James Cybulskisa国际传媒檚 voice can be heard in basements and bedrooms of hockey fans around the world, and he still cansa国际传媒檛 quite believe hesa国际传媒檚 in his third year of being the play-by-play guy of EA Sportssa国际传媒� sa国际传媒淣HLsa国际传媒� video game.
sa国际传媒淚tsa国际传媒檚 a total dream come true,sa国际传媒� the Delta-based broadcaster said with the kind of enthusiasm he brings to the popular game.
The latest edition, was released in mid-October with Toronto Maple Leafs star Auston Matthews on the box cover sa国际传媒� again, for the second time since 2020.
sa国际传媒淚sa国际传媒檇 say you arensa国际传媒檛 the only one saying, sa国际传媒榃hat, AGAIN?! He was on the cover just two years ago!sa国际传媒� Cybulski said with a laugh, in a phone call.
sa国际传媒淢y vote for Ryan Reaves was clearly ignored,sa国际传媒� he deadpanned on Instagram back in August.
The video game offers sa国际传媒渁 huge leap forward in graphicssa国际传媒� and the arrival of Superstar X-Factors, which sa国际传媒渦nlocks the unique skills of the leaguesa国际传媒檚 most elite players,sa国际传媒� raves . sa国际传媒淭his is breakthrough hockey.sa国际传媒�
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EAsa国际传媒檚 NHL title has been part of Cybulskisa国际传媒檚 life for more than a quarter-century, starting in his old Ottawa sa国际传媒榟ood.
sa国际传媒淚 played the game as a kid, in the early- to mid-sa国际传媒�90s,sa国际传媒� he recalled. sa国际传媒淚 played sa国际传媒楴HL 94sa国际传媒� on my Sega Genesis (game system), then evolved to playing on the PC around sa国际传媒楴HL 98,sa国际传媒� then converted myself to become a PlayStation guy. Itsa国际传媒檚 funny, Isa国际传媒檝e always been an NHL video game guy, whether itsa国际传媒檚 playing as a teenager, or you know, playing in the my 20s and then even into my 30s, coming home after having way too many with my buddies and than trash-talking. You know, sa国际传媒極K, letsa国际传媒檚 turn on the (game system) and letsa国际传媒檚 go, letsa国际传媒檚 settle this!sa国际传媒檚a国际传媒�
The game graphics have come a long way since those early days, of course sa国际传媒� and so has Cybulski.
He stick-handled his way into sports broadcasting and show hosting for TV and radio outlets over the past couple of decades, both here and in Toronto, and recently landed a job calling games for the AHLsa国际传媒檚 Abbotsford Canucks.
Turns out, being a play-by-play broadcaster was Cybulskisa国际传媒檚 desire all along.
sa国际传媒淭he whole reason I wanted to get into the (broadcasting) business was to be a play-by-play guy, that was always the dream,sa国际传媒� he explained. sa国际传媒淥ut of school, I had a chance to call Ottawa 67s games, on the radio for awhile. The whole time through high school, I volunteered at community television while going to school and working, for about six years there.
sa国际传媒淚 did it to get my reps, and any opportunity that presented itself, I would do,sa国际传媒� Cybulski added. sa国际传媒淚 called ringette championships, university football games, basketball, karate tournaments, a pre-Olympic boxing tournament in 1992. I did minor hockey games, touch football, lacrosse games sa国际传媒� a whole bunch of different sports, and I was young, all between the age of 17 and 23, in Ottawa, growing up.sa国际传媒�
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Three years ago, Cybulski auditioned for EA three times and ultimately got the gig as voice of the companysa国际传媒檚 sa国际传媒淣HLsa国际传媒� game.
sa国际传媒淚t was honestly the most amazing moment,sa国际传媒� he said. sa国际传媒淭om, Isa国际传媒檝e been honoured to do some pretty cool, amazing things in my career, experiences and opportunities in my life, but man, this opportunity to be the voice of a video game franchise I grew up playing, so iconic, itsa国际传媒檚 just amazing to me.sa国际传媒�
He follows in the footsteps of some broadcasting sa国际传媒渓egends,sa国际传媒� including Jim Hughson, Gary Thorne and Mike sa国际传媒淒ocsa国际传媒� Emrick.
sa国际传媒淎nd then itsa国际传媒檚 like, sa国际传媒榃hat the hellsa国际传媒檚 Cybulski doing here?sa国际传媒� he said with a laugh. sa国际传媒淏ut the feedback has been really good, very positive. Itsa国际传媒檚 a lot of fun, but a lot of work, too.sa国际传媒�
Cybulskisa国际传媒檚 voice work for the latest game was all done at his Tsawwassen home, due to the pandemic. Basically, he cleared out a bunch of kidssa国际传媒� toys and covered the office walls with foam.
sa国际传媒淭hatsa国际传媒檚 where I scream and shout a lot,sa国际传媒� he noted.
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PICTURED: Broadcaster James Cybulski at his Delta home with a framed copy of the sa国际传媒淣HL 22sa国际传媒� video game autographed by Toronto Maple Leafs star forward Auston Matthews, who is on the box cover. (submitted photo)
His contract with EA calls for up to 300 hours of voice work annually, which translates to a couple days a week, usually four-hour sessions, adding content where needed.
sa国际传媒淥ne day it might be a sa国际传媒榩hone book,sa国际传媒� as they call it, which is essentially going through name after name. Not long ago there was a day where we added close to a thousand names to the game, and itsa国际传媒檚 making sure you have, A, the right pronunciation, and B, the consistency in energy level,sa国际传媒� Cybulski explained.
sa国际传媒淚f yousa国际传媒檙e going, sa国际传媒楶asses the puck to Singh, passes the puck to Jones, passes the puck to Zillich,sa国际传媒� you know, you want to make sure your energy level is the same all the way through, so that it doesnsa国际传媒檛 sound like a 1990s version of movie phone, that old automated voice sa国际传媒� sa国际传媒�Please press 1.sa国际传媒�
sa国际传媒淚tsa国际传媒檚 maintaining the baseline of energy to be consistent,sa国际传媒� he continued. sa国际传媒淪o we do those, and one day it might be rattling off names, another day might be all goal calls. All those situational plays in hockey that are so common that you donsa国际传媒檛 even think about, we do all those sa国际传媒� entering the offensive zone, gaining the line, but saying that 10 different ways without sounding the exact same. You can be a little cheeky sometimes while also being mindful to stay consistent with the traditional broadcast. We can kind of pick our spots to have some fun, too.sa国际传媒�
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WHAT A MOMENT!
sa国际传媒� Abbotsford Canucks (@abbycanucks)
Justin Bailey's 100th career AHL goal and the first home goal in the history of the . on the call 馃帣锔�
Cybulskisa国际传媒檚 game call isnsa国际传媒檛 for everyone, and he knows that. He brings an energy some find too over-the-top,
sa国际传媒淚 think broadcasting is subjective, right, and for a broadcaster, yousa国际传媒檙e providing that soundtrack for people,sa国际传媒� he suggested. sa国际传媒淵ou know, some people like something more subtle, but for me, personally, Isa国际传媒檝e always been drawn to the energy. To me, from a broadcasting standpoint, Isa国际传媒檓 kind of a salesman, Isa国际传媒檓 selling an event.
sa国际传媒淲hen I look at it from an NHL video game standpoint, I want it to be exciting because quite frankly, itsa国际传媒檚 the biggest thing in your life at that very moment, your focus. So I want people to feel like itsa国际传媒檚 the biggest game of their lives, in that world, in that moment. Thatsa国际传媒檚 the approach I go for, to have that feeling of it being the biggest game. Itsa国际传媒檚 about being entertained.sa国际传媒�
tom.zillich@surreynowleader.com
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