Boston, Massachusetts- With the NHL playoffs underway and Utah getting a pro hockey team, I have a bit of hockey fever right now. That may be tempered if the Bruins end up blowing a 3-1 lead for the second year in a row, but I’ll remain optimistic, I guess (Update 5/5: thank god).
For New England hockey fans, one of the biggest stories from this season is the retirement of Jack Edwards. The voice of the Bruins since 2006, Jack has become known for his iconic calls in most of the recent signature moments for the Original Six franchise. Before then, he worked at ESPN from 1991-2003 and called many of the 2002 Men’s World Cup matches. He just called his last Bruins game for NESN, as Game 7 will be a nationally televised match.
In the past couple of seasons, it was becoming evident that he had lost a step with his speech. Hockey is a fast-paced sport, and Edwards, who’s 67 years old, struggled to keep up. In February, Jack addressed these concerns to the Boston Globe. Jack said he wasn’t suffering from any medical issues, as doctors were struggling to figure out what was up. Perhaps the part that stood out to me most in the article was his retirement plans:
“’l love my job, but I know that retirement isn’t that far off,’ he adds, noting that his retirement plan will be to ski roughly 100 days a year.”
So you’re telling me that one of the most famous broadcasters in hockey is an avid skier? I decided to dig a little deeper and find out a bit more about Jack Edwards, the skier.
He originally intended to be a soccer player, but a famous (or infamous, depending on your perspective) ski town was home to an injury that changed his life. Jack Edwards traveled to Vail, Colorado, to train at elevation before his Junior year with the University of New Hampshire’s soccer team. During an exhibition match, he collided with the opposing goalkeeper, breaking one of his legs.
During his recovery period, he transitioned to becoming a broadcaster at UNH, calling many sports, including hockey. When Jack returned to the pitch, he wasn’t the same player, so he decided to focus on a career in broadcasting.
One of his first major gigs was calling skiing events at the Calgary Winter Olympics for ABC in 1988. Edwards described what that assignment meant to his career to UNH Magazine back in 2002:
“That was giant. They took a chance with me. They said ‘Here’s a guy who’s really enthusiastic about skiing, knows a little bit about it, and can deliver, so we’re going to create a position for him.'”
In 2014, the Boston Globe interviewed Jack about his biggest passion outside of hockey: skiing. Just like his Bruins, he’s pretty dedicated to the sport. His favorite ski area in New England is Mad River Glen, and he loves watching Blizzard of Aahhs as part of his apres-ski experience.
In terms of their best ski day ever, he has two pretty impressive nominees:
“1. 1988 Olympic Winter Games, Calgary (ABC’s last). Nakiska was cut specifically to host the Olympic races. We (I was working as on-mountain reporter for Alpine skiing) got there 10 days before the races began.
It wasn’t open to the public. The only people allowed on the hill were racers, coaches, course workers, mountain workers, and production crews setting up camera positions. It was a world-class racing camp.
Getting on the hill before sunrise to follow the likes of Zurbriggen and Tomba (until they would blow me away, disappearing over the horizon three turns into their runs) provided the opportunity to learn by mimicking their technique. What an education! Skied 27 straight days, 22 of which were “work.” (Giggle)
2. 1991 Val d’Isere, France. Working for CBS Sports, we were supposed to cover two days of training, two downhills and a super G. But it snowed. And snowed and snowed. Seven feet in three days, and they never raced a gate. So we filed daily reports and didn’t get to cover a single run. But we did do 6,000-vertical-foot loops in neck-deep powder all day every day in Jean-Claude Killy’s hometown. The only thing that would have made it better would have been a snorkel.”
Cheers to Jack Edwards for your work as the voice of the Bruins for nearly two decades. We hope you get in some wicked mint turns in the coming years.
