Nick's replacement?

[jammer06]

One of the knocks on Faust was how he was often very excitable and had a contrasting style compared to what we were used to with two legends for decade upon decade.

I’d argue Schaefer has that same exuberant and excitable style, but he seems to get a pass.

Discuss.

Faust got excited about tweaking the fan base on taboo topics (announcing a shout-out bid etc) instead of actually excited about emotions on the ice flaring or seeing something extremely impressive

 

[orpheus]

They're going to tell Fox and Evans to flip a coin every game to decide who should do play by play and who should do color at this rate.

Imagine Fox doing play by play, lol.

 

[Birdman]

Can I get foxys commentary on Daryl's suit while he's drinking his wine? 100% would not be mad, especially for his holiday themed dazzlers

I’d be down with 10 games of Darryl
Doing the play by play.

 

[Pevsfreedom]

Who is Luc closest friends with? I bet it'll be them.

Imagine Fox doing play by play, lol.

I've tried to find the one game I think it was at least in my time watching where he did it for Bob for a period or maybe even a game because Bob wasn't feeling well and I think I remember him saying he'd never do it again and it was terrible, lol. Early 2000s? Maybe only in my memory?

When I was a kid I was half enamored with goaltenders (Potvin) and Bob Miller. I'd pretend to be a goalie and do self play by play watching the games for awhile. I'll do either if the Kings let me.

 

[hokiecat]

Faust got excited about tweaking the fan base on taboo topics (announcing a shout-out bid etc) instead of actually excited about emotions on the ice flaring or seeing something extremely impressive

Faust was terrible. He'd go off on the stupidest tangents ("we were out with the dad's last night and Kempe's dad is really into line dancing. He knows all the moves") and miss calling the game. He also seems to come from the generation of modern announcers who emulate Mike Emrick with the screaming when something is happening on the ice. [side note: That ESPN lady (was it Hextall?) was exceptionally bad at it when she did PBP the first season ESPN was back.] Faust's "dagger" call with an ENG felt contrived as well. And as pointed out above, Faust's banter with Fox just didn't work well.

We were so spoiled having Nick on TV during his final seasons. He made even bad games enjoyable to listen to. 44 years of awesomeness.

I expect Josh will get the full-time gig. John Kelly is available now, too.

 

[JayWells24]

I assume it will be Josh Schaefer as well. I thought I saw mention of it on social media, but not sure how credible the source is. I saw John Kelly is available as someone else alluded to, which I don't understand. I was hoping John Forslund would apply as I believe he is one of the very best, but he is likely settled in Seattle now.

 

[DryKing]

Faust was terrible. He'd go off on the stupidest tangents ("we were out with the dad's last night and Kempe's dad is really into line dancing. He knows all the moves") and miss calling the game. He also seems to come from the generation of modern announcers who emulate Mike Emrick with the screaming when something is happening on the ice. [side note: That ESPN lady (was it Hextall?) was exceptionally bad at it when she did PBP the first season ESPN was back.] Faust's "dagger" call with an ENG felt contrived as well. And as pointed out above, Faust's banter with Fox just didn't work well.

We were so spoiled having Nick on TV during his final seasons. He made even bad games enjoyable to listen to. 44 years of awesomeness.

I expect Josh will get the full-time gig. John Kelly is available now, too.

I don't know too much about Josh, but I like that he grew up as an LA sports fan and seems to have a deep knowledge of the Kings.

After Bob/Nick it will be tough to get used to anyone else, but it seems like Josh has a long runway and could be the PBP announcer for the Kings for decades.

 

[SirJW]

Faust was terrible. He'd go off on the stupidest tangents ("we were out with the dad's last night and Kempe's dad is really into line dancing. He knows all the moves") and miss calling the game. He also seems to come from the generation of modern announcers who emulate Mike Emrick with the screaming when something is happening on the ice. [side note: That ESPN lady (was it Hextall?) was exceptionally bad at it when she did PBP the first season ESPN was back.] Faust's "dagger" call with an ENG felt contrived as well. And as pointed out above, Faust's banter with Fox just didn't work well.

We were so spoiled having Nick on TV during his final seasons. He made even bad games enjoyable to listen to. 44 years of awesomeness.

I expect Josh will get the full-time gig. John Kelly is available now, too.

This, plus he used to try to use a different adjective every play similar to Emrick but not as well, it drove me nuts.

 

[drums4dmf]

Who is Luc closest friends with? I bet it'll be them.



I've tried to find the one game I think it was at least in my time watching where he did it for Bob for a period or maybe even a game because Bob wasn't feeling well and I think I remember him saying he'd never do it again and it was terrible, lol. Early 2000s? Maybe only in my memory?

I remember this! Yeah my memory of when is a total blur as well but I watched that game and it seemed pretty rough for Fox.

 

[aragorn]

Personally I really liked Faust but I don't think it was fair to compare him to either Bob or Nick because those two were simply among the best of the best. I don't think anyone can get to that level without a great deal of experience.

The biggest problem I had with Faust was what I perceived to be his level of hockey knowledge. I heard he studied hard during his time with the Kings, though, and I feel confident he'd have gotten there with time and experience.

The plus to Faust, imo, was that he showed passion, had excellent diction and was very well spoken.

He and Fox also did not have great chemistry, though, which likely attributed to the final decision to part ways.

But therein lies the problem. I want him to call the game, not be part of the game. That's what made bob great... he was sensational calling the game and then proposing questions to those who new the inside outs of the game better. With Faust why did we need two people in the booth since he "seemed" to know it all?

 

[ICE24]

Snoop might be the pick.

 

[SirJW]

But therein lies the problem. I want him to call the game, not be part of the game. That's what made bob great... he was sensational calling the game and then proposing questions to those who new the inside outs of the game better. With Faust why did we need two people in the booth since he "seemed" to know it all?

That's the other thing that bugged me. Sure he was a quick student but he only picked up the game as an adult. Nothing wrong with that but you are not an expert. I have been a fan since the early seventies as a utte. It drove me nuts.

 

[Rogie-Vachon]

Leah Hextall was absolutely not fit for play by play. If a player was making a great move that led to a goal, she would get so excited that she basically mumbled her words. Total gibberish .

Josh is a great choice. He was great with Ontario & great on the radio with Daryl.

Alex Faust would hear some brand new hockey phrase from Jim, then proceed to use it constantly after that.

He has a smooth voice, but something always seemed forced with Kings games.

 

[Pevsfreedom]

Snoop might be the pick.

He'll do anything for anything.

 

[DryKing]

Leah Hextall was absolutely not fit for play by play. If a player was making a great move that led to a goal, she would get so excited that she basically mumbled her words. Total gibberish .

Josh is a great choice. He was great with Ontario & great on the radio with Daryl.

Alex Faust would hear some brand new hockey phrase from Jim, then proceed to use it constantly after that.

He has a smooth voice, but something always seemed forced with Kings games.

Faust was part of the broadcast team for a few USC Football games and he was excellent. Hockey just doesn't seem like a sport he was initially familiar with the culture of.

 

[XPantericA]

RUMOR: Kings Closing in on Play-by-Play Plans for 2025-26 Season

mayorsmanor.com

 

[SaltyPuck]

Faust got excited about tweaking the fan base on taboo topics (announcing a shout-out bid etc) instead of actually excited about emotions on the ice flaring or seeing something extremely impressive

^^ EXACTLY THIS

Faust came off as awkward and forced with everything - and anything that he could get a hold of he stuck with ad nausem...the "dagger," the fan tweaking, parroting Fox, some random story only tangentially related to the club/players, etc etc.

My biggest beef though was just how pessimistic he could be. When we were doing poorly, he almost came off as smug, constantly pointing it out. Some of that is fair game, but holy crap I often thought "you know you're broadcasting to a bunch of kings fans, right??" This even extended to several games where we were doing ok, but still seemed to want to sh*t on the Kings and pump up any marginally above-average play our opponents made. It was almost like having the PBP filtered via LGK comments...

I'll never understand ya'll who enjoyed the dude, but "to each their own" equally applies to machoists, right?

 

[Halfwall]

Imagine Fox doing play by play, lol.

Don't have to imagine it, he's already done it--once, mercifully.

 

[ICE24]

I believe they will hire John Kelly, but what do I know.

 

[Pevsfreedom]

One of the knocks on Faust was how he was often very excitable and had a contrasting style compared to what we were used to with two legends for decade upon decade.

I’d argue Schaefer has that same exuberant and excitable style, but he seems to get a pass.

Discuss.

Faust was rather argumentative, especially with Fox - and I just didn't... like his on air persona. I've only heard Schaefer a few times and while I don't think he's got "the voice" like Nickson or Miller - I preferred him over Faust. Faust also sounded like he studied Doc Emrick way too much (can't stand him) and used so many catch phrases that it became repetitive and exhausting to listen to real fast. I haven't noticed that with Schaefer. Faust dropped so fast from my memory I can't come up with other examples but I just didn't like his broadcasting style. I'm sure he's a very nice guy. Another thing that bothered me is he was what, 32-33 when he was doing the job and he kind of.. talked like he was an old man? On purpose? IDK how to phrase that but it felt forced.

Don't have to imagine it, he's already done it--once, mercifully.

Yeah I remember discussing that on here and seeing it live. It was hilarious and he said he'd never do it again on air when Bob came back.

Faust said he and Fox were close friends outside of work. Nice story, but there were too many weird moments between the two throughout the season.

Faust was good at PBP but he could never get comfortable with banter. It wasn’t super uncommon for Faust to say something and be met with dead air. Fox doesn’t get backed into a corner. Patrick O’Neal made a fool of himself early on then it clicked for him. Fox is sink or swim. I love it.

Basically this. Love or hate Fox he's got a strong personality (I love em) and they didn't gel on air. Lots of dead space as you said. The biggest change when Nick came in was how they transitioned to each other. That almost never happened with Faust/Fox.