Whiparound coverage is coming to the National Hockey League.
During a media conference call, ESPN unveiled “Frozen Frenzy” — an NFL RedZone-style whiparound program that will show the most exciting plays from a packed NHL slate on Oct. 24 when all 32 NHL teams will be in action, with a new game starting every 15 minutes.
On that date, ESPN will have traditional coverage of a tripleheader featuring the Toronto Maple Leafs, Washington Capitals, Boston Bruins, Chicago Blackhawks, Philadelphia Flyers, and Vegas Golden Knights. “Frozen Frenzy” will start at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN+ before moving over to ESPN2 at 8 p.m. ET, with coverage concluding at 11 p.m. ET.
“I’m sure everyone is familiar with RedZone, this is our version of that,” said ESPN coordinating producer Linda Schulz. “We worked all summer long to figure this out with our programming team and with the league.”
John Buccigross will play the Scott Hanson role for the production, moderating the action from ESPN’s studios. At one point during the slate, there will be 11 games going on at once.
It’s currently unclear if “Frozen Frenzy” will have other dates beyond Oct. 24.
ESPN is theoretically able to put on this type of production as the streaming rights holder for all out-of-market games; it replaced the NHL.tv service in 2021.
