Detroit native Everett Fitzhugh is the Seattle Kraken’s radio announcer, and Fitzhugh spoke with the Detroit News’s Mark Falkner regarding his journey to the NHL radio booth:
A hockey trailblazer at the age of 31, Fitzhugh said the game in Detroit will be a tribute to his family, especially his mother, who adopted him on her own and raised him to believe in his dreams.
“I definitely will be shedding some tears before my first NHL game in Detroit, back home,” Fitzhugh said.
Fitzhugh grew up as an only child on the northwest side of the city at Eight Mile and Meyers and attended Tappan Middle School and Pioneer High School in Ann Arbor before starting his hockey broadcasting career an hour away at Bowling Green University in Ohio.
It was at Bowling Green after a game against Alaska Fairbanks in January 2007 that Fitzhugh told his mom about his dream.
“I remember calling her and saying, ‘This game went fantastic and I’m now putting all my eggs into the hockey basket. We’re going to the NHL,'” Fitzhugh said. “She kind of chuckled and said, ‘All right, well, you can do it. Let’s see if we can get you there.'”
