The Blackhawks have tabbed Chris Vosters as the permanent replacement for the great Pat Foley, who is retiring. The legendary Pat Foley has been partnered with Eddie Olczyk in the Blackhawks TV booth since 2008, and he served as the Blackhawks radio play-by-play man from 1981 to 2006 before joining the TV broadcast.
The team announced the move during the first intermission of tonight’s contest with the Arizona Coyotes.
Chris Vosters will be the next voice of Blackhawks hockey! 🎙 pic.twitter.com/nWupsfX8NH
— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) April 3, 2022
Vosters has extensive play-by-play experience, calling several sports for Big Ten Network, Fox Sports, ESPN, NBC Sports, and Stadium. Foley’s long-time partner and now Vosters partner in the Blackhawks booth has this to say about the move tonight:
“I’m excited for the future of Blackhawks broadcasts working alongside Chris Vosters. Chris is a great addition to this broadcast team and will lead us to the next generation of Blackhawks hockey.”
The Sun-Times’ Jeff Agrest reported that Vosters was the front-runner for the job last month and offered up this analysis of Voters:
“Vosters would be a great choice. In just six games, he has shown noticeable improvement. My biggest criticism of him early on was that he lacked a strong goal call. That has changed. He has good energy and a smooth delivery, doesn’t appear to get rattled, and creates a good rapport with his analyst. And let’s be honest: Who wouldn’t want to look like him?”
While it’s challenging to imagine anyone other than Foley as the soundtrack to the Chicago Blackhawks, Foley himself is sure that Blackhawks fans are in good hands with his heir apparent: “I know it’s going to be a dream for you; it’s been a dream for me too. Folks, Blackhawks broadcasting, is in good hands.”