The Book Pages: The story of an audiobook narrator

• July 8, 2023

Gerard Doyle can tell a good story.

Considering he’s narrated more than 400 audiobooks, that’s probably to be expected.

The award-winning actor has voiced Mick Herron’s Slow Horses novels, Adrian McKinty’s Sean Duffy books, and Christopher Paolini’s Eragon adventures along with multiple titles in Angie Sage’s Septimus Heap collection. He’s also recorded fiction and nonfiction from Val McDermid, Colum McCann, Timothy Egan and many more.

And he’s got a couple of new ones on the way: Doyle narrated McKinty’s long-awaited, “The Detective Up Late,” coming in August, and he raves about Herron’s “brilliant” upcoming novel, “The Secret Hours,” which arrives in October.

“Part of the fun of it for me is just to play all the different characters really; it’s like a one-man show for 12 hours,” he says, adding that he tries to be a vehicle for the author’s intentions. “The big thing always is don’t get in the way.”

Or lose focus. “Becoming detached from the book,” he says. “That’s what I try not to do. …It’s really difficult to record a book that you’re not engaged in.”

So yes, Doyle knows how to spin a yarn, which he did throughout a Zoom conversation from his home in Sag Harbor, New York. Doyle, who’s Irish but was raised in England, came to the States nearly 25 years ago to understudy in Conor McPherson’s play “The Weir.” Not long after, he and his wife decided to make their life in America to be closer to her parents and raise their two children here.

Doyle hadn’t planned to get into audiobooks. And based on his first job, recording “A Star Called Henry” by Roddy Doyle (no relation), he almost didn’t.

“I was so bad at it that Claudia Howard, who ran Recorded Books at the time in New York City and was very kind, led me through the first 60 pages,” he says.

But as Doyle worked on the book, he grew confident and finished strong. So he was a little surprised when the producer called him back in.

“She said, you’re going to re-record the first 60 pages of the book,” Doyle recalls, because the latter half of the book sounded more accomplished, which made the opening pages seem tentative. “We needed the beginning to match up with the end. So we did it and apparently it was seamless. I’ve never listened to it.”

Really? Nope. “I can’t stand listening to my own stuff,” he says.

Someone must have been listening, though: He won his first Earphone award from AudioFile Magazine for that project, and he’s since won dozens more, eventually, he says, cajoling Blackstone Audio into installing an audio booth in his garage to make the process easier.

“For the last 18 years, I’ve been doing that,” he says. “Very fortunate, sitting there in my pajamas and making money. It’s lovely.”

Doyle recalls some of the unique challenges of the work, such as having to pause while narrating an intimate, in-progress love scene to track down the pronunciation of a rare plant mentioned. It took weeks, but he got the answer from an expert. “That put us both” – he and the paused character – “out of our misery,” he says.

Or the time he was narrating a novel that had a character who spoke a dialect used by just a few thousand people. After hitting dead ends for how to voice it, Doyle phoned a college located near the book’s setting, asking to speak with someone who might provide some insight.

Only one professor was available to talk to him. Thankfully, it was the right one.

“This guy came on the line and he said, ‘Do you realize how lucky you are?’ I am the world’s authority,’” Doyle recalls the scholar telling him. “So I sent him all my questions.”

Crisis averted.

Audiobook narrator Gerard Doyle has more than 400 books to his credit. (Courtesy of Blackstone Audio, Simon & Schuster, Recorded Books, Brilliance Audio)

But it’s not all about pronunciations, it’s acting. He recalled McKinty providing the backstory to an intense scene and the difference it made.

“I was recording that particular passage and it was just gold. I was almost crying as I was reading it. I remember I had to stop a few times and just gather myself because it was so powerful,” Doyle says, then adds, “He’s an extremely funny man, and I love the humor.”

Speaking of humor, McKinty provided the following when I messaged him about his go-to narrator: “Doyle is nothing but trouble. I’ll throw in a random Estonian composer I heard once and liked and he’ll badger me for days about the exact pronunciation of the work. Love/hate the guy. Kidding, mostly love, a complete professional and perfectionist!”

During my conversation with Doyle, I mentioned that the audiobook for Susanna Clarke’s “Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell,” which kept me company on my drive home when I used to work a late shift, turned me into a fan; Simon Prebble’s narration – rich with nuance and subtle cues that enriched the understanding of the story – sold me on audiobooks.

Turns out, Doyle and Prebble are friends.

“He was a huge mentor of mine. He and [narrator] Barbara Rosenblat really took me under their wing. I met them at Recorded Books one November day, and they stood on the street with me in freezing cold conditions and gave me a dialect workshop right there on the street because I was recording something the next day that was problematic,” he says. “We’ve been friends ever since.”

Doyle, who just retired from his job teaching theater, perks up as he discusses his two children – his daughter is a potter and his son a sound engineer who will be working with him in the coming months.

He’s looking forward to reading and recording more.

“I can count on the fingers of two hands the books that I didn’t enjoy recording or that I really thought were not good,” Doyle says. “All I’m trying to do is be true to it. And if I can achieve that, then, you know, I’ve done my job.”

• • •

What are you looking forward to reading, or listening to, this summer? Please feel free to email me at [email protected] with “ERIK’S BOOK PAGES” in the subject line and I may include your comments in an upcoming newsletter.

And if you enjoy this free newsletter, please consider sharing it with someone who likes books or getting a digital subscription to support local coverage.

Thanks, as always, for reading.

John Wray says one author towers over Roth, Mailer and Updike

John Wray is the author of “Gone to the Wolves.” (Photo credit Julio Arellano / Courtesy of Farrar, Straus and Giroux)

John Wray is the author of “Gone to the Wolves,” “Lowboy” and other novels. He spoke with Michael Schaub about book recommendations and more for the Book Pages Q&A.

Q: Is there a book or books you always recommend to other readers?

Incongruous as it might seem — given that my novel is about three teenage metal kids from small-town Florida — the book I’ve recommended more than any other is probably “The Transit of Venus,” by the late, great Shirley Hazzard. It manages somehow to feel both classic (in the best, most elegant sense) and deeply, unapologetically weird. And it has some of the most virtuosic individual sentences, on the level of pure language, that I’ve ever read. Shirley was one of the great ones. I’ll take her over the big men of her generation, like Roth or Mailer or Updike, any day.

Q: Is there a book you’re nervous to read?

I’m always nervous to read anything new by Catherine Lacey, whose novel “Biography of X” came out in March. She never fails to do things with narrative and style and structure that I kick myself for not having thought of first.

Q: Can you recall a book that felt like it was written just for you (or conversely, one that most definitely wasn’t)?

When I was a child I was complacent in the certainty that “Alice’s Adventures Through the Looking Glass” had been expressly written with me in mind, and I haven’t changed my opinion since.

Q: Do you have any favorite book covers?

So many! I’m a big fan of the original edition of “Memoirs of a Shy Pornographer” by Kenneth Patchen, and of the first U.S. edition of “My Life in the Bush of Ghosts” by Amos Tutuola. In terms of recently published books, I was pretty dazzled by the U.S. cover of “Moon Witch, Spider King” by Marlon James.

Q: Is there a person who made an impact on your reading life – a teacher, a parent, a librarian or someone else?

For the entirety of my childhood, my mother would go to bed shockingly early — hours before the rest of the family — just to have enough time to read. Her bedside table was always covered by a ziggurat of orange-spined Penguin Classics; I don’t think I ever actually saw what it looked like. “In Search of Lost Time,” “War and Peace,” “The Man Without Qualities” — she read them all, multiple times. That had to have had some sort of effect.

Q: What do you find the most appealing in a book: the plot, the language, the cover, a recommendation? Do you have any examples?

I’m a big believer in the first paragraph. I’ll give almost any book a page or so — I’ll stand there and read it right in the bookstore, then put it down and read another first page, and so on, until I find one that I really like. The employees must love me.

Q: What’s something about your book that no one knows?

The character of Leslie Z — one-third of “Gone to the Wolves’” central friendship — was directly inspired by a very well-known novelist who happens to be a friend. I’ve said too much already!

More books, authors and bestsellers

Summer fiction (and beyond) coming in 2023. (Covers courtesy (Top row): Harper Collins, Penguin Press, Riverhead, Norton, Ecco; Bottom row: Simon & Schuster, Henry Holt, One World, Anchor)

The Summer TBR list

15 must-read books coming summer 2023 (and beyond). READ MORE

• • •

“Land of Broken Promises” author Jane Kuo. (Photo credit Jon Paris/Courtesy of Quill Tree Books)

Words and pictures

Jane Kuo explores an immigrant family’s life in “Land of Broken Promises.” READ MORE

• • •

“The Art Thief: A True Story of Love, Crime, and a Dangerous Obsession” by Michael Finkel is among the top-selling nonfiction releases at Southern California’s independent bookstores. (Courtesy of Knopf)

The week’s bestsellers

The top-selling books at your local independent bookstores. READ MORE

• • •

Bookish (SCNG)

What’s next on ‘Bookish’

Find out about the upcoming Bookish event on July 21 with authors Eliza Jane Brazier and Jillian Lauren and hosts Sandra Tsing Loh and Samantha Dunn. If you missed the previous one with Mona Simpson and Peter Wohlleben, you can watch it here.

• • •

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Miss last week’s newsletter? Find past editions here
Dive into all of our books coverage

​ Orange County Register 

Great Pyrenees Dudley is a sweet, affectionate boy who loves everyone

• July 8, 2023

Breed: Great Pyrenees

Age: 3 years

Sex: Neutered male

Size: 85 pounds

Dudley’s story: Dudley, Mr. Personality, loves people and other dogs. He is a sweet and affectionate boy, walks well on a leash and enjoys socializing. He loves toys and riding in the car. Although he is 3, Dudley still has a lot of puppy in him as he loves to play with anyone who’s willing. Dudley is up for anything and is especially good with children. Dudley is microchipped, current on vaccinations and has been tested for and found to not have heartworm or other parasites.

Adoption procedure: Contact Great Pyrenees Association of Southern California Rescue Inc. at 909-887-8201 or [email protected]. Fill out an application on the group’s website.

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​ Orange County Register 

Noah Syndergaard makes final tuneup before rehab assignment

• July 8, 2023

LOS ANGELES ― Noah Syndergaard didn’t allow a ball to clear the Dodger Stadium fences. He got a few whiffs and even helped his own cause by coming off the mound to catch a pop fly Friday.

The “umpire” was Dodgers pitching coach Mark Prior. The backstop was Dodgers bullpen catcher Steve Cilladi. The hitters were Miguel Vargas, Jonny DeLuca and Yonny Hernandez – major leaguers all – and the paid attendance was zero.

In other words, it was a far cry from an actual major league game. Syndergaard’s three-inning, 50-pitch simulated start was encouraging nonetheless. Manager Dave Roberts said Syndergaard’s fastball touched 93-94 mph – just as he did in his last outing, a June 7 game against the Cincinnati Reds in which Syndergaard allowed six runs in three innings.

Syndergaard’s next stop: Oklahoma City. How long his minor league rehab assignment lasts with the Dodgers’ Triple-A affiliate is “all contingent on health and performance,” Roberts said.

Plenty is riding on Syndergaard’s progress at Triple-A. If he can deliver the results the Dodgers expected when they signed him to a one-year, $13 million contract last December, Syndergaard could plausibly help a rotation that currently consists of three rookies (Michael Grove, Bobby Miller and Emmet Sheehan) and is waiting on future Hall of Famer Clayton Kershaw to return.

So far, those results have been elusive. Syndergaard was 1-4 with a 7.16 ERA in 11 starts when he was placed on the 15-day injured list with a finger blister.

“It’s hard because there are times where his velocity ticked up but the quality of contact against wasn’t good,” Roberts said of Syndergaard’s first 11 starts. “There were other times the velocity wasn’t there, but the secondary pitches were considerably better.”

If Syndergaard doesn’t improve, his next step is unclear. Internally, the Dodgers were discussing activating him from the injured list and moving him into a bullpen role for Thursday’s game against the Pirates. But relief pitcher Brusdar Graterol’s shoulder responded well enough to pregame throws that he was able to avoid the IL. Syndergaard’s simulated game was rescheduled for Friday.

Roberts wouldn’t say whether or not the bullpen would be an option for Syndergaard if his stuff isn’t major league-ready at the end of his rehab assignment.

“We just have to wait and see,” Roberts said. “We see him as a starter. I don’t want Noah’s head to kind of go to a different place until that conversation, when and if it needs to happen.”

GROWING PAINS

Miguel Vargas’ place in the Dodgers’ lineup has never been shakier.

The rookie second baseman is 5 for his past 61 entering the two-game series against the Angels. For the sixth time in the last 11 games, Mookie Betts started at second base in Vargas’ place in the series opener.

“He’s grinding. He’s playing hard. But it’s just not happening,” Roberts said of Vargas. “For him to sit back, take a respite, watch a game, is beneficial.”

Roberts did not rule out the possibility of Vargas returning to the minor leagues to get back on track, a scenario the team has already discussed internally.

“I do think the defense is getting better,” Roberts said. “The experience at the major league level is helpful. But it’s also helpful to feel yourself getting some hits and the confidence going. I do think he’s additive. But at what point could it be detrimental? I don’t know.”

ALSO

Pitching prospect Landon Knack will remain on the taxi squad through the weekend in case the Dodgers need relief help, Roberts said. … The Dodgers have not announced a starting pitcher for Saturday’s game, reserving the possibility that an opener will pitch the first inning in place of right-hander Michael Grove, who is expected to throw the majority of innings.

UP NEXT

Angels (LHP Reid Detmers, 2-5, 3.72 ERA) at Dodgers (TBD), Saturday, 6:10 p.m., SportsNet LA, Bally Sports West, 570 AM, 830 AM

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​ Orange County Register 

Los Alamitos horse racing consensus picks, Saturday, July 8, 2023

• July 8, 2023

The consensus box of Los Alamitos horse racing picks comes from handicappers Bob Mieszerski, Art Wilson, Terry Turrell and Eddie Wilson. Here are the picks for thoroughbred races on Saturday, July 8, 2023.

Trouble viewing on mobile device? See consensus picks

Enjoy the consensus horse racing picks online? Subscribe

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​ Orange County Register 

Galaxy rides momentum from victory over LAFC into showdown with Philadelphia

• July 7, 2023

For what might seem like the first time this season, the Galaxy can see the playoff line in the Western Conference.

Thanks to a six-game unbeaten streak (2-0-4), the Galaxy has moved five points clear of last place and is now just six behind Vancouver, which occupies the ninth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference.

“Like everything has been in the last six games, we’ve just been trying to focus on our process of getting better,” Galaxy coach Greg Vanney said. “Recognize and do the things that we think we’re doing well. Close the gap on one or two things each time we step out to be a little bit better on one or two things and just trying to show consistency in our performances.

“The keys to take out of the last game: one is just the confidence and joy that you get from winning games – A) against LAFC and B) in that type of environment and C) right now, taking three points is so big for us that it certainly gives you a boost of positivity in your emotion and it feels like your work is paying off.”

On Tuesday night, in front of a single-game MLS record crowd of 82,110 at the Rose Bowl, the Galaxy defeated LAFC, 2-1, for once turning in a complete 90-minute effort.

On Saturday, the Galaxy (4-9-7, 19 points) faces another challenge as the Philadelphia Union (10-6-4, 34 points) visits Dignity Health Sports Park (7:30 p.m., Apple TV+).

“Everyone is in a good mood,” Galaxy midfielder Mark Delgado said. “When you win, it helps everything. Everyone is in a good mood, guys are happy, vibes are good. Everyone is looking forward to Saturday against a good team.

“It feels like we’re turning the corner. We’ve started to grind out … we’ve had some unfortunate luck that continued from the beginning of the season, but I feel like we’re playing better. Relationships have been getting better on the field and overall performances from everyone as a group and as a team has been getting well. We all feel that. We can all see it. We got a big result in front of 80,000 fans so it definitely helps.”

This will be the first meeting between the teams since 2019. The Union, who lost to LAFC in last season’s MLS Cup final, is in fifth place in the Eastern Conference.

Saturday’s game and a July 15 game in Vancouver are the final two league contests of the month for the Galaxy. If the club is able to pick up another result against the Union, then it would have to be considered a legitimate playoff contender.

“To put together two wins back-to-back against two very good teams, would be … I don’t even know if I could describe what it would mean to the group,” Vanney said. “It would almost signal like OK whatever happened earlier in the season is truly really behind us.”

The Galaxy will conclude the month with a pair of Leagues Cup matches (July 25 and 29) and will return to MLS play on Aug. 20.

TRANSFER WINDOW OPENS

The secondary transfer window opened Wednesday. MLS teams have a month to bring in players. The Galaxy, due to the sanctions dealt by MLS from the 2019 salary cap violation, is in wait-and-see mode.

With Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez on the season-ending injury list, the Galaxy have a roster spot open. Defender Martin Caceres is also likely to end up on the same injury list, allowing for two spots. As part of the sanctions, the Galaxy is not allowed to “register a player who requires the receipt of an International Transfer Certificate (ITC) from outside of the United States and Canada” during the window, which closes Aug. 2.

“We will look to make the team better. We’re having discussions around the league, some more accurate than others,” Vanney said. “We’re pretty specific on what we’re trying to find to add to our group. There’s a number of solutions that we’re looking toward to continue to build the group. We have our work cut out for us, but there’s a lot of work going on to help our group continue to move forward.”

PHILADELPHIA AT GALAXY

When: Saturday, 7:30 p.m.

Where: Dignity Health Sports Park

TV/radio: AppleTV+, 1330 AM

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​ Orange County Register 

Gascón recall proponents file lawsuit challenging election certification process

• July 7, 2023

Nearly a year after Los Angeles County election officials doused the campaign to recall District Attorney George Gascón, proponents filed a lawsuit Friday, July 7, demanding certification of their petition, alleging tens of thousands of valid voter signatures were incorrectly and unlawfully rejected.

The signatures were disqualified in August 2022 due to the registrar-recorder’s flawed counting process and inflated signature requirements stemming from bloated voter rolls, the Committee to Recall District Attorney George Gascón alleges in the complaint filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court.

“For nearly a year, the Registrar of Voters tried its best to stymie the review, including blocking reasonable access to the recall petition, blocking access to the voter data needed to evaluate signature rejections, and more,” the committee said in a statement. “The committee was forced to seek and obtain a court injunction to get even a modicum of reasonable access to perform their examination of the recall petition. What the committee found when it obtained that access was astounding.”

The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office referred questions about the lawsuit to Gascón’s political campaign spokesperson, Elise Moore, who declined to comment.

The registrar-recorder’ was unaware of the suit until contacted by the Southern California News Group.

“As with the other claims made by the recall proponents, we will respond in accordance with the legal framework without regard to the political narrative,” said Michael Sanchez, a spokesperson for the registrar-recorder.

In the past, election officials have defended their handling of the recall petition.

In July 2022, the recall committee submitted 715,833 petition signatures, of which 520,050 signatures were found to be valid and 195,758 were deemed invalid, according to election officials.

To verify the sufficiency of the recall petition, the recall committee said, election officials utilized nearly 400 people, most of whom were temporary workers with no background in election law or the registrar’s computer system.

To qualify for the ballot, election officials maintained that recall organizers required 566,857 valid signatures due to a requirement that the total must equate to at least 10% of Los Angeles County’s active registered voters, which at the time was purported to be 5,668,569.

The committee alleges the registrar-recorder’s office required the 566,857 signature threshold even though it knew that figure was inaccurate.

Election officials have since acknowledged in writing that Los Angeles County had only 5,438,400 active registered voters — 230,169 fewer than what was originally claimed — when the petition was submitted, according to the committee.

Additionally, the recall committee said it has reviewed 94,000 of the 195,758 rejected signatures and has identified at least 20,587 signatures that should have been validated.

The alleged wrongful rejections include:

Instances where the signer made a mistake filling out the address section, stopped and moved to the next signature number, and then signed and filled in the information correctly.
Rejections for canceled voter files, even though the voter signed the petition prior to the cancellation, according to the registrar’s own voter records.
Rejections for a “different address,” even when the address on the petition matched exactly what appeared in the registrar’s voter file.
Rejections based on voters being not registered, even when the voter could easily be identified as registered by typing in the name or address on the petition.
Rejections based on the registration date, meaning the voter allegedly was not registered at the time of signing. In almost all cases, the voter was not only registered, but had been for five to 20 years, the committee said.

The Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk’s Office also allegedly disqualified at least 5,597 additional signatures by applying unconstitutional review standards preventing petition signers from correcting deficiencies in their signatures.

“The gravity of the Registrar’s errors cannot be emphasized enough,” the committee said. “The Registrar disenfranchised over 26,000 Los Angeles County citizens — and likely many more — by wrongly refusing to count their signatures in support of the recall petition.”

An initial attempt to recall Gascón fizzled in early 2021 when organizers apparently were hampered by the rapid spread of COVID-19. The second attempt, launched in October 2021, was bolstered by a no-confidence vote from officials in 36 cities.

Gascón, a self-described progressive determined to reform criminal justice in Los Angeles County, has come under fire from some prosecutors and residents who perceive him as being soft on crime.

Immediately after taking office in December 2020, Gascón issued nine directives that his critics maintain coddle criminal defendants. Among the most controversial were the elimination of cash bail and sentence enhancements and an end to the prosecution of juveniles in the adult court system, regardless of the seriousness of the crime. He has since backpedaled on some of those blanket policies.

Gascón will be up for re-election in 2024.

​ Orange County Register 

Dutch PM resigns over failure to craft migration policy

• July 7, 2023

By Mike Corder | Associated Press

THE HAGUE, Netherlands — Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte announced his resignation and that of his Cabinet on Friday, citing irreconcilable differences within his four-party coalition about how to rein in migration.

The decision by the Netherlands’ longest-serving premier means the country will face a general election later this year for the 150-seat lower house of Parliament.

“It is no secret that the coalition partners have very different views on migration policy,” Rutte told reporters in The Hague. “And today, unfortunately, we have to draw the conclusion that those differences are irreconcilable. That is why I will immediately … offer the resignation of the entire Cabinet to the king in writing.”

Opposition lawmakers wasted no time in calling for fresh elections.

Geert Wilders, leader of the anti-immigration Party for Freedom, tweeted, “Quick elections now.” Jesse Klaver, leader of the Green Left party also called for elections and told Dutch broadcaster NOS: “This country needs a change of direction.”

Rutte had presided over late-night meetings Wednesday and Thursday that failed to result in a deal on migration policy. More talks were held Friday evening, and he had declined to answer questions about the issue at his weekly press conference before the discussions.

“Everybody wants to find a good, effective solution that also does justice to the fact that this is about human lives,” Finance Minister Sigrid Kaag, a member of the centrist D66 party, said before the talks began.

The discussions underscored ideological divisions in the coalition between the partner parties that do not support a strict crackdown on migration — D66 and fellow centrist party ChristenUnie, or Christian Union — and the two that favor tougher measures — Rutte’s conservative People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy and the Christian Democrats.

The coalition tried for months to hash out a deal to reduce the flow of new migrants arriving in the country of nearly 18 million people. Proposals reportedly included creating two classes of asylum — a temporary one for people fleeing conflicts and a permanent one for people trying to escape persecution — and reducing the number of family members who are allowed to join asylum-seekers in the Netherlands.

Last year, hundreds of asylum-seekers were forced to sleep outdoors in squalid conditions near an overcrowded reception center as the number of people arriving in the Netherlands outstripped the available beds. Dutch aid agencies provided assistance.

Just over 21,500 people from outside Europe sought asylum in the Netherlands in 2022, according to the country’s statistics office. Tens of thousands more moved to the Netherlands to work and study.

The numbers have put a strain on housing that already was in short supply in the densely populated country.

Rutte’s government worked for a law that could compel municipalities to provide accommodations for newly arrived asylum-seekers, but the legislation has yet to pass through both houses of parliament.

The prime minister also promoted European Union efforts to slow migration to the 27-nation bloc. Rutte visited Tunisia last month with his Italian counterpart and the president of the EU’s executive commission to offer more than 1 billion euros in financial aid to rescue the North African nation’s teetering economy and to stem migration from its shores to Europe.

Rutte’s coalition government, the fourth he has led, took office in January 2022 following the longest coalition negotiations in Dutch political history.

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There will likely be an election for the 150-seat lower house of the Dutch parliament later this year amid a polarized and splintered political landscape. Rutte’s Cabinet would likely remain in office as a caretaker administration until a new government was formed.

During provincial elections earlier this year, a populist pro-farmer party put Rutte’s party into second place. The defeat was seen as a possible incentive for Rutte to do his utmost to hold together his coalition until its term ends in 2025.

​ Orange County Register 

Two Ducks draft picks and their long, winding road to the NHL

• July 7, 2023

IRVINE — One lasting image of the NHL draft – those heart-warming moments in the arena featuring players, their families and friends – has a celebratory launching-day vibe.

But that isn’t a full representation of a draft with worldwide repercussions.

Thousands of miles away from last month’s draft in Nashville, in Northern Italy, goaltender Damian Clara was watching the proceedings from his family’s garden with friends and got word that the Ducks would be selecting him in the second round. The Ducks used their third pick (No. 60) of their three selections in that round on him.

“I told everyone to look at the screen,” Clara said.

Later that day, defenseman and Newark-born/Swiss-raised Rodwin Dionicio was on the train returning from practice – eagerly watching the draft on his phone – and received a call from his agent. The Ducks took him in the fifth round at No. 129 overall.

“I was really excited on the train,” Dionicio said, adding. “I couldn’t yell or be too excited.”

Life moves extra fast when you are an NHL draft choice. One day, Clara and Dionicio were newly minted draft picks getting the word in Europe and less than a week later they were in Southern California for the first time, taking part in the Ducks’ development camp, which wrapped up Friday. They had the full-fledged American experience, hanging out in Huntington Beach on the Fourth of July and playing beach volleyball.

Presumably, the 6-foot-6 Clara was a top volleyball draft pick that day.

“I can play at the net,” he said, smiling. “I can block and slam it over, not the most skilled guy.”

Naturally, the laser-like focus lands on the first-round draft picks at development camps around the league – for instance, No. 1 Connor Bedard in Chicago, No. 3 Adam Fantilli in Columbus and, of course, No. 2 Leo Carlsson of the Ducks.

But Clara and Dionicio are intriguing stories in their own right.

Dionicio moved with his family from New Jersey to Switzerland before he was six months old. He speaks four languages and “a bit” of French and grew up in the same town of Herisau as veteran NHLer Timo Meier of the New Jersey Devils.

“I worked out and skated with him,” Dionicio said. “It was pretty cool to take that in and learn from him and do whatever he does to get better at it. So it’s pretty cool to have the option.”

Another former NHL player made an important impression on Dionicio. This past season, Dionicio was traded in a multi-player deal in January from the OHL Niagara IceDogs to the Windsor Spitfires, which was then coached by Marc Savard, who played 807 NHL games upon wrapping up his career with the Boston Bruins in 2010-11.

Savard, who also played three-plus seasons in Calgary, was recently named an assistant coach with the Flames. Dionicio learned a lot from Savard in a short period of time.

“I thought he was a players’ coach,” Dionicio said. “He did his role really well. I was a fan of it. As soon as I joined the team, it was like home right away. It was pretty cool being coached by him. He knows what he does. He likes to try stuff and does some things other guys wouldn’t do.

“He was one of the best coaches I’ve ever had in my career.”

There is no shortage of talented young defensemen in the Ducks’ prospect pool. The goalie pipeline, however, could use a few more prospects, which is why the Clara selection was important.

Clara is the first Italian-born goaltender to be drafted in the NHL, and the last time the Ducks selected a goalie in the second round was when they took John Gibson at No. 39 in 2011. In fact, they’ve picked a goaltender in the second round only three times – the other occasion was Ilya Bryzgalov in 2000 (No. 44 overall).

Good company, indeed.

“It’s a huge step, and I hope I can inspire some kids at home to dream a little bit bigger maybe,” Clara said. “I’m grateful I have this opportunity to step up. And the Olympics are just around the corner, a huge goal of mine to represent my county.”

Milan-Cortina will host the 2026 Winter Olympics and the Italian federation made a big splash by hiring Mike Keenan to coach its men’s hockey team. Not only has Keenan coached 1,386 games in the NHL, topped with a Stanley Cup championship in 1994 with the New York Rangers, he has vast international experience.

Keenan isn’t given to flattery for the sake of flattery. So it means something when he said that he thinks Clara will “definitely” play in the NHL some day.

“He’s a really great kid and exceptional athlete and very, very bright,” Keenan said in an interview with the Orange County Register on Thursday. “I’m really pleased he was drafted in the second round. I think he was a little surprised, but he probably earned it.

“He played in a couple of World Championships (Division 1, Group A, in Nottingham, UK) – he didn’t lose a game. That was important for his confidence. He handles himself exceptionally well.

“He’s just a sponge and couldn’t get enough instruction.”

Other NHL teams were checking in with Keenan about Clara leading up to the draft in Nashville.

“In fact, I had calls after he was drafted, saying they were disappointed they didn’t get him,” Keenan said.

The Italian national team will have a mini-camp at the end of July. There was interest in Clara from many CHL (Canadian Hockey League) junior teams, but Clara is committed to play on a loan to Brynäs IF in the HockeyAllsvenskan, which is Sweden’s No. 2 tier, and scheduled to be in tandem with former NHLer Anders Lindback.

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