Fitzhugh, the Kraken's radio play-by-play voice, will join Brown, Seattle's television analyst, on the telecast that will air locally on ROOT Sports Northwest.
The two are being paired for the game at Canada Life Centre because John Forslund, Seattle's television play-by-play voice, will be working an "NHL on TNT" game.
"It all goes back to representation matters, that's the overarching theme here," Fitzhugh said. "I didn't have Black broadcasters, play-by-play people, to look up to when I was growing up. I didn't know play-by-play was an option until I got to college as far as a career goes. So to have that stage, to have that platform with [Brown] and to show people that, 'Hey, there are two Black men calling hockey games,' is something that I think will hopefully inspire other people."
Brown, a former NHL forward, echoed Fitzhugh's sentiments.
"It's baby steps, moving the needle," he said. "I think the League as a whole is taking steps to feel more inclusive and this can be one of them. I think representation is a big deal, and to be able to be on the highest stage in hockey and look up and see ... Black play-by-play and color commentators, I think it's a big thing just for visual representation."
Fitzhugh became the first Black NHL team broadcaster when Seattle hired the 33-year-old Detroit native in August 2020 after he called games for Cincinnati of the ECHL for five seasons.
Seattle hired Brown in June 2021 as the Kraken's first TV analyst. The 31-year-old native of Burnsville, Minnesota, transitioned into broadcasting after playing seven seasons with the Tampa Bay Lightning, Anaheim Ducks and Minnesota Wild. He scored 72 points (23 goals, 49 assists) in 365 games.
Brown made headlines in 2017 when he became the first NHL player to protest during the playing of "The Star-Spangled Banner" when he raised his fist in the air during a preseason and regular-season game to raise awareness of police brutality and other challenges people of color face.
Fitzhugh and Brown have become good friends since joining the Kraken and say they can't wait to see how that bond translates into on-air chemistry.
"To be able to call a game and share a booth with my friend, that's what I'm most excited about about this whole thing," Fitzhugh said.
Brown and Fitzhugh are part of a small but growing group of broadcasters of color working NHL games nationally and locally.
Kevin Weekes, a former NHL goalie, became the first Black hockey television analyst when he joined "Hockey Night in Canada" in 2009. He now provides NHL analysis on ESPN and NHL Network.
Former NHL forward Anson Carter does studio analysis for NHL games on TNT. David Amber is a studio host for "Hockey Night in Canada" and works alongside former NHL forward Anthony Stewart, an analyst on the telecast.
Harnarayan Singh calls games for "Hockey Night in Canada: Punjabi Edition," and occasionally does English play-by-play and analysis.
Locally, former New Jersey Devils captain Bryce Salvador is an analyst for MSG Networks, and former NHL defenseman Jean-Luc Grand-Pierre works for as analyst for Columbus Blue Jackets games on Bally Sports Ohio.
Jason Ross Jr. has called games on television and radio for the Chicago Blackhawks this season on a fill-in basis. The 23-year-old next will do play-by-play for the TV broadcast of the Blackhawks' game at the Jets on Monday.
Amber said the historic Fitzhugh-Brown pairing shows hockey's growing diversity.
"This is a great, great step, and two well-deserved people who have earned this opportunity and I think it's really exciting," he said. "I think it's really important to give them a platform like this and it really helps magnify the game to a whole group of people and it sort of says, 'Yeah, you belong.'"
