Seattle Kraken radio voice Everett Fitzhugh is continuing a noble tradition dating back more than a century. Hockey historian Eric Zwieg shared that on Feb. 8, 1923, “Norman Albert, a Toronto Star employee working that night for the newspaper’s CFCA radio station,” made the first broadcast of an amateur hockey game.
“Six nights later, on February 14, Albert was on the air again for the first broadcast of an NHL game where the Toronto St. Pats beat the Ottawa Senators 6-4. Those broadcasts covered the third period of these games.”
To the sadness of many, that 103-year-old legacy appears headed the way of the dodo. More about that down below. For now, Kraken are fans are fortunate that Fitzhugh and Kraken Hockey Network partners Al Kinisky and Mike Benton are prepping for their sixth season behind the mics.
Fitzhugh recently appeared on KOMO-TV’s Inside The Arena podcast, assessing the fortunes for the 2026-27 Kraken. “I always said the bottom line goal for the Seattle Kraken was to be playing meaningful games in March, in April. You had to be in a playoff race.
“Now they have to win those games. They have to win game 70, game 75, game 82. That’s the next step. The division is getting better. I think the Kraken have gotten better as well. I think this team can be a playoff team.”
Kraken Voice Fitzhugh Living Out Boyhood Dream
Fitzhugh remembers being a 17-year-old freshman at Bowling Green State in northern Ohio in 2006. “I said to myself, I want to be an NHL radio play-by-play guy. Being from Detroit, I grew up with hockey. I saw two Stanley Cups when I was a kid.”
Why getting that opportunity means so much to him: “To move here to Seattle, help grow a fan base and help tell that story, and watch folks here who have never been to a hockey game. Folks here who didn’t know what the red line was, didn’t know what icing was. None of us still knows what goaltender interference is!”
Everett’s fraternity has been shrinking in recent years. As virtually all games are on TV, bean-counters have increasingly decided separate radio crews don’t justify the return on investment. The Columbus Blue Jackets this summer became the fifth NHL team to switch to TV simulcasts over their radio networks.
Radio announcers for other teams, including the Toronto Maple Leafs, don’t travel – instead calling road games off a TV feed in a hometown studio. Unfortunately, the disservice to fans of simulcasts and studio calls doesn’t fit neatly on an accounting spreadsheet.
A recent Reddit thread filled with an outpouring of sentiment for the radio broadcasters of their youth.
- My experience for almost 50 years was Mike Lange’s voice (Penguins)
- Ron Weber! (Capitals) He made every Caps game awesome
- Vancouver has had great broadcasters. Jim Robson and Tom Larchie!
- Bob Wilson (Bruins) was wonderful to listen to
- Bruce Martyn of the Red Wings was a great announcer
- 1260 in Edmonton with Rod Phillip and Ken Brown, the BEST ever!
- Bob Miller (Kings), always my GOAT
For now, Kraken fans have Fitzhugh & Co. carrying on that connection.
“To see the diehard fans who were already here now have a team of their own to support. To see the casuals become diehards. To see kids and young folks playing and skating, has been one of the biggest joys of my life.”
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