After calling 32 different sports since 2016, Bill Spaulding found his place with the New Jersey Devils. And he couldn't have arrived at a better time.
When Bill Spaulding signed on with MSG Networks as the new play-by-play voice of the New Jersey Devils ahead of this season, he said, "I feel so lucky that I'm getting on the ride at the right time."
He could see the signs of a team on the rise but said he never imagined that after two months, the Devils would boast a 24-4-1 record that has them challenging for the top spot in the NHL.
"It has made my transition to the job easier as well," Spaulding said. "It gave me, right off the bat, so many big exciting moments to call — which I think have helped show the fans that I'm excited about this and I'm into it with them. We've had a lot of good moments to celebrate already."
Also making that transition easier — his partner in the broadcast booth, color analyst Ken Daneyko.
'Mr. Devil' was celebrated earlier this season for 40 years with the organization. He spent his entire 20-year playing career in New Jersey, winning three Stanley Cups, then became part of the broadcast team.
"He's an encyclopedia of Devils knowledge," said Spaulding. "He has literally been in New Jersey since Day 1 of the Devils. That's huge. He's a wealth of information as I get up to speed on Devils history, and on top of that is his passion. He cares as much as anybody, inside or outside that building, about the product on the ice and about the results.
"From the first time we auditioned, I felt like we connected. We genuinely like each other and like talking hockey with each other on the air."
Born and raised in the small town of Horseheads, N.Y., Spaulding's entry point to hockey came at age five with the NCAA Div. III Elmira College Soaring Eagles.
"I grew up about five minutes away from the Murray Athletic Center, and they had a good program," he said. "I watched plenty of NHL on TV as well, but I was in person at a ton of college hockey games."
After graduating from Syracuse University with a degree in broadcast journalism in 2013, Spaulding began building his resumé by calling college hockey games along with a long list of other sports for outlets, such as ESPN and NBC Sports Network. His assignments included four Olympics, and he became known for his versatility.
"I loved the challenge," he said. "My number was 32 different sports since 2016, doing a broad variety of Olympic sports. And there's great stories in every one of those sports."
But there's something to be said for familiarity.
"I was chatting with the Blackhawks' Chris Foster, who's also new this year, when they were in town on Tuesday," he said. "He'd done the last three Olympics as well for NBC, and we were both saying how nice it is to be able to totally dive into one team, one sport. That's my entire focus over the next six months — to the point where I'm hardly watching Syracuse basketball anymore. Going to Syracuse, I've always been a big fan of the basketball team. But I'm all in on the NHL right now."
"I had the emotions well up inside me and had to just take a deep breath because I'm like, 'Oh, wow. I'm actually here. This is really cool.' " - Bill Spaulding
With firsthand experience describing so many different types of games and events, Spaulding said he believes his broadcast style is well-suited to hockey's high-tempo unpredictability. That's also what makes calling hockey a challenge, where a glance away from the action can mean missing a key moment, and adding color is an art form.
"Part of our job is to interweave stories, both personal stories and overarching team stories," he said. "In a sport like hockey, obviously you have to pick your spots and feel the game in a way that maybe you don't have to in a sport like like baseball, where there's ample time between every single pitch to really delve into into storytelling."
With dressing rooms re-opened to the media this season, Spaulding takes advantage of his opportunities to stop in after practices and morning skates to get to know the Devils players and pick up tidbits that can be used in his broadcasts. Lately, the World Cup has frequently been at the center of daily conversations.
When Spaulding is looking for informational nuggets, veteran defenseman Brendan Smith has become a go-to guy.
"I could see him being a color commentator when his playing days are done, or a coach," Spaulding said. "We've talked just as much about his family and his life as what he sees with the team on the ice. He's one of the guys who's going to not just talk about themselves but also talk, big picture, about the team and both the good and the bad throughout the course of the year."
Although Spaulding has been a commentator for years, he's just getting started. And just like new NHL players, the rookie NHL broadcaster also had his "Welcome to The Show" moment.
"The first one was our first regular-season broadcast, a home game against the Red Wings," he said. "There was a point in the second period where I just took a deep breath. You see the Red Wings' traditional uniforms out there. It was a full house on our opening night. I had the emotions well up inside me and had to just take a deep breath because I'm like, 'Oh, wow. I'm actually here. This is really cool.' "