It’s official: Mike Emrick is the Vin Scully of hockey.

In an era of rip, rip and then rip some more, Emrick finds himself buried by an avalanche of bouquets during the Stanley Cup playoffs. The only other person in broadcasting who receives such universal praise and adoration is the living legend in the Dodgers’ booth.

Richard Sandomir evoked operatic terms in today’s piece in the New York Times:

They are Emrick’s arias: dramatic tales of passes, shots, checks, crashes into boards, saves, interceptions, goals and line changes accentuated by the sound — “OhhhhHHHHHHH!” — of his internal thermostat rapidly heating up, as if close to exploding. He hits his highest note with variations on a single word: “SCORES!”

Richard Deitsch of SI.com came out with his media power list this week. One guess at who is No. 1:

I call him NBC’s Bard of Spring. With NBC airing every NHL playoff game  nationally since the second round, Emrick has been a welcome visitor in homes  for weeks, and at 65, he’s never been better at his craft.

And here’s the ultimate barometer of Emrick’s appeal. Even Phil Mushnick of the New York Post wrote nice things about him in a column this week, and he doesn’t like anybody. Mushnick writes:

Beyond that, if there were ever a play-by-player who should be encouraged to  speak as much as often as possible, it’s Emrick. Imagine hiring Emrick and  telling him to speak half as much. Would you ask DeNiro, Sinatra, Einstein,  Pele, Magellan, Sonny and/or Cher to give it less than all they’ve got?

“Hey, you, Michelangelo! Get down off that scaffold! You wanna kill  yourself? Paint something down here!”

Wow, opera and Michelangelo references for a hockey announcer. Has to be a first.

It’s great to see Emrick get the recognition. He’s really benefitted by the new playoff format in which every game has aired on NBC’s various networks.

Like Scully, the man clearly has a way with words. Earlier this week on an NBC teleconference, he got everyone fired up with this opening:

This is our best time of year. How’s that for an understatement? …You see bearded people, you see people with goatees, because that’s a part of our tradition. You see smiles on every face because of the anticipation of living up to a lifetime dream – and that’s getting your name on a trophy that you can’t keep, and getting a ring that’s too big to wear, and having the experience, and to be referred to as a Stanley Cup Champion for the rest of your life.

Here’s hoping we all get to hear Emrick call seven games in the Final.