Breaking Barriers in Hockey Broadcasting With NHL Network's Jamie Hersch 🎙️🏒

Lee MJ Elias [0:08 - 1:06]: Friends and families around the world. And welcome back to another episode of Our Girls Play Hockey. I'm Lee Elias, joined by Sherry Hudspeth and Mike Bonelli. Our guest today has established herself as a prominent figure in sports journalism, bringing energy and insight to hockey fans everywhere. Jamie Hirsch is a distinguished broadcaster and studio host who has worked with the pwhl, Vegas Gold Knights, Minnesota Wild, and the NHL and MLB Network. She's a Minnesota native, and she developed a passion for sports early on, participating in figure skating during her youth. And she pursued her interest in journalism at the University of SoCal, graduating magna cum laude in 2009. I know people don't like to brag about that, but we do it for you, which is one of the nice parts of hosting the show. But beyond her professional achievements, we always like to say it. Jamie is a dedicated wife and a mother of two. We are so excited to delve into her experiences in sports media, her journey through the industry, and her perspectives on the evolving role of women in hockey broadcasting. Jamie, welcome to our Girls Play Hockey. 

Jamie Hersch [1:06 - 1:09]: Wow, what an introduction. Thank you so much. I'm happy to be here. 

Lee MJ Elias [1:10 - 1:18]: You know, when a broadcaster tells me that, it makes me blush. Makes me feel pretty good, right? When the hockey players say it, I'm like, yeah, yeah, thanks. But when you say it, Jamie, it means a lot. 

Jamie Hersch [1:18 - 1:23]: That was impressive. You did your research, which is the number one thing of being a broadcaster. So I'm impressed already. 

Lee MJ Elias [1:23 - 1:33]: Thank you very much. That means a lot. Jamie, where I want to start is this. You know, what drew you to a career in sports broadcasting? And how did being involved in sports play into that? 

Jamie Hersch [1:33 - 2:10]: Yeah, well, I did grow up playing sports. I was a figure skater as a young girl, and then I also played softball, both slow pitch and fast pitch. I played basketball. I played volleyball. And so I've always loved sports, and my family all love sports. And so it was kind of funny. When I was in fifth grade, I remember it was Randy Moss's rookie year, so dating myself and my dad started really explaining to me the NFL and the rules of football and how it works. And so that year, The Vikings went 15 and 1. That was probably our year to win the Super Bowl. Wasn't meant to be. It's okay. I'm still not getting over it yet, but that's okay. Well, we'll talk about other things. 

Lee MJ Elias [2:10 - 2:17]: You want to know where half of us are from, by the way, just to interrupt you, a lot of us are in Philadelphia right now, so we'll just. We'll leave It. 

Jamie Hersch [2:17 - 4:39]: Congrats, enjoy it. I have no idea what that feeling is like. They've never even been to the super bowl in my lifetime, my Vikings. So anyway, I digress. Yeah, that's really what I point to as the time when my sports fandom began because I have a younger brother and he was always about playing sports, right. But he didn't care about watching them. So my dad and I would religiously sit down and watch the Vikings game every Sunday. I remember crying when they lost the one game that year because I wanted the prince perfect season. And I just really blossomed into this sports fan as a 10 year old girl. And I remember very vividly watching Michelle Tafoya at the time, I think it was Monday Night Football at the time that she was on. But I remember thinking, wow, she's a woman and she holds her own, she knows a sport, she asks good questions and she is just like any of the men talking about football. And she didn't play football, but that doesn't mean that she can't talk about football. And so at a young age I remember seeing someone that, you know, looked more less like me and thinking I could do that one day too. And so that's really where I think my whole sports broadcasting dream began was a young age. And so, you know, I worked my way through school and then eventually in high school I decided to be fun to try my hand at sideline reporting, so to speak. So I had a friend that wanted to make movies and so he grabbed his home video little camcorder. We didn't have smartphones back then. And I, you know, did my little reporting where every week I would go talk to the high school football coach and do interviews and come up with basically a little report previewing the big Friday night football game. And that aired on our high school little silly news station. But it was just really good experience, right, to just start doing it and see if I wanted to do it. And so that led to me applying with the the state high school sports league to see if I could do like a student reporter role in their state high school football coverage. And they allowed that and so that was great and I got to do that. And then that led to the same thing with the basketball state tournamen and the hockey state tournament. And I was able to kind of build a mini reel so to speak to send out to colleges. And that's where I landed at usc, which has a tremendous broadcast journalism program. Nightly live student run newscasts. That was really what I equate to kind of A first job in the business, and that helped launch me into my career. 

Sheri Hudspeth [4:41 - 4:55]: So you get to do, like, a lot of cool stuff with Major League Baseball, the NHL Hockey Day in Minnesota, Vegas, Golden Knights. A lot of people just see the glitz and glamour of working in sports. What are some of the challenges? Is there a grind side to it that people don't see? 

Jamie Hersch [4:56 - 6:14]: I think there is a bit of a grind, but I will say there's nothing like being at a live sports event. So I. A lot of my experience was in the studio as a studio host at NHL Network and MLB Network, and that. That's, I guess, where you might feel a bit more of the grind, because it is still really fun. Right. There's lights and cameras and a lot of people behind the scenes that make the magic happen, and it's fun. And I loved all the people that I worked with, but I didn't get to go to a lot of the games except for the big events. So I did get to go to the All Star Game, the Winter Classic Stadium Series, and certainly the Stanley Cup Final. But now that I'm here in Vegas and I get to go to the Golden Knights games as part of my job, there's nothing that can quite replicate being in a live sports environment and just the natural energy there and excitement, and it really does not feel like work. There is a lot of work behind the scenes that people don't see. See. Right. Going to morning skate, going to practice, setting up phone calls with players or coaches to try to get that insight so that I know what I'm talking about, and I'm not just kind of doing it on the fly. So that part of it is work, for sure. But it's so fun, really. And anytime, again, that you get to go into a live sporting environment, you are reminded that it's kind of a joke that we call this work. 

Mike Bonelli [6:15 - 6:46]: Yeah. I mean, thinking about that whole process, right. And having all these great moments that you're saying and you're involved, can you maybe describe. And I'm not gonna put you on the spot and ask for one moment that stands out, but maybe like, as a. As a. As a broadcaster and somebody that's involved with all these great events, can you just talk a little bit about what. What those moments are like for you as. As maybe, you know, a fan, even, like, being in there and the energy it gives you as a broadcaster, you know, when you're in those moments? 

Jamie Hersch [6:46 - 9:06]: Yeah. I mean, those moments are what make it so much fun. Right. And there are moments that you Realize it's so much bigger than me, right? And I used to get really nervous. I still get nervous from time to time, especially if I'm doing anything new. But anytime I feel nervous, I just kind of try to step back and realize, like, this moment is not about me. This moment is about these players who have worked so hard to be in these positions to compete for a Stanley cup or on the women's side, a Walter cup for the pwhl. I mean, these are incredible moments. Gotten to cover postseason baseball before, where, you know, you hear the crowd and the intensity of a full stadium and it really is something special. And I try to really be intentional about taking a moment during the national anthem that's kind of become my, like, sacred space where, you know, we, we aren't doing anything live. We always pre tape because we try to be respectful of the anthem. And so I use that two to three minutes to step back and realize how cool it is to just be a witness of this moment and be a small part of the moment, no matter what it is. And you said you weren't going to put me on the spot and ask for a favor, but I do have a favorite. And it's really any time I've gotten to cover a Stanley cup final because that's just, I mean, for someone who's worked in hockey now for over a decade, like, I know what it means. And I've talked to players both who have won it and who spent maybe 15 years in the league and never won it, and they get emotional talking about the Stanley cup and just how amazing it is to either, you know, fight for it and win for it, win it or, or hope that you do and you never do. You know, I mean, there's just, it's, it's such a special trophy, the Stanley cup, that anytime I've gotten to cover a Stanley cup final game, and especially to be there in the cup clinching game when, you know, they hoist it and all their families there. I remember last year talking to Paul Maurice, who had spent decades in the business and finally won the Stanley cup, and he was in tears and he told me how, you know, right away I called my mom and dad, like on the ice, the moment that I got a spare second. And that's so cool that, like, grown man who, you know, people think is this tough guy, whatever, like he was, he was crying because that's what it meant. And so that, that I would say covering the only cup final is, is my pinnacle, my peak moment. 

Mike Bonelli [9:06 - 9:44]: I just wanted to ask too, because I know Sherry would appreciate this because of her role with Vegas. And I get to work with a lot of NHL clubs, you know, in like pre game stuff and a lot of programming that goes out there. How hard is it for you to not be like a fan, like, to understand, like, I know Sherry, right. Your staff, like, don't interact with the players. You can't ask for autographs, you can't take selfies, like, just because that's their job. Like they're doing their job, you're doing your job. Can you talk a little bit about, you know, maybe just like how that is and you know, how you keep kind of, kind of an even keel about. Well, we're both professionals here, but I'm just excited as, you know, the next person next to me here. 

Jamie Hersch [9:44 - 11:22]: Yeah. And I think it's okay to be excited to an extent and I think it's okay to, to be passionate, especially if you're working for a team. Like right now, when I'm working at Golden Knights game, I'm openly cheering for the Golden Knights. Like, there's, there's no secret about it because you're working for the team, right? And you get involved in it. You are excited because you know the players personally and you know the staff behind the scenes personally. And so it is a little different. But in terms of being a professional, you're absolutely right that, that you can't ask for autographs or pictures or something because we're all here to do a job. And as I said before, I feel lucky that it's my job. And so I don't want to jeopardize that or make it uncomfortable for anyone. And I think too, I go back to when I was in college. My now husband was my boyfriend at the time and he was the head equipment manager for the USC football team. And at the time, this was Pete Carroll, Reggie Bush, Mark Sanchez, like big names. They were winning Rose Bowls and going to national championships. So they were a big deal. And he was around that every day. And I remember he would tell me, like, it's funny because people think of them as kind of gods almost, right? And they're just people, especially that they were like college kids, right? Like, they're just people. They want to be treated like people. They don't want to be treated any differently. And that stuck with me. And then certainly into my professional years too. The more I interacted with players and coaches, I realized they will be a better interview. They'll give you more insight. They'll just be happier in General, if you just treat them like a normal person. And so to not be a fan and to. To really be a professional, but also just be a normal person, I think is paramount. 

Sheri Hudspeth [11:22 - 11:41]: Awesome covering. Just want to get a little bit into your work with the pwhl. How has that been as far as your preparation and going to new cities and can you give any insight on the new league and covering the new league? Like you mentioned, your research, is it a little bit harder to find insiders and stuff with the PWHL to prepare for games? 

Jamie Hersch [11:41 - 14:27]: For sure, there is a lot less out there in terms of background stories and personal side of these women. But it has been honestly one of the privileges and honors of my life to this point to be able to be a part of something kind of so revolutionary and hopefully game changing. And I really do believe that the PWHL is here to stay and that we'll look back 10, 20 years from now and remember when it began and we'll equate it to like the wnba. Right now. WNBA is not going anywhere, right? And we've seen a couple different iterations of professional women's hockey leagues that just weren't sustainable and the pay wasn't high enough to make it a living job for these women. You know, I know girls who I used to. One was an intern actually at NHL Network, this is several years ago, but she played for the Riveters. And at the time that league was such that, I mean, I think they were making like $10,000. Right? Like you can't live on that. And so they would have one or two jobs and then these games and these practices, they would have to squeeze them in around normal work hours. And so. So they'd have nine o'clock games and it just. That's not what being a professional athlete should look like, especially in this country. And so it's really amazing to see the work that so many of the players and the people behind the scenes have put in and Billie Jean King getting the funding element of this to truly make it a first of its kind, sustainable professional women's hockey league that I think is here to stay. So that's kind of the sidebar of what it means to me to be a part of that. And then secondly is just. Yeah, it is. It's the hardest thing I've ever done because play by play is something that I never dreamed of doing. And similar to how I said that I watched Michelle Tafoya growing up and I could see that example as something that I could maybe be one day There were no examples of women calling play by play, really, in any sport. And eventually Beth Mowins started calling college football. You know, now we have a few more women across all sports that are getting involved in play by play. But that was. No one ever told me, like, you can't call play by play play because you're a woman. But I never even thought that was in the cards, because I didn't. I was like, no, women are silent reporters, you know, and so the fact that I now get to try to call play by play and hopefully get better and better, it's still relatively new for me. I think I've done it for three seasons, which has amounted to maybe like 50 games total max. So I'm still very new, but I'm hoping that with each season and each rep that I get that I can be a little bit better so that other little girls out there can hear my voice and say, oh, I could. I could do that one day. 

Lee MJ Elias [14:27 - 15:33]: You know, that's the thing about trailblazing, which you're doing, is it can be so easy for people to forget. And you kind of just alluded to this, that until you see it, you might not even realize it's a possibility, whether that's women playing professional hockey, doing play by play. Any. Any. Any situation like that. Right. So, first off, you are a trailblazer, and I love everything that you're doing, because I have a daughter, right. And she sees that, and now it's her reality. It is just a reality that professional hockey is there. And broadcasting in every aspect of it is there. Amongst other things, what's cool about where you're at today, and you just mentioned some of the adversity you're facing now. But to rise the ranks, to break through the ceiling, there's a tremendous amount of adversity along the way that you have to pass through. And I'm wondering if you could dive in for our audience, you know, especially the young kids listening of look. You know, on the surface, it might look, this is. It's awesome and it is, right. Everything you said is awesome, but there's adversity along the way. Can you talk about some of those adversities that you face and how you've overcome? 

Jamie Hersch [15:34 - 18:02]: Yeah, you know, I think it's not exclusive to broadcasting, but I think it's just amplified. In broadcasting is the natural tendency to compare yourself to others and for others to compare you to. To others, you know, and again, that's. In every field, there's going to be a hierarchy, but especially in Broadcasting, it just seems very subjective. Right. And it's how you look, how you dress, how your voice sounds, or anything that you can kind of pick apart if you're not careful, and other people will pick you apart. And that's just the nature of the world in which we live. And that's. That's. I've come to accept that as not only normal, but almost in a weird way, a compliment. Right. Like, if I get trolled on Twitter or something, it's like, wow, somebody was watching or cared enough to. To say something kind of nasty. And like, that's not my favorite, obviously. I'd much rather have very nice comments and supportive comments, and a lot of those are. I will say I feel very lucky that, you know, I've gotten the tremendous amount of support as well from social media. But, yeah, you know, I think that was. Is probably the biggest part of adversity is. Is always feeling like, first of all, like, you have to prove yourself. That's. That's another secondary part of this is, especially as a woman, I think in sports, credibility is incredibly difficult to earn, and it's very easy to lose. And so that is kind of my personal motivator. And my own personal pressure I put on myself is to be the most prepared that I can be, because people can pick apart what I look like, what I sound like, anything like that, but they will never be able to affect, like, how prepared I am and how knowledgeable I am. Right. And so if I put in the time and I do the research and I do the work behind the scenes, I can go in knowing that I am equipped to do my best. So there's a quote that actually, Russell Wilson, who used to be a quarterback at Wisconsin, when I was doing my first job back in. My first job out of college was a weekend sports anchor in Madison, Wisconsin. And so I got to cover Russell Wilson in his one year with the Badgers. And I remember he was so impressive. I always was really impressed with what he said, especially as a college student. And one of his quotes that stuck with me was the separation is in the preparation, and that he truly believes the same thing, that you're going to separate yourself by how prepared you are. So I have really taken that to heart. And now I'm still quoting Russell Wilson 15 years later or whatever, but that's something that stuck with me. 

Lee MJ Elias [18:02 - 18:10]: You know what I love about that answer, Jamie, is that you could take that answer and apply it to playing the game as well. 

Jamie Hersch [18:11 - 18:11]: Yeah. 

Lee MJ Elias [18:11 - 19:33]: And when you think about the young athletes out there, and look, I'm. I'm blessed to be in broadcasting and in the game. And I've always told people that the broadcasting approach is really not that dissimilar from playing a hockey game. You know, the lights are on. You're gonna have to perform in some way. And I love that you brought up the comparison, because I think our kids today growing up are in more of that comparison than we ever were growing up. And again, I think, you know, all of us here got some of that. But with social media and the way the world works today, you could be 10 years old and people talking about you on social media, good or bad. So I think it's important what you said. A, that if anybody's talking about you, it's a compliment. B, I think it's also important that it can be very easy to only focus on negative when there may be a lot of positive. Right. You see this in business, you see this in sports. 15 people might come up to you, great game, great broadcast tonight. And one person might be like, you suck. And we'll pay attention to that one person's comment over the 15 good people. You know, I'm kind of speaking to the. The kids playing, too. But what you just said at the end there is so important and applies to hockey. The preparation, the time you put in. Right. And again, like, I love that you brought that up because it really does apply to everything. It's, It's. It's not just, you know, it's. 

Mike Bonelli [19:33 - 19:33]: How about this? 

Lee MJ Elias [19:33 - 19:48]: It's a recipe for success in whatever you want to do for sure. Right? And we're all going to face those adversities, kids listening as you get. Get there. And, you know, here's Jamie saying it with a smile and, you know, telling you that you can do it. But, yeah, it applies to everything. 

Mike Bonelli [19:50 - 21:15]: Yeah, I love, I love. I. I love having this conversation with Dave Starman about, like, you know, over there, and he gets. He'll get those, like, horrible Twitter X, you know, responses like, you're garbage. You don't know who you're talking about. Hey, what do you know, Listening. You know, thanks for listening. I think it's. It's great that you're even taking the time to give me a critique and I'll. I'll take it and. And use it. You know, it's not even motivation, you know, but. But, well, you know, even speaking to a guy like Dave, like, I really lean on him in a lot of ways, like on, well, both boys and girls, but just in the sport in general. Right. That a lot of times on our show we talk about all the different layers of hockey and how you could advance in the game as a player, as a scout, as a gm, as a video analysis person and in broadcasting. And I think, you know, maybe could you talk a little bit about, you know, what young female athletes can do, you know, to break into the sport. Like you talked about, you know, you're in there with the, with the, you know, the, the eight. You know, I'm not. Mine would have been like an eight track with the battery pack. But I think, you know, for, for what they can do now and really the resources they have that you can't, you can't just go from, hey, I want to be a broadcaster to, well, I'm going to be on espn, like, or the NHL Network. Like, what are all the little things they can do to kind of hone their craft and find out if this is something they really want to do? 

Jamie Hersch [21:15 - 23:26]: Well, there's a lot of things. And you're right, the fact that technology is kind of at our disposal now is so great for kids and it's so accessible for anyone who wants to just try their hand at broadcasting. Because I, I do have a lot of these conversations with either college students or high school students who say, I want to do what you did. Like, what's, what's your advice? What's your roadmap? I said there is no roadmap. Everyone's journey is different. And that sounds really daunting, but it can be empowering if you just kind of take control and just start trying it on your own. So I would just say the amount of experience that you can get, no matter what it looks like, no matter how many people are watching, just do it. Do it for you. Don't do it for the number of subscribers or whatever, but if you, whether it's a YouTube channel, a TikTok channel, or whatever it might be, or if you just do it for yourself and then you have, you know, your parent or your friend, you know, take a video on their, their phone of you giving your analysis or your take on something or your recap of the game or a preview of the game to come, any experience that you do where you kind of get that little, those butterflies in your stomach because you realize you're going to be on TV or the phone or whatever, like, that is experience that will serve you down the line. And so I just say, get out there. Do as much of that as you can. If that's something that you want to do, find A buddy, find a parent or a sibling that's willing to kind of give you that experience. Or I guess even find a tripod. I don't know, they have like little phone things. You can set it up yourself. And it will do two things. It will give you the experience of wanting to speak properly and present yourself well, but it'll also give you that recording so that you can watch it back, which is probably the hardest thing to do. Right. I think anyone here can say if you watch yourself back, whether it's on film, playing hockey or talking on a podcast, or me, you know, doing anything on tv, it is painful, right? It's cringe worthy. Because usually we are our own toughest critics. And so I think that would be what I'd say to anyone who's looking or watching out there, listening out there, that wants to try to do that is just. Just do it and then keep doing it. 

Lee MJ Elias [23:26 - 23:27]: Yeah, we, we. 

Mike Bonelli [23:27 - 24:27]: It was really funny with my son. We had him. We used to have. Well, my younger son would, would. I could never find a parent to do the iPad, you know, on the tripod at these games. And if he didn't have Live Barn or some other way, I'm like, hey, listen, can you do that? Can you just. You're here at the Rake. You're stuck here for three hours. Do me a favor, just stand there and move the tripod for me and just. And videotape the game so we can review it later. And so he would start to. And you got to hear his play by play. It's the most hilarious. Like, he's like, oh, my God, that was terrible. Like, I can't believe that player. So when I replay the video, I can't replay his audio to the team because it's like I said, you can't, you can't be critiquing these guys every come up the ice. So can you just talk a little bit about on your side, on the professional level? How hard is it to really, like, you know, you have to run into these guys in the hallway and these girls, right? And like after a game. So, you know, where's your line for. Yeah, I'm going to give a little critique, but I'm not gonna, you know, I'm not gonna throw you under the bus here. 

Jamie Hersch [24:27 - 25:23]: Yeah, that's a really good question because it is a fine line. And I think there is a difference between, you know, giving feedback and saying, like, oh, that was a tough penalty to take there, or that was. I wasn't a good look, or, you know, she's going to want to have that one back or she'll be seeing that wide open net in her dreams tonight. You know, I said things like that and I'm like, I'm sure they are listening. Their parents are listening, their siblings are listening. And I think that's fine because, you know, you have to be able to feel freedom to be a little bit critical. But I think as long as you don't keep it, you keep it professional. Right. And you keep it on ice related and nothing personal because I don't know what they're going through personally. Right. I'm just watching their play on the ice and evaluating it and, and also kind of, that's not really my role. Like, my role is to call the play. And I think, you know, Dave Starman, you mentioned, I work with him a lot and he's my analyst. He's kind of explaining why the play. 

Mike Bonelli [25:23 - 25:26]: Happened the way that he's the one you, like, get in trouble, he'll. 

Jamie Hersch [25:26 - 25:29]: You let him get him do that. Yeah, you tell the story. 

Lee MJ Elias [25:30 - 25:31]: He does commentary. 

Jamie Hersch [25:31 - 26:08]: Exactly. Same with, with the Golden Knights, where I am a bit more of an analyst and it is my job to kind of offer takes. Again, I think you keep it professional. And there was a time not very long ago, as Sherry knows, where the Golden Knights were really struggling. And it was, it was tough because, you know, our audience wants to respect us as journalists and be able to watch it and, and kind of understand why they're struggling. They know they're losing, you know, eight of 10 or whatever. But, but it's our job to not sugarcoat that and not say, oh, it's okay, get them next time. It's kind of point out maybe things that could be done differently so that next time or that they can get them get back on the right track. 

Lee MJ Elias [26:09 - 26:24]: You know, Jamie, for, for, for me, as, as both a watcher and as someone involved, it's all about trust. Right. Like, and it's trust with people you can't even. You're not in front of, like, you're, you're in their living room, but they're not in front of you. 

Jamie Hersch [26:24 - 26:25]: Right. 

Lee MJ Elias [26:25 - 26:50]: I think, you know, can, can you talk about. I mean, this is probably more of an ethical type thing, but building that trust with the audience is really important. And the audience is smarter than people think they know, not you, obviously, but they can tell when someone's not being authentic. They can tell when someone's not being trustworthy. Can you talk about that approach and how important it is, but also how, how you define and also distribute trust throughout your broadcast. 

Jamie Hersch [26:50 - 27:56]: Yeah, I think it's trust and I think it's again, just going back to being credible. Right. Like you want someone who, who is going to explain to you something and not just don't just gloss over the bad parts. Right. And so there is a trust factor for sure. And I think the best way I try to think about it is pointing out things, whether they be good or bad, but always kind of with a positive spin on it. I hate using the word spin because it can mean many things in our society today. But trying to focus on the positive, but you can't deny the negative either. And if, you know, if someone's on a 10 game gold route or something and they need to score more, you say, talk about that and point that out and say, you know, I know he's been working a lot harder, you know, before and after practice, staying on the ice, trying to, you know, change his socks, change what he's eating for breakfast, anything, you know, shake up superstitions and so you can, you can talk about someone's struggles without, A, again, making it personal and B, without being too negative. So it's a fine line for sure. 

Lee MJ Elias [27:56 - 28:50]: Yeah. When I apply that to the players out there too, you know, what's interesting about what you're saying is that to be able to take criticism without ego is, Is a skill set. Right. And we can actually apply this to broadcasting too. Right. One of the things that you were talking about before, about with the kids who want to get involved with it, it's about reps. You gotta do reps. You gotta do it and do it and do it and improve and do it. And it's, you're probably gonna be very bad at it the first time you do it. And that's okay. Right. When we talk about hockey training, you're not going to have 100 mile per hour slap shot. Not that you should even be working on that, but that's not likely to happen the first time you pick up a hockey stick. And I think that what you're saying is the ability to drop the ego and to say, I'm going to try and I'm going to keep working, I'm going to keep getting better. I always joke with people about our podcast here. Again, we've been doing this close to five years. I say if you want to laugh, go listen to the first five episodes. 

Jamie Hersch [28:50 - 28:51]: Right. 

Lee MJ Elias [28:51 - 29:36]: They sound so different to where we're at today. People like, oh, no, it's such a different time period in the show. We've evolved. And the. The expectation of that evolution is important as a broadcaster, as a hockey player, as a person, but also the pursuit of that. And I want to ask you about that, too. You know, I love that you talked about the Stanley cup moments and those great, you know, being a trailblazer in the professional women's Hockey league. But the journey, man, that must be so cool, right, to just experiencing that. Because, look, the Stanley cup, which I'm not downplaying at all by saying this, it is just a moment. I mean, you win it, you experience it, it's wonderful. And then the next season comes eventually. 

Jamie Hersch [29:36 - 29:38]: Yeah, yeah. 

Lee MJ Elias [29:38 - 29:46]: So can you talk about the journey of this experience as well? And again, it sounds like that started at usc, right? You've been on this journey for a while. 

Jamie Hersch [29:46 - 31:38]: Yeah. And the journey is a really big part of it because easy. When you're in the tough parts of those journeys and when you hear no, whether it's making a team get cut or you don't make the team you wanted to or whatever, you, you know, don't get the minutes you want or. On my side, I applied for a lot of jobs that I did not get and heard no many, many times. And even now, kind of moving our family out to Vegas and trying to kind of pivot and start fresh, I'm hearing no a lot. So it's. It's tough. But it also, now that, you know, when you get older like I am, you have the benefit of looking back and saying, oh, yeah, this isn't the first time that I've been told no. And yet look at all the yeses that came because of the no's. And, you know, I think it sounds a little bit like a cop out, but it really does always work out some way, you know, and it's never, probably the way no one can plan their life to a T. And if. If someone out there has, then I'd love to hear your secrets, because I never in my wildest dreams thought that A, I'd be working in play by play in hockey, or B, I'd be living in Vegas. Like, none of these things were on my radar 10 years ago. And so I think that is a really cool thing to remember, is that the journey is full of ups and downs, no matter what your life looks like, no matter the field. And hopefully you can get to a point in your life where you look back and even if there's teenagers out there, I'm sure they can look back on times when they were kids and they. They didn't get what they wanted and they can think, oh, yeah, but that still worked out. Right. And so if you can always try to have that perspective that you just kind of keep going through whatever it is that you're frustrated by or that you, you know, are bummed about that you heard that? No, just keep going. And one day you'll look back and be like, huh, it all worked out okay. 

Lee MJ Elias [31:38 - 31:57]: You know, there's. My belief is things happen as they're supposed to. Right. We always hear things happen for a reason. And I say, I think things happen the way they're supposed to happen. The gift that we're given is our ability to respond. And there's one of my favorite quotes from a women's basketball coach was, it's not life gets easier. It's. 

Mike Bonelli [31:57 - 31:57]: It's. 

Lee MJ Elias [31:57 - 32:15]: You learn to deal with the hard better. Right. And. And the thing with being told no, which I love you brought that up. It's like, the first time that happens, it's devastating. It still sucks 20 years later when you get told no. But you understand how to deal with it now, right? It doesn't. 

Mike Bonelli [32:15 - 32:15]: It's. 

Lee MJ Elias [32:15 - 32:48]: It's. You've learned to deal with the heart better and the perspective that you just shared of, okay, the answer is no. It's gonna. We'll find a way. We'll keep moving forward. That's a skill set, too. That again, broadcasting hockey, you know, for the younger audience listening, you can learn that skill. Right? Because. Because as kids, you get told no literally every day, usually for your own benefit. I'll say that parents out there, like, don't eat that. There's a reason we're telling you that. But. But learning how to deal with that hard, it's a fantastic perspective, Jamie. I appreciate you sharing it. 

Jamie Hersch [32:48 - 32:49]: Yeah. 

Sheri Hudspeth [32:49 - 33:25]: And chime in here and say that I'm really excited that you're in Vegas and that you're happy that you made that move. So the first time Jamie was on the desk, we have a very strong broadcast team here, and I. I really enjoy our Vegas Golden Nights broadcast. But the first night Jamie just popped up, no one told anyone. Like, she just popped up on the desk. And I was like, oh, my God, we have Jamie Hirsch here. Like, I was so excited. We just had. Cassie Campbell was on our show. Show. I'm a big fan of her career. And Jen Botterell, Cheryl Pounder. I mean, yourself, your career. I think women have come a long way in broadcasting. Just my question is, like, where do you see the room for growth for women in broadcasting? 

Jamie Hersch [33:25 - 36:01]: Yeah. I think There is still room for growth, for sure, and it's great to celebrate the progress because it's worth celebrating. But yes, thank you for bringing that up, Sherry, because there's definitely room to grow in all facets, right? I mean, we're seeing people like yourself kind of in new roles or roles that probably were typically held by men. And now you're kind of being a trailblazer in your own right with an NHL franchise. And we're seeing people like Jessica Campbell up in Seattle, who is the first female to be, you know, a full time member of an NHL coaching staff. And she's fantastic. And so I think, like, we're seeing it slowly, but just speaking from my perspective, I think, again, seeing more play by play, hearing more women calling play by play, I think is really key. And also the analyst role, we're seeing a lot more of that now with you mentioned, Jen Botterell, Cassie Campbell, A.J. mollusco comes to mind. Gigi Marvin just retired from the PWHL and now has started calling broadcasts with me in Boston here and there. Which is good because those roles in the booth were traditionally held by men. And so people just get used to hearing a man's voice calling the action, explaining what's happening. But hockey is so great because women know just as much about hockey as men, right? And women played a lot of these women are gold medalists, right? Olympic gold medalists, world championship gold medals. They've got the experience, they understand the game. It's really not that different, right? There might be subtle nuances between the men's game and the women's game, but at the end of the day, like, there is a puck, five skaters on each team, there's a goalie, like, it doesn't change that much. And so the fact that we now are accepting women in those roles is really exciting. And I want to see that even more, right. Whether it be on the national stage with ESPN or TNT or certainly even with teams, there's no team that has a female play by play or even analyst. I think Cassie did it with the Flames for a while, but I don't know that she did every game. So again, if that hopefully comes to fruition sometime in the next five years, I think that would be a really encouraging step for, for a team to say, you know, we know this isn't super traditional. And yeah, we're going to hear it from a lot of people out there that don't like hearing a woman's voice calling hockey because it's, it's a men's game, whatever it is. I hope that a team has the courage to identify a woman and kind of put her in that role and normalize it. Right. So that not just little girls, but little boys out there can hear a woman's voice calling sports and think that that's normal. 

Mike Bonelli [36:01 - 36:52]: Is there. Is there a way for us as youth hockey organizers and people that run? Like you see right now, the trend is there's a lot of organizations that are going to girls only, you know, programming from, you know, they're trying to get coaches. BWHL did a great job of finding, you know, women officials. You know, make sure every official on the ice is a woman. But you can't just materialize women officials. Right. They don't just. Don't just come and say, hey, next year we need, you know, 35 women's officials. And the same thing with broadcasting. Right. So what can we do as a youth hockey organization that runs girls hockey programs in the broadcasting side of things? Like, what are some of the things you would suggest that we can do to kind of develop broadcasters and play by play for women and broaden that pool so they, when they do go to USC or they go to, you know, you know, a school that has broadcasting, that it's normalized? 

Jamie Hersch [36:52 - 38:42]: Yeah, I mean, I. I think you brought up a couple good points within that question, but I think, you know, just opportunity is first and foremost. Right. You know, like, I'm very thankful and always will be that NHL Network even gave me the opportunity to try play by Play, because that's where I first tried it. It was. We didn't go to the games. We just basically took the TV feed. And so we were in our little studio, me and Kevin Weeks, and we're calling the action on the monitor, which is objectively more difficult because you're limited to whatever you can see. You don't know what's coming. We can't ask for replays, but that is how I learned how to do play by play at first. And I'm always just super grateful to them for having the courage to. To put me out there and. And see if I could do it. And I cringe at those games, too. Right. Because it's tough to go back and watch your first of anything. And so my point is, I think opportunity is the way to just create that path for young women out there, is just by encouraging them. And maybe there's, you know, I never want to be exclusive either. That's a hard thing, too, because I do think that little boys should get the opportunity to practice their play by play too. But I think just because it's already. There are so many examples out there for little boys, I think encouraging little girls or young women to, to take those opportunities which they might have never even dreamed of, because I had never dreamed of it until someone mentioned it to me, like, oh, would you ever call play by play? And I laughed and I said no. And then he said, why not? And I said, that's a great question. I don't know why not. So opportunity and, and yeah, just, just more reps, however you can get them. I don't really know. I'm not as involved in the youth hockey and like, how that all works. But if there are absolutely just like. 

Sheri Hudspeth [38:42 - 38:43]: Yeah, we can change that. 

Mike Bonelli [38:46 - 39:32]: I just, I just interviewed a kid, you know, a young man the other day who wants to get in the broadcast, like, oh, I can't get into this team. I can't get into that team. I can't get this team. I go, listen, do you know how many parents would love to hear their kid getting a play by play or, or color commentating on their regular game? Like, just do it. And if people like it, they'll like it. If you're no good, you're no good. You'll find out right away that you're unable to do it. But I think one of those pieces of, of what you're saying is, you know, if you have the right personality, if you have, like, if you're energized to do this kind of thing, if you're bored at your brother's hockey game and you're, you know, you're like, I can't, you know, there's only so much time I can spend on my phone. How can I use this in a productive way that could help me find a path that maybe doesn't really exist for boys and girls. Right. 

Jamie Hersch [39:33 - 40:29]: You know, you're, you're right that there are so many outlets now for these kind of opportunities. Like my family that's still in Minnesota and my cousin is 12 and so he's on a hockey team in a big league that travels and does all that. And they have a mom called Play by Play on the live stream or whatever, as is so common these days, right. That they have live streams with grandparents everyone can watch. And my aunt sent it to me because she just thinks this woman is, is so great and she's so calm and she just. Oh, and she only talks about the one team, right? She doesn't know anything about the other team, but she talks about their Team Edina and just. Just very calmly does play by play. But that's really cool a. That, you know, she does it. And also it would be cool if a young kid, girl, boy, whoever decided, like, maybe I should do this, and I feel like most people would like that, that to listen to that. 

Mike Bonelli [40:29 - 40:36]: I think there's plenty of hams in the rinks. There's no doubt about it. Plenty of kids that will get in there and. And speak their mind. 

Lee MJ Elias [40:36 - 41:15]: Yeah. Just got to know what you're doing. That kid sucks. You can't do that. You know, Jamie, you. You brought up a really good point a few minutes ago that in this space we talked earlier about, you haven't seen what you haven't seen. And it is important, obviously, for. For the young ladies and women out there to see this. And you said it too, also the young boys. Right. Like, we want to normalize this for everyone. So the question I have for you here is for the dads listening, for the male coaches listening, even the little boys that are listening, how can. Can we be an ally in this pursuit as. As men. Right. You know, because again, we have to be allies to help pursue this. 

Jamie Hersch [41:16 - 42:41]: Yeah. I think just by being supportive and encouraging. Right. And the other part of this too, that, you know, I'm not sitting here saying I think women should get all these opportunities without consequence. Right. Like, I think you need to be good. And what Mike brought up about, you know, all the female refs that the PWHL has brought in, that's awesome. And I'm super supportive of that. There are also some times where a woman maybe isn't as qualified, but because she's a woman just getting this opportunity. So that's where I'm. I'm kind of like in the middle here. You know, I don't think people should just get an opportunity because they're born this way. I think that if they're qualified and good, then, yes, they. They should just have just as much opportunity as anyone else. And so kind of with what you're saying about being an ally, just support that. Right. Like, if you are a dad and you hear a woman calling a game, don't say in front of your kids or anyone for that matter, like, can't stand when a woman calls hockey games, you know, like, because that's so. That's such a blanket statement. Like, I also have. There's a. Luckily, there are more and more female broadcasters now where we can hopefully start to have a spectrum. Right? There are. There's a huge spectrum of male play by play people, right? Like, there's Doc Emrick over here and Kenny Albert over here. Then there's people that aren't so great over here. I'm not gonna name names, but, yeah. 

Mike Bonelli [42:41 - 42:42]: Let'S not do that today. 

Jamie Hersch [42:42 - 42:43]: Yeah, we're. 

Lee MJ Elias [42:43 - 42:45]: Oh, you want to go viral? Let's do it. I'm just kidding. 

Jamie Hersch [42:46 - 43:14]: But there's a spectrum is my point. Right? So you can have an opinion. You can say, like, oh, I think he's great, and I think he's not very good, and that's okay. It's not like you're saying, I think he sucks because he's a man. And that's where the problem is, right? Like, if we have more women out there, you can think that one woman isn't very good, and you can think this woman is great, but until we have enough where there's a spectrum so that people don't say she stinks because she's a woman. Yeah, that's. That's a problem. 

Lee MJ Elias [43:14 - 43:42]: I. I am shocked at times. I mean that word literally. When I hear what. What I hear dads say in front of their daughters sometimes. I'm like, man, she's standing right there. Like, what are you. What are you thinking or you're not thinking? Question for you, too. You're around a lot of professional athletes, NHL athletes, PWHL athletes. So you said it before. You get to see the caliber of person. Right? Can you talk to us about the caliber of person at that professional level? 

Jamie Hersch [43:43 - 44:37]: I always say that hockey is kind of a unicorn among sports, because I've actually covered all of the sports except soccer. I don't think I've ever covered soccer, really. But I. I've covered the NFL a little bit. When I was in Wisconsin, the Packers won the Super Bowl. I've covered Major League Baseball for a long time. I've covered the NBA and a lot of different sports. And there are good people and bad people in every walk of life, in every field. But I would say that it is more common to see. To have, like, great people in hockey for whatever reason. I feel like most players, coaches, staff, the vast majority, they're good people. And maybe there's a jerk here or there, but for whatever reason, I think there is a real positive side to hockey culture. That's whether it's, you know, I don't know what it is. Maybe because it started in Canada, and everyone in Canada is so nice now. I'm just kidding. But there's. There's just. 

Lee MJ Elias [44:38 - 44:39]: What are you talking about? 

Jamie Hersch [44:39 - 45:32]: Yeah, exactly. Sorry. There. There's just kind of an expectation, I think, in the hockey world that you be a good person first. And I really appreciate that, especially as a woman in this field. Right. Like, I've never dealt with a lack of respect or anything like that from any hockey players that I can think of, not so much in other sports. So I would commend all the hockey players, the hockey, certainly the coaches, the parents out there, because that's where it starts. Right. Is kind of the idea of sportsmanship, the idea of respect, respecting the game, respecting yourself, respecting each other, and respecting the people that you might come in contact with, whether it's equipment, staff or trainers or broadcasters. And so I feel like I'm very lucky that I get to work in hockey, because it's more often than not, you're coming across some really good people. 

Lee MJ Elias [45:32 - 45:50]: Well, I think we're very lucky to have you in, Jamie. I mean that. And again, we've said it throughout the episode. You are a trailblazer. But the. The mindset, the effort, the passion that you bring through is as authentic as it comes. Right. And to me, that's. That's a big part of the key in. In succeeding in anything. 

Jamie Hersch [45:50 - 45:50]: Right. 

Lee MJ Elias [45:50 - 46:07]: But when you have someone like you, that's bringing that to the table every single day, it makes the game better, it makes broadcasting better. And really, at the end of the day, that's what it's all about is. Is creating something that's going to make people really love their passion even more. You provide that on a nightly basis. So thank you for that. 

Jamie Hersch [46:07 - 46:09]: Well, thank you so much. That means a lot. 

Lee MJ Elias [46:09 - 46:16]: Yeah, no, it's my pleasure. Mike. Christy. Christy, Sherry. Mike, do you have any other questions here for. For Jamie? 

Sheri Hudspeth [46:17 - 46:23]: No, I think the more we can encourage women and just keep pushing for opportunities for women, I think it's going to make the game better for everyone. 

Mike Bonelli [46:24 - 46:46]: Yeah, no, it's really. It's a really great to have you on and I think, you know, get. Get a listen to. I think it's, you know, obviously a lot of people have a lot of access to the Vegas Golden Knights games, but, you know, make an effort to listen to a PWHL game and tune in and, you know, get an opportunity to watch because it is. It is some entertaining hockey. And if you like checking hockey, it's a real entertaining. 

Jamie Hersch [46:46 - 47:12]: Yeah, right. The last one of the last games I did was New York, Boston, and they had 15 penalties, which is the most in any PWHL game to this point. And so it was just. I don't even know if we play more than 10 minutes of the game, five on five, it. It was crazy, but it was fun. And that's what they fought for, to have kind of this real physical game. And it's. It's great. And for anyone who's like, I can't watch pwl, we don't have a team in our market. They're all on YouTube. 

Lee MJ Elias [47:12 - 47:13]: YouTube for free. 

Jamie Hersch [47:13 - 47:25]: Great. For now. I don't know how long that'll be the case, but for now, they are all free. They're all on YouTube. And if you live in New York or Boston or Minnesota, then you will get them on the local cable channel, too. But YouTube, it's great. 

Lee MJ Elias [47:26 - 47:49]: Well, I will say this real quick. If you are a hockey fan and you have not partaken in enjoying a PWL game, you have. You are losing. You are losing out. You are missing out. I mean, these games are fantastic and entertaining, and I love them. I love watching them with my son and my daughter. So, again, if you're listening to this show, you're probably watching, but I wanted to make that proclamation anyway. 

Jamie Hersch [47:49 - 47:51]: Well, thank you for the support. 

Lee MJ Elias [47:51 - 48:04]: Yeah, no, thank you for all you're doing. And again, Jimmy, you've been a great guest today. Thank you for being here. And again, we're gonna do our ride to the rink with you here, too, for the kids. So if you listen to this full episode, parents, remember, this episode will come out soon as well. But Jamie, thanks so much for being here today. 

Jamie Hersch [48:04 - 48:05]: Thank you. 

Lee MJ Elias [48:05 - 48:58]: All right, that's gonna do it for this edition of Our Girls Play Hockey. Remember, if you have a question, a comment, you want to say, anything, there's a link accompanying this episode in the description. You tap that, you can text right to us. We get it directly or it's. It's becoming old school. If you want to email team atourkids playhockey.com at any point, we'll get those emails and we can share your thoughts on the air. But poor Jamie Hirsch, Sherry Hudspet, and Mike Benelli. I'm Lee Elias. We'll see you on the next Our Girls Play Hockey. Skate on everybody, we hope you enjoyed this edition of Our Kids Play Hockey. Make sure to like and subscribe right now. If you found value wherever you're listening. Whether it's a podcast network, a social media network, or our website, Our Kids Play Hockey. Also, make sure to check out our children's book, When Hockey Stops at When Hockey Stops dot com. It's a book that helps children deal with adversity in the game and in life. We're very proud of it. But thanks so much for listening to this edition of our Kids Play Hockey. And we'll see you on the next episode.