Alex Faust’s late rush up the ice has resulted in perhaps a most unlikely goal scored.
From not even on the Kings’ radar three months ago, the 28-year-old with just one NHL game on his resume eventually became too good to pass up as the franchise’s choice to replace the retiring Bob Miller in the TV play-by-play role.
The team and Fox Sports West announced Thursday morning the hiring of Faust, who has called several sports for Fox, ESPN, Tennis Channel and NBCSN – including plenty of college and minor-league hockey – but is otherwise an unknown in these parts, as he won the job without the benefit of an on-air live tryout as several veteran broadcasters had last season.
“It’s not lost on me on how out-of-the-blue this will appear from the outside,” said Faust, born in Brooklyn, educated at Northeastern University in Boston and a resident of Connecticut.
“I wouldn’t consider myself a ‘name brand’ or one with a lot of national presence. Nor is it lost on me who I’m stepping in for. Bob set a standard for 44 years and it’s an honor to be chosen for this role.”
Hockey Hall of Fame broadcaster Nick Nickson, who has been with the team since 1981 and on radio full time since 1990, was one of the fill-ins last season for Miller, who was recovering from heart bypass surgery and a mild stroke that led to his decision to retire in April.
Nickson had expressed a desire to move over and continue in that spot, as did Ralph Strangis, Gary Thorne, Chris Culthberg and Jack Michaels, who all got some quality time with analyst Jim Fox on the air in Miller’s absence last season. Jon Rosen, the team’s “insider” online reporter, and radio analyst and former player Daryl Evans, Nickson’s broadcast partner on KABC-AM (790), also had shots at it and were considered.
Somehow, Faust was a unanimous choice among the eight-person search team composed of Kings and FSW personnel, based on his resume tapes and a studio pairing with Fox two weeks ago, said Kings vice president of communications and broadcasting Mike Altieri.
“We considered every approach to where we could go — very accomplished, heavy-duty people with incredible resumes, with all different sorts of styles, and then the young, up-and-coming broadcasters and, honestly, as a group, we all came back to Alex because of his talent,” Altieri said.
“When we first heard his tape, or read his bio, we knew he was young, but there were a lot of mature things we saw in his on-air presence, his air of confidence and the cadence in his voice. All that resonated for us.”
Altieri added that Nickson, 63, remains a “valuable resource for us, and even for Alex, and we’re excited for Alex to work with Nick, to be around him, learn how he does the job on a day-to-day basis. We want Nick to keep doing what he does best.”
Faust said a recent trip to L.A. to do some work at the Culver City-based Tennis Channel offices led to him taking a meeting with Fox Sports Net executive producer and senior VP Mike Connolly. Faust said he knew there would be an opening with the Las Vegas expansion franchise and wanted to set up some networking opportunities.
Faust assumed he came in a bit late to the Kings’ vetting process, but he was invited to add his name and happened to be assigned to a Chicago-Tampa Bay NHL game for NBCSN on March 24 – one that went into overtime and provided a platform to show his abilities.
The Kings paired him up with Fox on May 19 in a studio for about an hour and a half on a simulated telecast, doing a call over a tape of a Kings-Predators OT game from earlier in the season.
“I thought his call was very clean,” said Fox, the team’s TV analyst since 1990. “You could feel the power of his voice, a God-given talent, and he lets the game shine through with his minimal style. There’s no doubt he’s taken the necessary steps to get this far.”
Miller said he wasn’t part of the interview process, but also watched and listened to video links of Faust’s work and was impressed. Faust also recently talked to Miller by phone and plans to visit him in person when he’s back in L.A. in July.
“His work was top-notch, he’s a good-looking young guy and has a great opportunity for someone at age 28,” said Miller, who had never done pro hockey before coming to L.A. in his early 30s. “He has a lot of experience, not just in hockey. One of the things he told me was, ‘I must admit, I never played hockey,’ and I said, ‘That’s OK, I never did either. That’s not a requirement’.”
Most recently, Faust was the radio voice of the AHL’s Utica Comets from 2013-16, going the Calder Cup finals in 2015. His college hockey work on NESN and NBCSN was also impressive.
He has done Northeastern men’s basketball when the team made it to the NCAA tournament, and his baseball work includes two years with the single-A Staten Island Yankees. Nationally, he has done college basketball, football and lacrosse with ESPNU and Fox since 2015.
But there’s “no rush like calling a hockey game to be honest,” said Faust, born the same year when a 28-year-old Wayne Gretzky played his first season with the Kings.
Citing Mike Tirico, Ian Eagle and John Forslund as his broadcasting influences, Faust said he was able to watch some Kings broadcasts from his East Coast base and “got a feel for what Bob and Jim liked to do and what worked in their broadcast. They took great pride in their mechanics of making the right call at the right moment. There’s a craft that Bob took pride in.
“I think when it comes to this transition, it should be smooth. I know Bob did not use catch phrases or gimmicks or shtick, and that is my style as well. He touched a lot of people and I just hope to follow up on that.”
If L.A. pro-team broadcast hiring trends mean anything, it figures the Kings would go in this direction.
In 2005, the Lakers hired 26-year-old Spero Dedes to join the radio team with the design of become the heir apparent to Chick Hearn, who died in 2002. Six seasons later, when Dedes could have been in the Fox Sports West booth, he left to pursue a career with his hometown New York Knicks and do more national broadcasts – a move he now says he regrets to some degree.
In 2015, the Dodgers hired 27-year-old Joe Davis as a play-by-play man and, after a season, he eventually was moved into the main TV chair at SportsNet LA when Vin Scully retired after the 2016 season.
Davis said he has crossed paths with Faust enough to know “most importantly, he’s a really good guy and we’ll be lucky to have around in L.A.
“If anything, he can hopefully take some comfort looking at my similar situation and know that this incredible city and its fans are going to give him a fair chance. And I’m confident they’re going to love Alex.
“The amazing history of play-by-play guys in this city and the high expectations that come with it are a big part of what makes these jobs in L.A. the best in the world.”
Added Altieri: “Seeing what happened with the Dodgers and Joe, and what the Lakers saw with Spero, hopefully we have the same success here.
“I’m very confident in Alex’s talent and skill set. I think we found something special here. He’ll have to deliver, no question, but we’ll give him every opportunity to do that. We’re over-the-moon excited to have him on board.”