The Blackhawks were already going to be on a new television network next season, and now they’re going to have a new voice on those broadcasts, too.
On Thursday afternoon, the team announced that veteran hockey broadcaster Rick Ball will take over as the team’s new play-by-play announcer for games broadcast on the newly-formed Chicago Sports Network.
As the Blackhawks tweet above indicates, Ball brings significant experience to the role, having spent the last 10 seasons calling Calgary Flames games on Sportsnet. He was also the voice of nationally broadcast Hockey Night in Canada games. According to the release, Ball will join color analyst Darren Pang in the broadcast booth.
This all means a swift end to Chris Vosters’ stint in that play-by-play role, as he took over for legendary broadcaster Pat Foley at the start of the 2023-24 season and is now out of a job. It’s fair to say that reactions to Vosters were “mixed” in the fan base, but there was reportedly another person with whom Vosters may not have perfectly meshed, resulting in this news:
For a sample of what Ball will bring to the Blackhawks’ booth, here are a few clips, with the comments in the tweets below suggesting how much Ball was appreciated in Canada: