Edwards: Bruins as cool as ice
NESN will kick off its 2008-09 Bruins coverage tomorrow when the Black and Gold take on the Washington Capitals in an exhibition game at TD Banknorth Garden at 4 p.m.
With the continued success of the Red Sox, the uncertainty of the Patriots, and the return of the NBA champion Celtics, it won't be easy for the Bruins to grab a share of the sports spotlight, but play-by-play announcer Jack Edwards believes they will be worth the investment.
"I think they've got a chance to have a really exciting year," said Edwards, who will again be paired in the booth with analyst Andy Brickley, as both agreed yesterday to multiyear contract extensions. "Two things happened last year. They clearly identified a style of play and a style of player that identifies with their heritage. There's a connection to the Bruins teams of the past that we all grew up loving. They may not win every night, but if they could play the way they played last year, they would bring the kind of effort that you could respect and admire.
"The other thing they did was in the heart that they showed down the stretch and in the first six of the seven games of the playoffs. They renewed the faith in the faithful. They struck a chord in the hearts of their fans, which said, 'It's OK to come back down. You can forgive this team for anything you may have been angry about in the past because the players now can't do anything about bad trades that happened, but the guys who are here are going to fight as hard as they can for the team.' "
One player Edwards believes will make a big jump this season is 21-year-old forward Vladimir Sobotka, a native of the Czech Republic.
"He's playing as if he's on a mission," said Edwards. "He's really impressing everybody. He's working his tail off, he showed up in great shape. He's that kind of undersized [at 5 feet 10 inches, 183 pounds] but hard-hitting, alert player that draws a lot of fans. Most people may not be that familiar with him because he played a limited role last year and was a supporting-type player, but he might be an exciting guy to watch."
In addition to new rinkside reporter Naoko Funayama, NESN will introduce improved telestrator technology that will allow Brickley to do more diagramming of plays.
"Any time he gets to talk, we're all doing better," said Edwards of Brickley. "Any time he gets to analyze, I learn something. At the same time he's able to take a hard-core fan and talk to them on that level, he's also able to energize someone who knows almost nothing about the game. That's a rare talent."
Edwards said if the Bruins start well, they will continue to lure back their fan base, which grew last season, although he acknowledges the competition for attention in this town.
"In terms of dominating the scene, yes, that's probably too much to ask," said Edwards. "However, I think getting back to that whole hockey community, where they may have had the eyes and ears of 40-55 percent of the fans going into last season, of people who consider themselves to be Bruins fans, I think they've got the eyes, ears, and the hearts and minds of 95 percent of them now. If they get off to a creditable start, I really think they're going to solidify their nucleus of fans, and the rest will take care of itself. Within the Bruins community, there's a lot of excitement. The fans who do go to the games and watch them and have been paying attention know they could be at the beginning of something really exciting here."
NESN's first regular-season broadcast will be Oct. 11 when the Bruins face the Wild in Minnesota. Coverage will start with "Bruins Face-Off Live" at 8 p.m. and conclude with a half-hour postgame show, "Bruins Overtime Live." The season opener Oct. 9 at Colorado will be televised nationally on Versus beginning at 10 p.m.
Great debates
NESN will launch a weekly show in December called "The Instigators," which sounds like a perfect forum for former NHL coach/general manager-turned-analyst Mike Milbury. Milbury will team with a pair of competing analysts who will debate the hot topics in the NHL. He will moderate the debate and score how the guests fare on each topic. The winner will then debate Milbury at the end of the show . . . The Red Sox-Yankees game tomorrow will be aired on Channel 25 as Fox's Game of the Week. Dick Stockton will handle play-by-play duties, and Jerry Remy will serve as analyst. Coverage begins at 3:30 p.m., with the first pitch at 3:55 . . . With the Patriots off this week, Channel 25 will air two games in the Boston market on Sunday - Arizona at the New York Jets at 1 p.m., and Washington at Dallas at 4:15. Channel 4 will air Denver-Kansas City at 1 . . .Nancy Marrapese-Burrell can be reached at marrapese@globe.com. 