Fitzhugh and Brown will make history as the first all-Black NHL television broadcast team when they call the Seattle Kraken's game at the Winnipeg Jets on Thursday (8 p.m. ET; NHLN, TSN3, ROOT-NW, NHL LIVE).
Fitzhugh, the Kraken's radio play-by-play voice, will join Brown, Seattle's television analyst. John Forslund, the Kraken's full-time TV play-by-play announcer, will be working an "NHL on TNT" game and is unavailable.
"For me personally, and I know JT shares the same sentiment, this is an opportunity for people who aren't used to seeing folks who look like them involved in the game of hockey," Fitzhugh said. "I know that when I was a fan of the game growing up, I didn't have many black people to look up to in the game. To have that kid who might be on the fence about being a hockey fan, seeing JT and myself on the broadcast, that's going to be, for me, the most important piece of this whole experience for us."
Brown agreed that representation is a big part of the significance of the broadcast.
"You want people to play the game … but there's other avenues to stay within the game of hockey if you have that passion," he said. "You don't have to be a player, you don't have to be a coach. You can go into broadcasting, you can go into marketing. Just to be able to see someone that looks like them is important."
Fitzhugh and Brown each said they've heard from a number of friends, family members and colleagues around the game since their pairing for Thursday was announced.
"One guy that I was actually a little surprised, in a good way, was after our game against Toronto [on Monday], I went down to take the COVID test and [forward] Morgan Geekie was in there," Fitzhugh said. "He said, 'Hey, your game is coming up, you and JT are going to kill it, the boys are proud of you.' For Geekie to say that within the locker room, that they're paying attention, that they see the significance of it, they're rooting for it, that's pretty special. … It was a small gesture, but it shows they're paying attention and we're in this together. That was really special for me to hear him say that."
They also shared their feelings on how the Kraken (16-29-4) have been improving recently, and what life in Seattle is like.
"The Chirp with Daren Millard" features interviews with players, executives, alumni and other personalities around the game. You can share your thoughts on Twitter using the hashtag #ChirpMillard.
Photo: Seattle Kraken
