John Forslund (b. February 14, 1962, in Springfield, Massachusetts) is the television play-by-play announcer for the Carolina Hurricanes. He has been with the team since 1991 (when the team was the Hartford Whalers) and has been calling games since 1995.
Forslund's career began with the American Hockey League's Springfield Indians. From 1984–91 he handled the team's television and radio broadcasts - with the well-known catchphrase "Hey hey, whadda ya say!" - including producing and hosting a weekly talk and interview show called Inside the Indians for regional cable. In 1989 he won the Ken McKenzie Award, an award given to the AHL's top publicist and/or announcer.
He joined the Hartford Whalers organization in 1991 as public relations director. In 1995, he replaced Rick Peckham on the Whalers television broadcasts, then on SportsChannel New England. In 1997, he followed the team to North Carolina when the Whalers relocated to Raleigh. He also serves as the Hurricanes radio analyst alongside Chuck Kaiton during non-televised games. His broadcasting partners have included Kaiton, Tripp Tracy, Daryl Reaugh, and Bill Gardner.
Nationally, Forslund has served as a play-by-play announcer for the ESPN National Hockey Night, NHL on Versus, and has called ACC and SEC basketball for Fox Sports Net.
Forslund is a graduate of Springfield College and earned his Master's degree in Athletic Management from Adelphi University.
Forslund is known for saying "(Goaltender's name) says no!" after a particularly good save.
After every game, Forslund ends the broadcast by stating "Keep America in your thoughts and prayers"
Forslund often exclaims "Hey Hey Whaddaya Say!" after a game winning goal.
When a goalie makes a good save he'll sometimes scream "what a save!"
He has been credited with inventing "sideburns."
When a goalie makes a kick save he's been known to say "kicked out with a purpose by (goalie's name)".
When a team makes a great play for a goal, Forslund is known to say, "that's hockey, baby!"
If there is a scrum of players in front of the net, Forslund will often call it "a bevy of humanity."
When a player hits the post he is known for saying "heavy metal."
Often when they switch to the camera positioned in the corner of the ice he'll say "and now you see it up close."
Before going into the final television time out in the third period during a broadcast, Forslund states, "We're going down the stretch here in (insert city name)"
Often when a team scores before the first commercial break Forslund will exclaim "And the (insert team name) are off and running!"
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||