ROCKFORD, Ill. — Joseph Zakrzewski was deep asleep, enjoying what he had thought was going to be a day off to start 2022.
The Rockford IceHogs were originally supposed to play on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day, but both games had been postponed due to a COVID-19 outbreak. Zakrzewski, who wears many hats for the IceHogs but is most notably their play-by-play broadcaster, was planning to take advantage of the day off and sleep in. He and his wife had a quiet New Year’s Eve and he went to bed after midnight. He had no idea what was in store for him when he awoke.
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Elsewhere, the Chicago Blackhawks were on the road scheduled to play the Nashville Predators at 1 p.m. on Jan. 1. That morning, the Blackhawks found themselves in need of a radio play-by-play broadcaster when the scheduled one had to go into COVID-19 protocol.
The plan was to contact Zakrzewski and have him drive into Chicago and call the game off a monitor. The problem, though, was they couldn’t get in touch with him. He was in that deep of a sleep.
A series of phone calls finally led to Zakrzewski’s wife, Kelci, being contacted.
“And then my wife shook me awake saying, ‘Hey, answer your phone, they’re trying to get a hold of you,’” Zakrzewski said. “So I was like, holy smokes. So, yeah, that was wild. And she’s like, just go, like, just get up and go. I was like, alright. She was awesome. She packed me a lunch. My computer was already ready to go.”
Zakrzewski got in his car and began the drive to downtown Chicago. It was about 10:30 a.m. and Zakrzewski began processing what was ahead of him. Normally, he would have done extensive research and had printed notes to help him through the game. That wasn’t happening this time.
One positive was Zakrzewski had already called two Blackhawks games earlier that season. He had some familiarity with the team, the ad reads and everything else involved in the broadcast. It also helped the Blackhawks had a number of players up from the IceHogs and the Predators had some players up from their AHL affiliate, too. Those were easy talking points for him.
Zakrzewski called the game with just some minor hiccups, like a momentary delay off the monitor while his color commentator Joe Brand was at the game in person. The Blackhawks asked Zakrzewski to stick around and call their home game the following day. He first needed some new clothes. He had only been wearing a shirt and jeans when he left Rockford.
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Zakrzewski aspires to be in the NHL like most broadcasters in the AHL. He ultimately wasn’t chosen among the people who auditioned for the Blackhawks this season, but he got a taste of his dream job. He was originally only supposed to call a couple Blackhawks games, but he ended up calling six radio games and certainly gained some memorable stories from those six games. He’s as motivated as ever to reach his goal.
“That’s the driving force,” said the 35-year-old Zakrzewski, who joined the IceHogs in December of 2017. “I’m sure it’s just like the players. Once you get that taste of that, that lifestyle and that experience, you want more of it. You want more opportunities and more chances. … But at the end of the day, it’s one chair and there’s only 32 teams, so there’s 32 people that they get to X job. It’s probably more competitive than it ever was. I would love to get another opportunity. But John Wiedeman is the best, Troy Murray is the best, Pat Foley … how can you jump into that situation other than (being) thankful that they had that all-star group that they did and I was lucky to be a part of it.”
Wiedeman has taken Zakrzewski somewhat under his wing and has been someone who has given him advice and encouragement. Zakrzewski said that had been priceless to him.
From Greenville and North Charleston to Chicago.
Thank you, @NHLBlackhawks fans, for letting @AlanFuehring and I help you celebrate the New Year and welcoming these two @ECHL alums to the @NHL for the weekend. @SCStingrays @SwampRabbits pic.twitter.com/9bhsQpBWuR
— Joseph Zakrzewski (@JoeyZRadio) January 3, 2022
Zakrzewski had more time to prepare for the Flames games the day after the Predators one. Calling the Flames game was one of the highlights of all those experiences for Zakrzewski. It was the one game he got to call at the United Center, and he made sure to soak it all in, too.
“(Brand’s) like, I got you, just take a moment, so he let me put my headset down,” Zakrzewski said. “Listen to the anthem live, listen to the warmups live, listen to all that stuff live. I’ve been there before, but it’s different when you’re in that role. ‘This is gonna be awesome.’ So, that was pretty cool. But yeah, that was just the wildest, craziest start to the year.
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“But, you know, when you’re at this level and you’re wearing 20 different hats and you’re grinding it out, four games in five days like the IceHogs just did and that was the second four-in-five they did in three weeks, and you’re just hanging on to any energy that you have, it makes it all worthwhile.”
How much Zakrzewski does for the IceHogs can’t be understated. He handles the broadcasts. He sets up media interviews. He writes game previews. He’ll help players with tickets for their family and friends. You name it, he probably has done it with the IceHogs. He doesn’t complain either. That’s the job. The dream is to get to the NHL for most minor-league broadcasters, but the path to the top often involves lots and lots of grinding.
Even when Zakrzewski was preparing to call a Blackhawks game against the Vegas Golden Knights this season, he was keeping an eye on the IceHogs’ broadcast and updating their social media. Zakrzewski jokes that it did keep him out of trouble in Las Vegas.
“It’s fun because I like being involved and like knowing what’s going on and helping out where I can,” Zakrzewski said. “At the same time, too, yeah, it was pretty taxing. I’m surprised I didn’t say IceHogs more than I did in those broadcasts and vice versa, Blackhawks. It kind of blurred a little bit after a while, but it was something.”
Zakrzewski did take notice of the differences between his responsibilities and that of an NHL broadcaster.
“That was just so weird for me to come to the rink and you’re already set up and you got a seat ready for you and the WiFi in the building works and, like, all that stuff,” Zakrzewski said. “So those were those little moments you’re kind of like, whoa, this is big time when all you have to do is focus on one task. I even asked a couple of the PR, like, are you sure you guys don’t need help with anything? Like, I kind of feel lost. Are you sure? They’re like, we’ll see you on the bus or we’ll see you at the rink. And so, that was pretty surreal, for sure.”
And now Zakrzewski will be calling the IceHogs in the Calder Cup playoffs. The IceHogs open their series with the Texas Stars on Wednesday. He’s excited about that, too. Regardless of how far the IceHogs go, it’s going to be a season Zakrzewski never forgets.
“It was a dream come true (to call NHL games),” Zakrzewski said. “I can’t appreciate the Blackhawks, the fan base and everyone enough. And to come back and be a small piece of it now with the Rockford IceHogs is even better.”
(Photo: Courtesy of Joseph Zakrzewski)