Video Has Many Fans Longing For His Return To The NHL Booth
In the pantheon of hockey announcers, there are a select few who have achieved royalty status. Buffalo Sabres fans still revere Rick Jeanneret, the 51-year Sabres broadcaster who retired in 2021. The Chicago Blackhawks have their Jack Foley, the Toronto Maple Leafs their Joe Bowen, and the Boston Bruins their Fred Cusick of the past (and the quirky Jack Edwards today). But most of these voices are beloved locally more so than nationally. For true NHL royalty, beyond a single team, few play-by-play announcers can match Gary Thorne.
Thorne, a longtime Baltimore Orioles announcer, was also the voice of ESPN’s NHL coverage from 1992-2004. When ESPN re-acquired NHL broadcasting rights a couple of years ago, fans were sorely disappointed that the network didn’t try to bring Thorne back. He called some of the league’s greatest moments in his 12-year career on ESPN.
But hockey fans who have missed Thorne’s uniquely deep and commanding voice received a gift this week when video surfaced of Thorne providing the play-by-play coverage of his grandson’s prep school hockey team, the Kent Lions.
Thorne And Damian DiGiulian Delight In Covering Grandson And Son, Gio
Thorne began the broadcast of the game between the Kent Lions and the Canterbury Saints by confessing that one of the players, Gio DiGuilian, was the son of his broadcast partner for the evening, Damian DiGuilian … and that Thorne was Gio’s grandfather (DiGiulian is Thorne’s son-in-law). After that disclaimer, it was “Game On” for the viewers and listeners.
The video above includes just highlights from the game, of course, not the full broadcast, but NHL fans will clearly recognize Thorne’s trademark exuberance at every goal, even the ones scored against his grandson’s team. When Gio does score (at about the 2:55 mark of the video), Thorne can barely contain himself, understandably. Gio also scores again with the go-ahead (and eventually game-winning) goal at the 8:50 mark of the video.
At the end of the broadcast, DiGiulian thanks Thorne for coming to call the game, remarking that “the seniors will remember this for a long time to come.”
“So will I,” Thorne responded. “So. Will. I.”
Hockey Fans Long For Thorne’s Return To The NHL Booth
Outkick’s Matt Reigle wrote about Thorne’s semi-return to the broadcast booth, noting, “For my money, Thorne is one of the best to ever call a hockey game, right up there with Mike “Doc” Emrick…It couldn’t be more clear that the man simply has a knack for calling hockey.”
On X, the popular hockey account Spittin’ Chiclets posted a clip from the video and urged the NHL to bring him back.
Replies to that tweet echoed the same sentiment.
At 76 years old, it may be unlikely that Thorne would want to return to full-time duty in an NHL broadcast booth, but we can tell he is enjoying his retirement and watching his grandson grow into a talented hockey player.
For the rest of us hockey fans, we’re just happy we got to hear his magical voice call a hockey game one more time.
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