Doc Emrick is not just a man of the people but some would even say he’s the voice of hockey in the United States. So naturally, he plans to be among the people when he calls his first game inside Barclays Center in Brooklyn tonight. The NBCSN play-caller told Newsday he plans on “calling the game from a broadcast location that is set amid the crowd, not in an upper-level press box.”

“I like that, because then you feel a part of it,” he said. “It’s not like you really need to manufacture being part of an Islanders-Rangers game, but I like the fact that we’re out there where we’re really going to hear it and feel it.”

Emrick’s plan was to take a tour of the arena during the day on Wednesday and try out different locations to get a feel for the game-watching experience from each of them. He’s looking for a spot where the fan experience is ideal and therefore so will his calling of the game.

Emrick also plans on giving hockey fans a tour of not just Barclays but Brooklyn itself. The NBCSN telecast will begin with a “geographical overview” that connects Barclays Center to the spot where Ebbets Field used to be. The idea is to “pinpoint where it was on the map and then pinpoint this place, because for much of North America that’s at least older, Brooklyn was associated with a Major League Baseball team and now it’s a major-league hockey team plus the basketball team.”

If you’re going to the game and you find the seat next to you empty when you get there, be forewarned that they might be saving it for Doc.

[Newsday]