‘That’s hockey, baby!’ Canes broadcaster John Forslund keeps fans educated, entertained.
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The Carolina Hurricanes’ game against the New York Islanders was entering the eighth round of a shootout and the noise level was rising at PNC Arena.
Canes forward Justin Williams, playing his first game of the season, was coming on the ice to take a shootout shot. The anticipation was high, the excitement palpable.
In his perch high in the arena, Hurricanes television broadcaster John Forslund was in his usual stance: standing, leaning over the edge of the booth to get a better view, pacing about, hands waving.
Forslund’s call: “Cobourg, Ontario, I want to hear you! Justin Williams, in round number eight ... scores! Dead center. That’s hockey, baby!”
Moments later, Canes goalie James Reimer stopped the last Islanders shooter to seal a 2-1 victory in the Jan. 19 game. But Forslund had framed the biggest moment properly, perfectly, blending his knowledge of the team and Williams — a native of Cobourg — with the right inflection in his voice.
And, yes, Forslund used his trademark expression, “Hey, hey, whaddya say!” when the game was won.
In his 25th year as the Canes’ television play-by-play announcer, Forslund has called many a big moment. He has a Stanley Cup ring from the Canes’ Cup run in 2006. Last season, he saw the Canes after a nine-year playoff absence defeat the Washington Capitals, the 2018 Stanley Cup champions, in a seven-game series.
Asked how he would best describe Forslund, Canes coach Rod Brind’Amour said, “Passionate. It’s crazy how good he is. He’s an icon in North Carolina and especially in this area.”
Forslund, 57, was named the 2018 North Carolina Sportscaster of the Year by the National Sports Media Association. He now has won the award in back-to-back years, sharing the 2019 NSMA award, announced earlier this month, with radio host David Glenn.
Forslund, The News & Observer’s Tar Heel of the Month for January, has been in North Carolina since 1997. Some would say such recognition was a long time coming, overdue. But not Forslund.
“Any time it happens it’s special,” he said in an interview with the N&O. “For so many years the only hope I had, for myself and the team, was to just get a piece of the sports landscape here. To get a piece of it has taken a long time. It’s an honor to be seen on the same plane as those people who have previously won and the sports they’ve covered.”
Making the move from Hartford to Raleigh
A native of Springfield, Mass., Forslund is a New Englander. A 1983 graduate of Springfield College, he once handled the television and radio broadcasts for the Springfield Indians of the American Hockey League.
Joining the Hartford Whalers of the NHL in 1991, he served as public relations director and an analyst on the Whalers Radio Network before taking on the Whalers’ television play-by-play duties for the 1994-95 season. For Forslund, it was the perfect job, close to home.
And then everything changed. Peter Karmanos, then the Whalers owner, moved the franchise to Raleigh in 1997 and rechristened it the Carolina Hurricanes. Forslund and his family were uprooted, joining the many transplants coming into the Triangle.
“It was like being dropped out of the sky and now you’ve got to forge something,” Forslund said.
Forslund and his wife, Natalie, have raised their three children — Erika, Matthew and Kara — in Apex and have become molded into the community. From a professional standpoint, he said, his biggest fulfillment has come in selling the sport, in helping the Hurricanes earn their niche amid a tradition-filled college-sports landscape, and in building the Hurricanes brand.
Winning the Stanley Cup in 2006 was huge for the team and was North Carolina’s first major-league championship. But with last season’s playoff run with the so-called “Bunch of Jerks,” the Canes revitalized the franchise and made Canes-watching a must again.
“One of my mottos is that each season has its specific story to tell and that’s what we’re tried to do,” Forslund said, “Tell the stories of the players and coaches. We also want to educate people. That’s always been the goal and I think we’ve done a good job with that.”
John Forslund ‘extremely elite’
Sitting next to Forslund the past 21 years has been Tripp Tracy, the Canes’ TV color analyst on the Fox Sports Carolinas broadcasts. The Harvard graduate and former minor-league goalie calls Forslund “extremely elite in his craft” and while offering his insights into plays and strategy has a way of engaging Forslund in wide-ranging repartee, the topics ranging from Tracy’s shopping spree with goalie Petr Mrazek to his cooking skills or late-night Taco Bell runs.
“John’s preparation and everything he does before and during a hockey game, it’s a major benefit to me,” Tracy said. “I learned the right way. It took some time but I learned the right way.”
Forslund has missed a few Canes games the past few seasons to call national games for the NBC Sports network. But he’s usually up high in an arena, leaning out, moving about, talking with his hands as the Canes play -- “He could do a cameo on ‘Dancing with the Stars,’” Tracy said.
Regardless of which team scores in games, Forslund’s voice reflects the excitement of the moment. He considers goals in the NHL as special, as meaningful, although only a Hurricanes goal can get a “That’s hockey, baby!” response.
“He could be a little more of a homer,” Brind’Amour said, smiling. “He’s probably the worst homer (announcer) in the game. But that’s fine. Some of those guys are over the top. He calls it the way he sees it and we love him for it.”
John Forslund
Age: 57
Hometown: Apex
Family: wife, Natalie; daughters Erika (23) and Kara (16), son Matthew (22).
Education: Springfield College, 1983, undergraduate; Adelphi University 1984, master’s degree in athletic management.
Accomplishments: Selected N.C. Sportscaster of the Year by the National Sports Media Association, 2018, 2019 (shared with radio host David Glenn); Won Mid-South Emmy Award for Hurricanes broadcasts, 2007 and 2009; won 2003 Telly Award for “Forslund Focus” during game telecasts; Serves on board of directors for Spare Some for Autism and has been involved with Make-A-Wish Foundation, March of Dimes, Genesis Home, Food Bank of North Carolina and the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation
This story was originally published January 24, 2020 at 12:06 PM with the headline "‘That’s hockey, baby!’ Canes broadcaster John Forslund keeps fans educated, entertained.."
