photo: © OIS (Olympic Information Service) / Andre Ringuette
He has been TSN’s voice of the IIHF World Junior Championship for nearly three decades, and to fans around the globe often the English voice of the IIHF’s Men’s World Championship. Gord Miller is also the 2013 recipient of the Paul Loicq Award, and since 2015 he has been the emcee of the IIHF’s Hall of Fame Induction Ceremonies.
The 2024 Men’s Worlds in Czechia marked Miller’s 50th international tournament behind the mic, and IIHF.com’s Andrew Podnieks spoke to him by phone soon after to discuss a life in international hockey.
AP: So you’ve hit 50 tournaments—congratulations. Do you know what the breakdown is by event?
GM: It’s 29 World Juniors, 14 World Championships, four Olympics, two Women’s World Championships, and a Men’s under-18. The reason I know this is that I have pucks from each tournament I’ve done, and I was looking at them a little while ago and counted them prior to the World Championship and saw there were 49! Actually, there are 48. I’m missing one from the 1998 World Juniors in Finland. What I like is the variety. I would think I’m the only one who’s done those five events, six if you count men and women at the Olympics.
AP: What was the first?
GM: It was the 1995 World Junior tournament in Alberta.
AP: Murray Costello once said this was the event that changed the World Juniors from small time to big time. Would you agree, and if so why?
GM: I think there have been a bunch of turning points. What happened in Alberta was the NHL lockout. So every team had their best players. They were all there. Secondly, you had two cities in Calgary and Edmonton, two NHL teams, that were dark. And even though it was largely in Red Deer, Canada played in Calgary, and the tournament was spread all over. The hockey was amazing. The fan passion was incredible. I remember after Canada beat the Czechs in Calgary, Bob McKenzie and I were driving up to Edmonton and people were shirtless waving Canadian flags out of car windows! It was 30 below! I think it launched the Canadian hosting aspect to the next level.
AP: Of course, I have to ask. Is there one highlight that truly stands out?
GM: It’s so hard. I get asked that all the time. To me, it’s impossible. There are hundreds, literally. The moment most people talk about is the Eberle goal in Ottawa in 2009, that tying goal late. But I think about Finland winning the World Juniors on home ice in 2016, or the Czechs winning the World Championship on home ice this year. So many incredible players and plays. Honestly, I don’t know if I could narrow it down to even three dozen.
AP: What’s the best goal you’ve called, either for its quality or for its importance?
GM: The Eberle goal, all the golden goals, shootout winders. The Eberle call is the one that lives forever. People will ask me if I planned that call, but no. You don’t want to have something scripted. You can always tell. It was the moment, and that’s a great part of it.
AP: Do you have the wording in your head for a dream call that hasn’t happened yet?
GM: No. It’ll happen, and I’ll just react to it. That’s what I’ve always done.
AP: Is there anything in the IIHF world you haven’t done at least once?
GM: The Women’s under-18—that would complete the set for me! In general, I just enjoy it. The best thing about it is the people. It’s interesting to go to all the tournaments and see so many of the same people form the federations and the IIHF. It really is a community and a family of people that you see year after year. And for me, a really special part of that is hosting the Hall of Fame Inductions every year and seeing so many old friends in a different kind of atmosphere because it’s such a great day for them. To be part of that is really neat.
AP: What’s one city you’d like to see host an IIHF tournament that hasn’t yet during your career?
GM: I might say Budapest. The Hungarians have great passion. It would be great there. I’d like to see Canada try it again after 2008. One thing I’d love to do is to see a game in Australia. I’m really fascinated by hockey in non-traditional countries. We focus on the top division and the big countries but, you know, winning Division II-A is a big deal for a smaller country. For those players, it takes so much effort, when you don’t have the indoor arenas and facilities and resources. That’s enormous.
AP: Do you have a bit of a soft spot for one of the lower-ranked teams?
GM: Well, I probably shouldn’t play favourites, but I do like Latvia. Their fans are great, they’ve hosted a couple of World Championships lately, and Riga is one of my favourite cities in the world. They punch above their weight in terms of performance and turning out players. When they won the bronze medal in Tampere in 2023, Mike Johnson and I had tears in our eyes watching the fans sing the anthem. It was incredible. A small country, but their players have so much passion. Another country I have a soft spot for is Great Britain. I think they’re just passionate, and the fans are awesome.
AP: How do you prepare for a game?
GM: The hardest ones are the World Juniors because you don’t know the players. The week before the tournament is the toughest, and the rosters come out Christmas night. The World Championship you get a lot of the same players year after year, which is nice. The one thing I’ve said to young broadcasters is, you’re going to make mistakes. You’re watching live; you’re reacting live. The trick is to learn from it but don’t dwell on it. When the game’s over, it’s over. Learn and move on. You’ll never do a perfect game. There’s no such thing. Every game is its own entity.
AP: Any superstitions game day or during a game?
GM: No, none. I’ll say “shutout” in the third period. I don’t care. If my words could change the outcome of events, I wouldn’t be broadcasting hockey games!
AP: Do you have any tricks to remembering all of those player numbers?
GM: Not really. The key is to separate the left-hand shots from right hand. Tall, short. Watching the warm-up is critical.
AP: What’s the biggest difference between calling an international game and NHL game?
GM: The atmosphere. When you do a game between Germany and Switzerland and the fans are singing back and forth non-stop; when you hear the Latvian fans; when you’re in Czechia, that’s the biggest difference. The World Championship is just a festival of hockey. NHL games can get loud at times, but not like that.
AP: What’s the most important skill to have for play-by-play?
GM: Know the players, know the rules, right? Be in the moment and be yourself. Don’t try to be like someone else.
AP: Sometimes the colour guy is beside you, sometimes in the suicide box—which do you prefer?
GM: I like a guy down at ice level. I think that’s where you can pick up things we might not otherwise see.
AP: What’s the best advice you can give a young person who wants to get into play-by-play?
GM: Do it. If you’re sitting at home watching a game, turn the sound down and try it. Go to a community rink and sit in a corner and do it. That’s the best advice. Do it.
AP: There was a time TSN never would have done the Women’s U18. Now it’s very much a part of the calendar. What has changed in recent years?
GM: TSN has had a lot to do with the development, to commit the resources, to do those tournaments at a level that we would expect, that looks like a professional production. And also the explosion in interest in women’s hockey, and not just North America. The market for women’s hockey in Europe has always been a barrier, but that’s changed.
AP: Who were your hockey heroes growing up?
GM: Well, I’m named after Gordie Howe. I was fortunate enough to be around the Oilers in the 80s. I earned a lot from them, their approach to every game. Wayne Gretzky’s approach on a daily basis is one of the great lessons I’ve learned in life, that sense of what you need to do to be your best every day. It’s exhausting, but it’s important to do your best every day.
AP: What’s the number one thing on your hockey bucket list?
GM: Probably anything on my bucket list has nothing to do with hockey. I’ve been fortunate to see and do a lot of things. I’m not sure if I have one. I’ve met a lot of great people, been to a lot of great places. I just hope the bucket is a long way off!
AP: Anything else I need to know?
GM: I still feel a great passion for what I do. I still look forward to doing it. In December, it’s daunting. But I always look forward to it. It’s my favourite thing. And if being the voice of international hockey in Canada and sometimes around the world is my legacy, I’m really happy with that.
The 2024 Men’s Worlds in Czechia marked Miller’s 50th international tournament behind the mic, and IIHF.com’s Andrew Podnieks spoke to him by phone soon after to discuss a life in international hockey.
AP: So you’ve hit 50 tournaments—congratulations. Do you know what the breakdown is by event?
GM: It’s 29 World Juniors, 14 World Championships, four Olympics, two Women’s World Championships, and a Men’s under-18. The reason I know this is that I have pucks from each tournament I’ve done, and I was looking at them a little while ago and counted them prior to the World Championship and saw there were 49! Actually, there are 48. I’m missing one from the 1998 World Juniors in Finland. What I like is the variety. I would think I’m the only one who’s done those five events, six if you count men and women at the Olympics.
AP: What was the first?
GM: It was the 1995 World Junior tournament in Alberta.
AP: Murray Costello once said this was the event that changed the World Juniors from small time to big time. Would you agree, and if so why?
GM: I think there have been a bunch of turning points. What happened in Alberta was the NHL lockout. So every team had their best players. They were all there. Secondly, you had two cities in Calgary and Edmonton, two NHL teams, that were dark. And even though it was largely in Red Deer, Canada played in Calgary, and the tournament was spread all over. The hockey was amazing. The fan passion was incredible. I remember after Canada beat the Czechs in Calgary, Bob McKenzie and I were driving up to Edmonton and people were shirtless waving Canadian flags out of car windows! It was 30 below! I think it launched the Canadian hosting aspect to the next level.
AP: Of course, I have to ask. Is there one highlight that truly stands out?
GM: It’s so hard. I get asked that all the time. To me, it’s impossible. There are hundreds, literally. The moment most people talk about is the Eberle goal in Ottawa in 2009, that tying goal late. But I think about Finland winning the World Juniors on home ice in 2016, or the Czechs winning the World Championship on home ice this year. So many incredible players and plays. Honestly, I don’t know if I could narrow it down to even three dozen.
AP: What’s the best goal you’ve called, either for its quality or for its importance?
GM: The Eberle goal, all the golden goals, shootout winders. The Eberle call is the one that lives forever. People will ask me if I planned that call, but no. You don’t want to have something scripted. You can always tell. It was the moment, and that’s a great part of it.
AP: Do you have the wording in your head for a dream call that hasn’t happened yet?
GM: No. It’ll happen, and I’ll just react to it. That’s what I’ve always done.
AP: Is there anything in the IIHF world you haven’t done at least once?
GM: The Women’s under-18—that would complete the set for me! In general, I just enjoy it. The best thing about it is the people. It’s interesting to go to all the tournaments and see so many of the same people form the federations and the IIHF. It really is a community and a family of people that you see year after year. And for me, a really special part of that is hosting the Hall of Fame Inductions every year and seeing so many old friends in a different kind of atmosphere because it’s such a great day for them. To be part of that is really neat.
AP: What’s one city you’d like to see host an IIHF tournament that hasn’t yet during your career?
GM: I might say Budapest. The Hungarians have great passion. It would be great there. I’d like to see Canada try it again after 2008. One thing I’d love to do is to see a game in Australia. I’m really fascinated by hockey in non-traditional countries. We focus on the top division and the big countries but, you know, winning Division II-A is a big deal for a smaller country. For those players, it takes so much effort, when you don’t have the indoor arenas and facilities and resources. That’s enormous.
AP: Do you have a bit of a soft spot for one of the lower-ranked teams?
GM: Well, I probably shouldn’t play favourites, but I do like Latvia. Their fans are great, they’ve hosted a couple of World Championships lately, and Riga is one of my favourite cities in the world. They punch above their weight in terms of performance and turning out players. When they won the bronze medal in Tampere in 2023, Mike Johnson and I had tears in our eyes watching the fans sing the anthem. It was incredible. A small country, but their players have so much passion. Another country I have a soft spot for is Great Britain. I think they’re just passionate, and the fans are awesome.
AP: How do you prepare for a game?
GM: The hardest ones are the World Juniors because you don’t know the players. The week before the tournament is the toughest, and the rosters come out Christmas night. The World Championship you get a lot of the same players year after year, which is nice. The one thing I’ve said to young broadcasters is, you’re going to make mistakes. You’re watching live; you’re reacting live. The trick is to learn from it but don’t dwell on it. When the game’s over, it’s over. Learn and move on. You’ll never do a perfect game. There’s no such thing. Every game is its own entity.
AP: Any superstitions game day or during a game?
GM: No, none. I’ll say “shutout” in the third period. I don’t care. If my words could change the outcome of events, I wouldn’t be broadcasting hockey games!
AP: Do you have any tricks to remembering all of those player numbers?
GM: Not really. The key is to separate the left-hand shots from right hand. Tall, short. Watching the warm-up is critical.
AP: What’s the biggest difference between calling an international game and NHL game?
GM: The atmosphere. When you do a game between Germany and Switzerland and the fans are singing back and forth non-stop; when you hear the Latvian fans; when you’re in Czechia, that’s the biggest difference. The World Championship is just a festival of hockey. NHL games can get loud at times, but not like that.
AP: What’s the most important skill to have for play-by-play?
GM: Know the players, know the rules, right? Be in the moment and be yourself. Don’t try to be like someone else.
AP: Sometimes the colour guy is beside you, sometimes in the suicide box—which do you prefer?
GM: I like a guy down at ice level. I think that’s where you can pick up things we might not otherwise see.
AP: What’s the best advice you can give a young person who wants to get into play-by-play?
GM: Do it. If you’re sitting at home watching a game, turn the sound down and try it. Go to a community rink and sit in a corner and do it. That’s the best advice. Do it.
AP: There was a time TSN never would have done the Women’s U18. Now it’s very much a part of the calendar. What has changed in recent years?
GM: TSN has had a lot to do with the development, to commit the resources, to do those tournaments at a level that we would expect, that looks like a professional production. And also the explosion in interest in women’s hockey, and not just North America. The market for women’s hockey in Europe has always been a barrier, but that’s changed.
AP: Who were your hockey heroes growing up?
GM: Well, I’m named after Gordie Howe. I was fortunate enough to be around the Oilers in the 80s. I earned a lot from them, their approach to every game. Wayne Gretzky’s approach on a daily basis is one of the great lessons I’ve learned in life, that sense of what you need to do to be your best every day. It’s exhausting, but it’s important to do your best every day.
AP: What’s the number one thing on your hockey bucket list?
GM: Probably anything on my bucket list has nothing to do with hockey. I’ve been fortunate to see and do a lot of things. I’m not sure if I have one. I’ve met a lot of great people, been to a lot of great places. I just hope the bucket is a long way off!
AP: Anything else I need to know?
GM: I still feel a great passion for what I do. I still look forward to doing it. In December, it’s daunting. But I always look forward to it. It’s my favourite thing. And if being the voice of international hockey in Canada and sometimes around the world is my legacy, I’m really happy with that.