Golden Knights hire first broadcasters

The Las Vegas Golden Knights of the NHL have some new announcers to go along with the new pro hockey team.

Golden Knights President Kerry Bubolz announced on Aug. 15 that the team has hired their first-ever television and radio broadcast teams.

Dave Goucher (pronounced GO-sher) will serve as the team’s TV play-by-play announcer, while Shane Hnidy (pronounced NIGH-dee) will serve as the TV color commentator. In addition, the team has hired Dan D’Uva (pronounced DOO-vah) as the team’s radio play-by-play announcer.

According to the Golden Knights, Goucher and Hnidy will call games on the television home of the Golden Knights, AT&T SportsNet. D’Uva will call games on the radio home of the Golden Knights, FOX Sports 98.9 FM/1340 AM.

“We are thrilled to have Dave, Shane and Dan on board as our first-ever broadcasters,” Bubolz said. “Each of them brings a wealth of hockey experience, and will be an integral part of making Golden Knights broadcasts enjoyable and insightful. They will not only be great announcers in the broadcast booth but also great community ambassadors, bringing the great game of hockey to the Las Vegas community.”

Dave Goucher

Goucher has been the radio play-by-play announcer for the Boston Bruins since 2000. He has been named New England’s top radio play-by-play announcer by the Associated Press three times (2003, 2006 and 2007), was awarded the Associated Press “Best Sportscast” Award in 2006 and was named the Massachusetts Sportscaster of the Year in 2013 and 2014.

While with the Bruins he has called several historic and exciting matchups. He was the voice in the 2010 Winter Classic at Fenway Park featuring the Bruins and Flyers and could be heard throughout the Bruins 2011 Stanley Cup Championship run. This included calls of game five and game seven of the Bruins vs. Canadiens matchup, both of which the Bruins won in double overtime and overtime, respectively, game seven of the Eastern Conference Final, where the Bruins defeated the Lightning to advance to the Cup Final and game seven of the 2011 Stanley Cup Final, in which the Bruins defeated the Canucks to take the Cup.

In 2013, he called game seven of the Bruins-Leafs matchup, where the Bruins rallied from three goals down in the third period to win the game and series in overtime.

Also in 2013, Goucher was the radio play-by-play broadcaster of the Bruins-Penguins series in which Bruins swept the Penguins to return to the Stanley Cup Final and called all six games of the Stanley Cup Final between the Bruins and the Blackhawks that year. In 2016, he called his second Winter Classic as the Bruins hosted the Montreal Canadiens at Gillette Stadium. Goucher has been a regular contributor to Bruins coverage on Comcast Sportsnet New England, the NHL Network and WCVB-TV in Boston.

Shane Hnidy

Hnidy has been a part of the Winnipeg Jets broadcast team since 2011. He was the color commentator alongside Dennis Beyak on TSN Television, as well as a part of the broadcast team on TSN Radio 1290, and handled in-studio pre-game and game recaps for TSN.

The Neepawa, Manitoba native played in the NHL from 2000-2011, playing for the Ottawa Senators, Nashville Predators, Atlanta Thrashers, Anaheim Ducks, Boston Bruins and Minnesota Wild. He was drafted in the seventh round (173rd overall) in the 1994 NHL Entry Draft by the Buffalo Sabres. As a defenseman, he played in 550 NHL games during his career, registering 16 goals and 55 assists for a total of 71 points with 633 penalty minutes.

Hnidy was a member of Atlanta’s and Nashville’s inaugural playoff appearances. In addition, he was a member of the Bruins’ 2011 Stanley Cup championship team. He officially retired on August 21, 2011.

He joined TSN 1290 in September of 2011 as a radio analyst for the Jets and went on to become the full-time Winnipeg Jets Television Color Analyst for TSN in 2014. While with TSN, he has served as an analyst covering the 2013 World Junior Tournament and the Men’s World Hockey Championships for the last four years.

Dan D’Uva

D’Uva has been the radio and TV play-by-play voice of the AHL’s Syracuse Crunch since 2012. He has called some of the team’s most historic games, including runs to the 2013 and 2017 Calder Cup Finals and the Toyota Frozen Dome Classic in 2014. He also contributed to two AHL All-Star Classic broadcasts, on radio in 2015 and on television in 2016.

In addition to his role with the Crunch, he has hosted a daily show, “In the Booth with Dan D’Uva” on ESPN Radio Syracuse, handled on-air assignments for Time Warner Sports/Spectrum Sports and served as a media consultant for the Cape Cod Baseball League’s Chatham Anglers. He has also been an adjunct professor at Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications.

Contact sports editor Vern Hee at vhee@pvtimes.com