Doc Emrick said goodbye to hockey in October after a broadcasting career that began in the early 1970s. In his 50 years behind the mic he called 22 Stanley Cup Finals, six Olympics, and an estimated 3,750-plus professional games.
NBC Sports will look back at Emrick’s career Sunday at 5 p.m. ET on NBC, before the NHL outdoor game at Lake Tahoe between the Bruins and Flyers. Doc Emrick – The Voice of Hockey, Presented by Discover will detail the career of the U.S. Hockey Hall of Famer, Foster Hewitt Memorial Award honoree, and eight-time Sports Emmy Award winner.
The doc on Doc will feature interviews with 20 NHL players and broadcasting colleagues of Emrick’s, including Commissioner Gary Bettman, Wayne Gretzky, Sidney Crosby, Eddie Olczyk, Al Michaels, Bob Costas, and Bill Clement,
“His impact – what he brought to the game – is going to go on for a lot longer,” says Gretzky. “That’s a testament to what he brought to our sport… people (at home) felt like he was probably talking one-on-one to them, and that’s an art in itself.”
The 60-minute documentary will highlight Emrick’s journey calling college and minor league hockey in the 1970s, to calling games for the Flyers and Devils and eventually voicing the most important hockey games of the past three decades.
Emrick doesn’t have plans to make cameo appearances in the future. He told Pro Hockey Talk in October that he knew it was time.
“People that I’ve talked to that have retired long ago themselves assured me that I would know,” he said. “Somewhere between the second and third rounds it struck me that I knew. It’s hard to explain. I don’t know if it makes sense to people, but there is a time that you sense that you have a good idea that this is it. And so, this is it.”
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Sean Leahy is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @Sean_Leahy.