CEDAR PARK, Texas – One of the many changes the Texas Stars made during the off-season was to hire experienced AHL broadcaster Owen Newkirk.
Newkirk hails from the town of Blue Hill, Maine and if you haven’t ever heard of it, you’re probably not alone. Blue Hill sits on the Maine coastline about 30 miles south of Bangor and about the same distance west of Bar Harbor. The town has been around since 1789 and is known for its focus on culture and tourism. His dad, Arthur, is a family medicine doctor at the Blue Hill Memorial Hospital and his mother, Joyce, is involved in many of the cultural activities that take place during the year.
You might expect that someone whose broadcast experience spans ten years, all of it in the northeast United States, wouldn’t want to trade in four distinct weather seasons for the heat and unpredictable weather of Texas. But in a business where applicants are many and jobs are few, you go where the work is.
“If I had a choice of where I wanted to work, that would be a difficult choice because of my roots,” Newkirk said. “But you go where the opportunity is. There are 30 teams in the AHL and there may only be one or two job openings at any one time. I was looking and the Stars were hiring.”
Newkirk brings a lot of experience to the table when it comes to sports broadcasting. While his primary sport is hockey, he has also broadcast arena football for the Albany Firebirds and minor league baseball for the Berkshire Black Bears.
His most recent hockey broadcast job was with the Binghamton Senators where he volunteered as a color commentator in order to maintain his skills while between assignments. Prior to that, he was the play-by-play voice of the Adirondack Phantoms, the Albany River Rats and the Elmira Jackals. He was also part of the broadcast team that worked the 2009 AHL All-Star game in Worcester, Mass.
“My second job was with the Albany River Rats,” Newkirk said. “After two seasons there, they laid me and many other employees off for economic reasons. I was lucky that the Philadelphia Flyers decided to move the Phantoms to Glens Falls, NY.”
In the short time he’s been in the Cedar Park area, he’s formed a very positive opinion of the organization and the venue.
“The organization here is first class,” Newkirk said. “It’s very different from the last three teams and buildings I’ve been with. We still have that ‘new car smell’ and the building seems to be a perfect fit for this area.”
Every play-by-play person has a different style and on-air personality. Newkirk wants fans to know that he is there to make the game more interesting and enjoyable for them.
“I’m not one of those broadcasters that have a high opinion of themselves,” Newkirk said. “I’m not one to think that I’m the reason people are listening. I want people to listen again and again because I’m professional and entertaining without being (overly passionate or comedic). I have a great sense of humor, but I’m not a comedian. If I say something funny during a broadcast, it’s usually an accident.”
“I like to think that I’m very enthusiastic without being a homer,” Newkirk added. “I want to be someone people enjoy listening to without getting so caught up in the game that I lose reality. There should be no question as to which team I work for, but it’s ok to be excited when someone from the other team does something remarkable that is exciting to the hockey fan. Keep it factual and have a good time.”
In the short time that Newkirk has been with the Stars, he has integrated himself seamlessly into the position and the community. He’s settled in the Cedar Park/Leander area with his wife Nicole (a biologist by trade) and their two young sons Leyton (almost 3) and Dexter (7 months). He hopes to be here for a while.
Contact the author at: Mitch.cooper@proheynews.com
Follow on Twitter: @PHNHockeyEditor
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