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Chris Cuthbert got his start as a hockey broadcaster in the '80s. Source: https://cfhof.ca/members/chris-cuthbert/ (May be subject to copyright) |
Yet, as I watched Game 3 of the Vancouver Canucks-Edmonton Oilers second round NHL playoff series, I realized something. I was listening to the same voice I heard back in the 1980s, when a different Edmonton Oilers team was vying for the Stanley Cup.
The recent death of announcer Bob Cole, an icon in the hockey world, brought into sharp focus how long his colleague Chris Cuthbert has been calling NHL hockey games.
Yet, that is only one facet of a career that has spanned more than 40 years.
Voice of the Oilers?
My earliest memories of Chris Cuthbert, obviously, were on “Hockey Night in Canada” when he donned the powder blue blazer to call Edmonton Oilers games. Wikipedia reveals he joined CBC Sports in 1984 after almost five years with CJAD Radio in Montreal. He anchored regional western games, but I seem to recall him pretty much only doing Oiler games. Then again that was during their Stanley Cup years with Wayne Gretzky, Mark Messier and company, so they garnered a lot of national interest.
My earliest memories of Chris Cuthbert, obviously, were on “Hockey Night in Canada” when he donned the powder blue blazer to call Edmonton Oilers games. Wikipedia reveals he joined CBC Sports in 1984 after almost five years with CJAD Radio in Montreal. He anchored regional western games, but I seem to recall him pretty much only doing Oiler games. Then again that was during their Stanley Cup years with Wayne Gretzky, Mark Messier and company, so they garnered a lot of national interest.
When I moved to Edmonton in the Fall of 1987 to attend the University of Alberta, it was still Chris Cuthbert who seemed to be anchoring all the Oiler games on “Hockey Night in Canada”. Wikipedia also reveals Cuthbert actually did spot duty doing play-by-play. That was when Don Wittman, CBC’s primary western broadcaster, was covering other events or when the schedule needed it.
Something I did not know was that he got his big break in the 1988 playoffs in a game between the Washington Capitals and New Jersey Devils. He was in Washington providing brief updates on the game for the national broadcast of the Montreal Canadiens-Boston Bruins game. Suddenly, a power outage in Montreal ended the broadcast there. CBC immediately jumped to Washington. Cuthbert then did the entire broadcast on his own. He ad libbed, including play-by-play, hosting and analysis without the benefit of any graphics or replay.
It is funny that I don’t recall this. That was the year the Bruins finally beat the Canadiens in the playoffs after more than 40 years of futility. It was also right at the end of my first year of university, so I was probably in the midst of writing final exams. Incidentally, the Bruins faced another power outage in the Stanley Cup final against Edmonton, forcing the game to actually be replayed.
For his efforts in that Washington-New Jersey game, Cuthbert earned a Gemini nomination and caught the attention of the CBC.
His career took off from there.
The years after
He would go on to call Canadian Football League games and Winter Olympic hockey for the CBC, TSN, Sportsnet and NBC.
He won a Gemini Award for Best Sports Broadcaster in 1998, and another with Glen Suitor in 2006 for Best Sports Play-by-Play or Analyst. In 2014 he was inducted into the media wing of the Canadian Football Hall of Fame.
He would go on to call Canadian Football League games and Winter Olympic hockey for the CBC, TSN, Sportsnet and NBC.
He won a Gemini Award for Best Sports Broadcaster in 1998, and another with Glen Suitor in 2006 for Best Sports Play-by-Play or Analyst. In 2014 he was inducted into the media wing of the Canadian Football Hall of Fame.
Currently, Cuthbert is the lead play-by-play analyst for “Hockey Night in Canada”.
Parting thoughts
To be honest, I didn’t really like Chris Cuthbert initially. Back in 1984, or whenever I heard him for the first time, I thought his voice was nasally and his play-by-play and commentary were bland and not very dynamic.
To be honest, I didn’t really like Chris Cuthbert initially. Back in 1984, or whenever I heard him for the first time, I thought his voice was nasally and his play-by-play and commentary were bland and not very dynamic.
However, the benefit of time has shown what I was watching was a broadcaster who was really just getting started. In fact, he was just 27 years old when he joined CBC Sports.
Over the years, I have watched him grow and flourish as a broadcaster in both hockey and football, generating a lot of memories.
He was the one who called the 1994 CFL West Final where the B.C. Lions beat the Calgary Stampeders late and in the snow. The next week he called the Grey Cup where B.C. kicker Lui Passaglia kicked the game-winning field goal to defeat the Baltimore Stallions. My biggest memory is when he exclaimed “The golden goal” after Sidney Crosby scored the overtime winner to give Team Canada the gold medal in hockey in the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.
From those early beginnings, Chris Cuthbert sure has come a long way.
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