Kelly Hrudey on Goaltending, Gretzky, Grating Trade Rumors, Joining the Islanders Dynasty, the Easter Epic, Broadcasting, and His Family’s Important Mission

Hockey Press Pass

In a hockey career spanning four decades, Kelly Hrudey has been a star goaltender for the Islanders and Kings and a highly-respected analyst on television. From beginning to end of this conversation, Hrudey wears his heart on his sleeve as he shares thoughts on his broadcasting career, his journey as a young goalie at the end of the Islanders dynasty, his 73-save heroics in the Easter Epic, what it was like to be welcomed by Wayne Gretzky and the Kings, and what he calls “the most important work of my career.”

Host: Chris Botta

Executive Producer: Dani Rylan Kearney

Producer: Pat Boyle

Stick Taps: @MoreGoodDaysc

Episode 7 Rundown:

· Kelly Hrudey names the three best shooters he faced in his NHL career.

· His transition from being a player to having to be critical as an analyst

· Wondering about Matthew Barnaby’s on-ice reaction after Kelly ripped his play, when Kelly was broadcasting while still playing in the NHL, and how he communicates with players and executives after he has been critical

· As an NHL player who had his life turned upside down when he was traded once, his reaction to being in the studio when trade rumors are being reported – and the one time he thought he was getting fired

· The first time he thought he would be interested in a career in broadcasting (it actually goes all the way back to his early days with the Islanders)

· We ask Kelly, “Although it’s the most important position in the game, are goaltenders too often easy targets for getting trashed by analysts, coaches and fans”?

· Are there aspects of the NHL quality of play that can be better?

· The advice he would give an NHLer who’s about to begin a broadcasting career

· The impact of his mom and dad on how he conducts himself, but also the competitive fire that burned within

· A “magical” time getting drafted in 1980 by the Islanders, who were on the road to winning four consecutive Stanley Cups

· How lessons learned from Billy Smith, Al Arbour and the Islanders helped him play 15 years in the NHL

· Memories of leading the Islanders to a 4-OT victory over the Caps in the Easter Epic

· Why he was devastated by his trade by the Islanders, but felt better when he learned who pushed the Kings to trade for him

· A “magical” time getting drafted in 1980 by the Islanders, who were about to win four consecutive Stanley Cups

· How lessons learned from Billy Smith, Al Arbour and the Islanders helped him play 15 years in the NHL.

· His family’s mission – what Kelly calls “the greatest work of my career”