial coverage, the POV-centric “Best Seat in the House” activation, super-slow-motion and standard Ankle Cams in the lower corner boards, shallow depth-of-field Skate Cams, robotic Net Cams, and more, will help the production team find the best angle for any given play.

Steve Levy, Mark Messier, and P.K. Subban work from the field level set at Ohio Stadium. (Photo: Andrea DiCristoforo/ESPN PR)

“We have so many cameras [to choose from], but there are certain ones that you need that are going to document the game in the best way,” says Dufine. “We’re used to producing smaller-scaled shows during the regular season, but now we’ll have an expanded number of cameras that can be really influential to a play.”

At the same time, the crew will leverage these same cameras to shine a light on the ancillary content during stoppages in play. This includes content captured by a handful of iso cameras on certain players that are miked up and virtual graphics.

“With a lot of things happening during intermissions or going into and coming out of breaks, it’s very different than any game that we do,” adds Dufine. “On whistles where there’s nothing happening [on the ice], we’ll look to take advantage of those 15-to-20-second opportunities.”

February Frenzy: Teamwork Gets NHL on ESPN Through a Busy Month of 4 Nations Face-Off, NHL Stadium Series

The NHL season could be summarized as an elongated sprint to the Stanley Cup Playoffs, but that long run was made more frenetic with the addition of the first-ever 4 Nations Face-Off. The round-robin-style tournament that started with four games in Montreal’s Bell Centre and culminated with three games — including a must-watch USA vs. Canada overtime thriller in the championship on Feb. 20 — in Boston’s TD Garden accelerated longtime supporters’ love for the sport and birthed interest in the hearts of new fans. ESPN was at the center of four of the seven contests, and when you add an Eastern Conference matchup between the Washington Capitals and Pittsburgh Penguins on Feb. 22 on ABC, it’s been a bit of a bumpy ride on the way to Columbus.

“We knew we were doing it coming into the season, and we extensively discussed and planned for it,” says Holmes. “It was definitely a challenge, especially for our operations team.”

The Columbus Blue Jackets’ celebratory cannon will fire over rounds after each home team goal.

After the conclusion of Saturday night’s festivities in the Ohioan capital, the core crew of both their production and operations teams will have participated in eight high-level broadcasts in the month of February alone. Much like the experience of the players, the lead up to the postseason from a broadcast perspective is a grind. The level of emotion that have been packed in these games, which include many clubs battling for a playoff appearance, and the attention to detail it takes to televise an engaging product is exhausting. Despite the tough stretch, everyone on the crew is delighted to be in Columbus to cap off an impressive streak of shows.

“It’s been a heck of a run,” says Dufine. “Our deserves all of the credit.”