Retired former Vancouver Canucks skaters Ryan Kesler and Michael Del Zotto were among the nine players who took part in the inaugural NHL Broadcast Training Camp last week.

The collection of current and retired players attended the event at the NHL offices in Manhattan on July 17, which included “modules geared toward game preparation and study, reporting, studio work, and social media and podcasting,” according to the league.

Former Canuck and current New York Rangers goaltender Louis Domingue also participated in the camp, which featured instruction from NHL broadcasters Kenny Albert, Steve Levy, Ashlyn Sullivan, and former players-turned-broadcasters Eddie Olczyk and Brian Boucher.

“We went to our clubs and we looked for candidates, players who may want to transition into broadcasting hockey as one avenue of kind of post-career opportunity, as part of a broader umbrella for us of providing player development resources so players can start thinking about life off the ice and what follows their hockey careers,” NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly said Thursday.

Kesler, in particular, would likely be looking to follow in the footsteps of his long-time Canucks teammate Kevin Bieksa, who has become an award-winning broadcaster with CBC and Sportsnet since retiring from the NHL in 2018.

Bieksa and Kesler played together with the Canucks from 2005 to 2014, and then with the Anaheim Ducks from 2015 to 2018. Together, they helped the Canucks win the Presidents’ Trophy in back-to-back years and reach the Stanley Cup Final in 2011.

Garnet Hathaway, Erik Johnson, Chris Wagner, Nate Thompson, Devante Smith-Pelly, and Darius Kasparaitis also participated in the inaugural camp. Del Zotto was highly complimentary of the experience and said he’d recommend it to any of his former teammates.

“I’d say it’s a no-brainer,” Del Zotto, who played for the Canucks from 2017 to 2019, told NHL.com. “It’s a positive experience. They should get here. It’s a great learning experience.”