Inside the Press Box: Nate Ewell

To help readers get their hockey fix over the summer, RRT is publishing a series of interviews with people who interact with (or work for) the Caps. Today's first installment: Caps Director of Media Relations Nate Ewell.

1. Describe the game-day set-up process for the readers. How do the game notes get prepared? What interaction do you have with the game announcers (national and for both teams)?

We write the game notes the day before each game, usually by 4 p.m., as long as we aren't playing that night. We'll email those out to the broadcasters so they can begin to prepare. We also take care of credential requests and the press box seating chart the day before a game.

The morning of the game, our staff covers the home and visiting morning skates -- one is usually at Kettler and the other is downtown. We'll meet the media there, make sure they have copies of the notes and stats, and help with any interview requests. By about 3:30, we are all at Verizon -- setting up the press entrance, press room, press box and taking care of pre-game interview requests between 5 and 5:30.

2. Caps Today, in my opinion, has been a great addition to the PR efforts. How did the idea come up, who decides what goes in it every day and where do you go to find the links for the articles?

First off, thank you. The first thing we hoped to accomplish was to provide a daily update on schedule times, since they do change a lot. But we also wanted to give story ideas to the reporters, especially for TV, who don't cover us every day. And we also try to share the good stories that are written about us, because those can usually help writers and broadcasters as much (or more) than anything else we do.

Once we got Caps Today off the ground, we discovered another benefit -- it opens the lines of communication between us and the media. It's easy for a reporter to hit reply and ask us a question if they need something.

We rotate who handles Caps Today among our staff, and each person is responsible for writing the storyline and finding the links. For the most part, we use Google News to track coverage of us.

3. How did you hear about the Dillman Award wins the last two years and why do you think the Caps have been recognized?

The writers' association presented the Dillman at the draft each of the last two years. It's a great honor -- our motivation is to make our players and our team look good, but it's still nice for us to be recognized. I'm not sure why we've been lucky enough to get recognized, to be honest, but I know we are lucky to work with people like Ted Leonsis, Alex Ovechkin and Bruce Boudreau, who make us look good.

4. What is the most memorable hockey game you've worked (either for the Caps or another team)?

This is a tough one, but I'd probably go with the 1999 NCAA Tournament second-round game that Michigan State won against Colorado College to advance to the Frozen Four. It was my third year working at MSU and we really should have made it to the Frozen Four the year before. The Spartans were down, 3-2, with five minutes left in the third and Andrew Hutchinson and Adam Hall both scored for a 4-3 win. (Incidentally, both of those guys have signed with Tampa Bay in the last two weeks.) Two days later, we left for Anaheim for the Frozen Four. Mike York was the best player on that team; he was the runner-up for the Hobey Baker Award that year.

5. Other than hockey, what sports do you follow and what do you do when you're not working long days with the Caps?

For the most part I'm a fan of teams that I've worked with: Princeton lacrosse and Michigan State football, hockey and golf. The Red Sox are the big exception. In my free time, I enjoy working on insidecollegehockey.com and spending time with friends and family.