As fans get ready for 2011-2012 Washington Capitals season there have a number of changes to the pregame, postgame and broadcasters that cover the teams. The changes come on both the television side as well as on radio.
Comcast SportNet has tapped Rob Carlin as their new co-host with of Caps Pre and Postgame Live he will handle the studio assignment when the team is at home along with analyst Alan May. Al Koken remains the show’s host when the team is on road. Carlin is replacing Russ Thaler, who is now the host of ‘NBC Sports Talk’ on VERSUS – which will be re-branded NBC Sports Network on January 2, 2012.
Carlin is no stranger to covering hockey he served as the pre and postgame host last season on the Madison Square Garden Network for all the New York Islanders broadcasts. He is a graduate of the University of Maryland and worked in Baltimore as a sports anchor for WMAR-TV and WBFF-TV. Most recently he worked at WNBC-TV in New York.
The CSN game broadcast crew will be the same as always with Joe Beninati doing the play by play with Craig Laughlin as the color analyst and Koken doing the in-game reporting (Home games only).
All the Capitals games will be broadcast on television airing on CSN, Versus (NBC Sports Network), NBC and the NHL Network.
On the radio side the flagship station WFED-AM 1500 has seen the biggest offseason changes with the addition of a new play by play voice. Gone is the popular Steve Kolbe who for 14 seasons served as the radio voice of the team. The Capitals management decided to make the change to John Walton who has spent nine seasons with the AHL Hershey Bears. Remarkably, he becomes just the third radio voice in team history in this, the Caps 37th season (Ron Weber, Steve Kolbe and now John Walton).
Walton will join Ken Sabourin who is entering his ninth season as the Capitals radio color analyst for all the home games. On the road Walton will go solo for the broadcasts.
The pregame will be hosted by Walton and Sabourin– new this year will be Walton doing a conversation with Bruce Boudreau. Ben Raby and Mike Vogel will also join the pregame show doing features and commentary. The postgame will showcase the same foursome breaking down the game and having player interviews, coach’s postgame remarks and taking phone calls from fans.
One thing that Capitals have been able to accomplish with their success is to expand the radio network to 10 stations in five states that include stations from North Carolina to Pennsylvania and the District of Columbia.
