Sportsnet: Paul Romanuk

[81Leafs50]

I hate Romanuk!! The guy says nothing but none sense!

 

[MJALLTHEWAY]

Definitely in the minority but I'm a big fan of the way Romanuk calls a game.

Sure I grew up watching Bob Cole and Joe Bowen (and Romanuk to a lesser extent), but I also watched a lot of EPL and Romanuk calls a hockey game with a football-esque twist.

Instead of describing every moment as if you're listening on radio, he gives the viewer credit to have seen hockey before and know what's going on the same way a Martin Tyler or John Motson would. The commentary centres more around who has the puck, using just the player's last name and assumes you realize it was "a pass along the boards" for example.

I've always felt like hockey commentators are too involved and so for me, Romanuk is great (assuming he can get all the names down for regular season lol).

 

[Stephen]

He's pretty terrible. Makes the NHL sound like it's Spengler Cup hockey.

 

[TMLFAN4LIFE]

He's terrible.

It was refreshing to hear a different voice than Bowen for a change but that lasted for about 2 minutes.

 

[hockeystick89]

I dunno, I found Bowen to be extremely annoying at times, particularly when he would go off on some rant about how many chicken wings he ate before the broadcast or something of that nature.

 

[Clark4Ever]

Romanuk is a quality guy. He's rusty, but he'll get better.

I love Bowen, but he totally lacked objectivity, LOL.

 

[themightyquinn]

Definitely in the minority but I'm a big fan of the way Romanuk calls a game.

Sure I grew up watching Bob Cole and Joe Bowen (and Romanuk to a lesser extent), but I also watched a lot of EPL and Romanuk calls a hockey game with a football-esque twist.

Instead of describing every moment as if you're listening on radio, he gives the viewer credit to have seen hockey before and know what's going on the same way a Martin Tyler or John Motson would. The commentary centres more around who has the puck, using just the player's last name and assumes you realize it was "a pass along the boards" for example.

I've always felt like hockey commentators are too involved and so for me, Romanuk is great (assuming he can get all the names down for regular season lol).

Bingo. I agree completely.

I'm from the "less is more" school of Tyler and Motson as well where you don't have to tell the audience every single motion or play on the ice. Let the game breathe and elevate your call at the appropriate moments.

Getting players wrong in pre-season isn't a worry. Once the rosters are set and it's the same 20 guys out there every night across the league, he'll be fine.

Paul is rusty but will be back to his best soon.

 

[1995]

He's pretty terrible. Makes the NHL sound like it's Spengler Cup hockey.

I see what you did there.

Romanuk sucks, rather Buck Martinez.

 

[Alerion]

I don't mind Romanuk, he'll fix the name mistakes over time. The biggest issue right now is that Bowen was a huge character and they replaced him with Romanuk, who calls the game in a far more calm and conservative manner. Millen was already a pretty calm and collected guy to complement Bowen yelling "HOLY MAKINAAWWWW" every 10 minutes, but now the Romanuk and Millen combination is pretty lacking. They need a little more excitement in that broadcast, they sound almost disinterested in the game and it takes away from the viewing experience.

 

[Finnish your Czech]

He is atrocious with Millen.

 

[Leafspoison*]

Interested to know the boards thoughts on him. Do you think he is better/worse than Bowen? Noticed that he can't tell the difference between Leivo & Kadri…

Funny, good timing. I was about to post the same thing.


I CANT STAND ROMANDICK.!

Boring and monotone.

 

[Kelly]

I liked him, yeah he fudged some names but I'm sure he'll get better with time. Get rid of Millen.

 

[pcruz]

All Announcers get Players confused at times, no biggie IMO.

I take Bowen every day though, he always seemed more invested in the game and had a much more varied delivery of the play.

How many times has Romanuk said "delivered the payload" and the season hasn't started yet? Not a fan.

Wasn't that most people's issue with Joe Bowen? The fact that he would mistake players all the time?

This new guy does the exact same thing.

We went from a guy with the following characteristics:

Couldn't follow the play at all times and called people the wrong name.
Had some real emotion and got you interested in the goings-on of the game.
Had a real commentator's voice with presence.

To:

Can't follow the play at all times and calls people the wrong name.
Calls the game like a high-schooler reading a passage from the book the class is studying.
Has a decent voice with a little bit of presence.

That seems like a net loss for the fans.

I'd have a lot easier of a time transitioning if Romanuk could actually follow a play. I know he's done hockey before, but he's calling the games like a baseball announcer who's never seen a hockey game before.

Funny, I said the exact same thing during one of the game-day threads a few days ago.

 

[officialmark*]

This guy is awful. When Bowen does it you can tell that he loves the game, and what he does. When this guy does it you can tell it's a job. It's going to be a long year...

 

[Incetardis]

Its hard to compare him vs Bowen. Bowen is a living legend but I am happy to see him back in the mix. Don't know why he was blacklisted for so many years, relegated to strictly international hockey broadcasts but I've always liked him and thought he was one of the best around.

 

[ACC1224]

Its hard to compare him vs Bowen. Bowen is a living legend but I am happy to see him back in the mix. Don't know why he was blacklisted for so many years, relegated to strictly international hockey broadcasts but I've always liked him and thought he was one of the best around.

He followed his wife to England.

 

[CalgaryLeaf*]

I remember him as a reporter/anchorman for CFAC-TV's news show, Newsfirst, in Calgary...I also like the way he calls hockey games...I didn't grow up listening to Bowen like the rest of you Torranna guys...I grew up in Windsor and watched the Leafs as a kid on HNIC every Sat night.

 

[Golden_Jet]

Big fan of Romanuck, not a fan of Millen's.

 

[Warden of the North]

I just realized we're kinda getting the short end of the stick in that we'll NEVER have a homer play by play guy. Sportsnet games are nationally aired, so they can't use a homer PBP guy. Our TSN regional games are with the old national crew (Miller, Ferraro etc) so they wont be homers either.

Now that said, I dont mind Romanuk.

 

[JA]

Paul Romanuk was paired with Gary Green for a long, long time on TSN. They were an excellent duo.

I don't think Millen subscribes to the banter Romanuk offers during games. Frequently, I've heard Millen remain silent. He needs to be replaced, in my opinion. Someone who adds personality to the broadcast (i.e. Darren Pang, John Garrett or Gary Green) would be excellent alongside Paul.



Romanuk also seems slightly unfamiliar with the current NHL scene. He's been away from the NHL for so long; when Carlo Colaiacovo went over to play at the Spengler Cup a few years ago, Paul called him "Cola-vacio" for a while. Anyone who had followed the NHL would have recognized that name.

Give him time. He's a very good play-by-play announcer.

 

[pcruz]

Rogers should throw black cheques at the guy who calls the world juniors and the Olympics.

 

[The Legend]

To me, Paul Romanuk (along with Bob Cole) is the hockey voice of my youth. Loved seeing him back.

 

[The Legend]

Funny, good timing. I was about to post the same thing.


I CANT STAND ROMANDICK.!

Boring and monotone.

Classy.

 

[The Winter Soldier]

Never thought I would say this, Jim Hughson makes Romanuk look bad.

 

[FlareKnight]

Well.....he's not Healy. So at least I don't have to listen to him bash the team the entire time. It's just...a relatively boring commentary.