The 'Voices' of the Western Hockey League

The other day I wrote about my broadcast colleagues that are fortunate enough to be calling games in the Western and Eastern Conference finals starting this weekend in Vancouver and Medicine Hat.
I thought I'd give you my impression on all of the radio broadcasts across the Western Hockey League.

Let's start in alphabetical order shall we?

Mike Boyle - Spokane Chiefs:

Quirky would best describe him. I can say that because we've gotten to know each other over the years.
Mike does play-by-play with his shoes off which should prove that I know him pretty well.
He has an unorthodox eating regime during a game up in the broadcast booth which concerns me though!
He has everything in order from left to right - chips - licorice - mini oreo cookies - more chips and some hard candy.
Funny thing is he isn't even fat!
If you want to meet someone who is high on life, Mike Boyle is your man.
Two words - great guy !!

Thom Beuning - Seattle Thunderbirds:

If I'm not mistaken Tom is the original radio voice of the Rockets.
The Tacoma Rockets that is.
Beuning has a soccer background and calls indoor soccer besides doing his WHL duties with the T-Birds.
I honestly have never heard him other than the interview he does on the video screen at the Key Arena with the head coach prior to the start of the game.
Tom comes across reserved and somewhat shy but when the mic is on - it's show time.

Brad Curle - Calgary Hitmen:

'Curly' is an individual you just can't hate. He could slap you in the face and you would still like him.
It may have to do with the fact he is from Saskatchewan?
The former voice of the Lethbridge Hurricanes, Curle always has a smile on his face and simply enjoys his job. It really shows!
While he is great at what he does he doesn't take his job to seriously.
He calls a spade-a-spade and has an objective eye for the game. You can tell that he's honest and upfront with you whether he is talking about his team or yours.
I have heard him call a game only a few times but in my opinion he is interchangeable with Rod Pederson as the top 1-2 radio broadcasters in the East.

Kirk Fraser- Kamloops Blazers:

I really look up to Fraser.
No I really do. He's 6'4 and I'm just 5'9. He towers over me.
Cap'n Kirk must have a Blazer logo tattooed somewhere on his body?
He waves the team flag and has little to nothing bad to say about the Blazers - ever.
I've probably heard Kirk the most of anyone out West, and he does a bang up job. He has no color guy at home but really handles the duties well.
I'm a voice guy, and think he's got one of the best set of pipes in the league!

Keith Gerhart - Everett Silvertips:

I am not sure if he has a horseshoe up his pigu (it's the Mandarin Chinese word meaning ...) but since he came into the WHL as the voice of the Tips he's always called a winner.
Oh I know the Tips haven't won a league championship, but has he ever called a really bad team?
Even in the expansion year in 2003-2004 the Tips were good.
Gerhart is a great host and is willing to come out with you after a game if we are fortunate enough to be staying overnight in Everett.
He loves his Tips and wears his heart on his sleeve.
My general impression is he wants to win more than the players do.

James Gallo - Moose Jaw Warriors

I honestly don't know James Gallo that well because he's relatively new on the scene.
You can tell that he has a passion for what he does and wants to get better.
That's what I like about him. He has the love for the game and genuinely wants to see the Warriors succeed.
Call him a homer - but we all are!

Jeff Hollick - Kootenay Ice:

Jeff and I have gotten to know each other over the years because the Ice and Rockets have met so many times in the playoffs.
Man have we been apart of some battles....on the ice that is.
Plus some controversy up in the broadcast booth including Governor Ed Chynoweth getting into a yelling match with Rockets GM Bruce Hamilton and Kootenay GM Jeff Chynoweth throwing a chair in the media area creating a creator in the wall at Prospera Place.
The wall needed a new paint job anyway.
Hollick is intense, and for my money has one of the best grasps of what is happening around the WHL.
No not just with his team but with others.

Joe Kenward - Vancouver Giants:

Kenward and I essentially changed jobs when l came to Kelowna in 2000. He moved to Swift Current to do the play-by-play after doing color in K-Town with Rick Ball.
Kenward is a keener, and is always in the loop on what's happening. His understanding of the game is tremendous, and despite being one of the 'younger' radio guys in the league he has done well for himself a big center after starting his career in the smallest market. Plus he has the privilege of calling the games at the 2007 Memorial Cup.
He'd also get the nod for best dressed broadcasters. Who's the worst dressed radio broadcaster?
I won't even go there. It doesn't matter anyway - it's radio!!

Jon Keen - Swift Current Broncos:

Where do I start?
I have listened to Keen several times and his game calling gets better every year. While he feels he's been doing games for a long time, he really hasn't yet sounds like he has.
If I compare him with where I was after 5 seasons he beats me by a country mile. Plus he probably does some of the best features in the pre-game show and intermissions of anyone in the WHL.
His two part series on the Broncos bus crash in December was dynamite.
He's a good guy because he's from Saskatchewan!

Denny Larochelle - Chilliwack Bruins:

The voice of the expansion Chilliwack Bruins.
I have had only small talk with him on two occasions but his color analyst Dave Sheldon and I have gotten to know each other well because of two playoff battles between the Tips and Rockets, including a West final in 2004 and a West semi in 2006. Sheldon jumped ship and landed in Chilliwack after being the colorman with Keith Gerhart on Everett Silvertips broadcasts.

Les Lazurak - Saskatoon Blades:

Les gets props for calling some bad teams over his time in 'toon town'. I can't imagine what it was like calling Blades games when they won just 7 times a couple of years back.
Lazurak is one of the senior broadcasters in the WHL. Is it bad to call Les a senior?
Lazurak is always friendly, prepared and loves the junior game. Les believes every year the Blades have a chance to win it all. It's that type of optimism that has the Blades knowing he will never throw down his pom-poms no matter how dismal the season is.

Bruce Luebke - Brandon Wheat Kings:

How long has this guy been around? As long as me....ouch that's a long time.
Luebke knows the league inside out and does a nice job of stepping up for us broadcasters if we have issues with the league.
What's most impressive about 'Luber' is he is immune to the smell of cow crap at the Keystone Centre.
David Blaine move over. Not even you could accomplish that feat. Sure you can hold your breath under water for 5 minutes but you wouldn't last 30 seconds with the stench at the Keystone.

Marlin Martens - Lethbridge Hurricanes:

Martens would be in a dogfight with James Gallo for 'who's greenest behind the ears' when it comes to WHL broadcasters.
He's another one of my colleagues I don't know very well.
He took over from Brad Curle who moved on to Calgary which would have been extremely tough trying to fill his shoes.

Cam Moon - Red Deer Rebels:

'Mooner' has something on all of us radio broadcasters. He's actually played in the league.
The rest of us are wanna-bee's.
Moon didn't have a stellar career in the dub as a goaltender with the Medicine Hat Tigers/Saskatoon Blades, but he actually wore a WHL jersey. I've only touched one.
Moon is a great guy who makes you feel at home even when you are on the road.
He's a class act and a guy you can't help but like.

Rod Pederson - Regina Pats:

I always hear bad things about 'Roddy' but I don't have a problem with him. Maybe that will change if the Rockets meet the Pats in the league final someday?
He's a good showman on the air, and is extremely personable off it. I know he likes to stir the pot but that makes Roddy - Roddy.
I would far take him over someone who is politically correct and is scared to criticize a player from his team or the opposition. Pederson doesn't ride the fence, he jumps right over it!
Pederson has an opinion and will share it and that's what makes for an interesting person.
You may not like what comes out of his mouth at times but he sure isn't like vanilla ice cream - bland.

Ok I just offended anyone who likes vanilla ice cream!!

How he juggles doing the Pats and Riders football is beyond me, but like I stated earlier he's in a battle for 1-2 as the best callers of the game out East.

Bob Ridley - Medicine Hat Tigers:

I wish I had the energy of this young fella.
Rid's is such a good guy (have I used that phrase a few times here?), and has been doing junior game since the 70's.
I've listened to him before, and he still has the energy of a 18 year-old who just got jacked up on Starbucks.
When he officially calls it a career he's going to have to write a book on the players and coaches he's been to war with as the voice of the Tigers over the years.
I wish he had a blog. It would make for some good reading.
Come on Rid's. You not only drive the bus and do the games but can't you find some time to do a daily blog?

All joking aside Rid's is a class act that we as radio guru's respect.

Ron St. Clair - Prince George Cougars:

He has something in common with Nashville Predators radio man Eli Gold.
Both are solid race announcers who have moved over to the game of hockey play-by-play.
I heard St. Clair at the Vernon Motor Speedway last summer and he is tremendous. His knowledge of the sport of auto racing (is that what it's called Ron?) is mind boggling, and if his hockey play-by-play is even close what a treat he must be for the folks in PG.

Dean Vrooman - Portland Winter Hawks:

They call him 'Scooter' yet I am not sure why? Someone in Portland give me the goods?
I'll admit I haven't been able to get to know him very well over the years mainly because he is usually doing 500 other things before game time.
Then I am going to the washroom in the intermissions in Portland he is on the ice either MCing a contest or calling play-by-play for some tots game.
Considering he has been in the league forever (ok not forever but a long time), I tip my hat to him for traveling on the bus with the Hawks all these years.
While the Hawks don't have as bad a road schedule as Prince George or Brandon it has to be close to one of the toughest.

Craig West - Tri City Americans:

Westy's knowledge of the league and past players that have donned a WHL jersey is amazing. Never one for few words, West is a former goaltender and if I am not mistaken also did some officiating in his younger days.
The Vin Scully of the Western Hockey League, he always has time to chat whether he's at home or on the road.
Not one to smile often, he always has an opinion which makes him interesting to chat with.

Drew Wilson - Prince Albert Raiders:

Drew and I first met at a radio 'team building session' a couple of years back when he was doing play-by-play in Trail BC.
We got into a fight!
No we didn't..........it's a joke for crying out loud!
A soft spoken gentleman with a good heart, Wilson may have made the move to the Western Hockey League in the latter stages of his radio career but like any new radio junkie who just graduated from broadcast school, the love and passion he has for radio and calling hockey games still exists.
He may not show it outwardly but he is probably doing cartwheels inside!

These are the radio announcers (excluding me) that make up the Western Hockey League. All 20 bring different qualities to the airwaves and commit an amazing amount of time during the winter broadcasting junior hockey games.
They spend countless hours away from family and friends and spent days, evenings and night's on a bus traveling across Western Canada.

But don't feel sorry for these guys because they probably wouldn't have it any other way.
They all have one commonality; they love radio, they love hockey and conversely they love the team they broadcast for.

Ask any of them and they will all say it's the best job they could ever have!