While we don't get the OLN NHL broadcasts on Canada's version of the Outdoor Life Network, TSN picked up the OLN feed for last night's Dallas/Phoenix derby. It was my first chance to see the OLN broadcasts and compare it to that of ESPN and ABC from previous regimes.

Before I watched the broadcast, I had read the comments of other bloggers who were less than thrilled with the broadcast quality. As a Canadian, I'm used to high quality broadcasts and seeing each network continue to improve over the years with the on and off-ice production of their games.

Mike Chen wrote:

It was hard to nitpick about the exciting Pittsburgh/Buffalo game (heh, who would have imagined that phrase two years ago), but I am running out of patience with OLN's coverage. It's not Doc Emrick (whom I don't like) or the awkward studio team of Keith Jones, Neil Smith, and Bill Clement. No, it's the way that OLN insists on shooting the game at a "tighter" view.

Essentially, the camera is zoomed in about 1/3 - 1/2 more than normal. Which is fine if there's a scrum in front of the net, but in this era of long passes and fast transitions, it makes it ridiculously frustrating to try and follow the game. What's worse is that the cameramen lose track of the puck at times and wind up just waving it around. If OLN really wants to emphasize the speed of the game, they should use traditional camera views and integrate the dasher cam that ESPN successfully used during the World Junior Championships. Right now, the broadcast just feels disorganized.

Eric @ OffWing adds:

When it comes to Canadian telecasts, tight shots have been used to good effect for years. What I think we're seeing now is OLN's growing pains. They're trying to do the right thing, they just don't quite know how to do it yet. Expect a bumpy ride for a little while longer.

From my own OLN experience...

• I found the tight shots to be much too tight. On the Power Play, it seemed half of the attacking zone was cut off and you'd miss either the point men or the front of the net. HDTV is supposed to make the viewing experience wider, so why is OLN trying to make the game 'tighter'? A tight shot might work in a few small instances, but not on a regular basis.
  
  
• The video quality was very fuzzy and quite poor for a live broadcast. Were they broadcasting the game via satellite from Thailand? Even public access TV has better picture quality than this OLN broadcast did.
  
  
• The sound quality was also quite poor. As my friend put it, it was "like listening to the game through a toilet paper tube!" I've never tried such a method, so I'll take his word for it :)

Eric on the OffWing also found the picture quality to be lacking in his assessment:

Another problem I have...was that the image quality on OLN isn't anywhere near as good as it was on ESPN (and about equal in quality to ESPN 2). I thought I might have been confused at first, but then I saw archival footage of Wayne Gretzky scoring goal #802 in a Kings uniform, and the difference in quality was quite dramatic. In addition, the image quality was even worse when OLN picked up the TSN feed of last Wednesday's shootout between Toronto and Ottawa on opening night. The ice was so bright it looked practically radioactive.

Given OLN is a 'baby' at the NHL game and is not really use to live broadcast events, I'll give them the benefit of the doubt and would expect them to work out the kinks. Thankfully, I have many other choices to watch games and don't have to put up with a lower quality production on a regular basis.

As for the game itself, Phoenix really does look like a poorly coached team. That squad has some talent, but they have no on-ice chemistry and they looked really lost on the Power Play. The 2-on-0 SH breakaway goal for Mike Modano and Brendan Morrow was both beautiful and comical at the same time. How can the Coyotes have such a poor looking Power Play when they have Paul Coffey and Wayne Gretzky on the coaching staff? Ladislav Nagy just looks like he's frustrated out there, and Geoff Sanderson doesn't have the offensive smarts to really be on the PP on a regular basis.