When it comes to media following a hockey team, you have your beat writers who cover every day, your broadcasters who cover the games and the every-so-often local media that will turn out when storylines and timing allows.

Somewhere in the middle of that, for 2008-09, Gemma Hooley and Chris Nelson fit quite comfortably.

Gemma and Chris are two full-time employees at NPR, or National Public Radio, who took on an ambitious project last season: follow Brooks Laich and Karl Alzner and try to give fans a unique look at life in the NHL, both on and off the ice.

The result, it can safely be said, is an unqualified success. You can find a 60-minute documentary they produced, along with bonus audio tracks, on their web site at www.mediachameleon.org

It's a must-listen for any Caps fan - and, really, any sports fan. But almost as interesting as the finished product is the process. Gemma and Chris put in countless hours - on top of their usual jobs - and made the D.C.-to-Hershey trip almost as much as Bryan Helmer did last year (they had entered the season thinking that Alzner would spend most of his time in Washington).

NPR aired three terrific pieces along the way, and we got an early look at the impact they could have (my mother, a fan but not a die-hard, called complaining about Alzner not making the team after hearing Gemma and Chris's initial report).

Once the season wrapped up - later than expected, thanks to Alzner and the Hershey Bears' Calder Cup - Gemma and Chris had to wade through hours of audio, including recordings the players made on handheld devices.

Then came the task of paring it down to 60 minutes. It could easily be three hours and worth a listen, but NHL Home Ice might not have been keen on airing it. The Sirius/XM station will run the entire documentary next week (exact times TBD).

You can also hear Gemma and Chris on Wednesday's Caps Report, and look for their story to be told elsewhere in the media as well.