The Pittsburgh Penguins have named Joe Brand the radio play-by-play voice of the Penguins Radio Network, it was announced today by President of Business Operations Kevin Acklin.
Brand will handle the play-by-play duties for all Penguins regular-season and playoff games, and will be primarily joined in the booth by long-time color analyst and two-time Stanley Cup Champion Phil Bourque. Paul Steigerwald will return as pre- and post-game host.
“We are excited to welcome Joe Brand to the Penguins family and introduce him to the best fans in hockey,” said Acklin. “The Penguins have been fortunate to have some of the best voices to ever call the game sit in that chair, and we look forward to Joe making his own mark here in Pittsburgh.”
The 33-year old joins the Penguins after spending the previous three seasons with the Chicago Blackhawks as their studio host and fill-in play-by-play broadcaster on WGN Radio 720 AM. His primary duties include hosting pre-game, intermission and post-game shows for all of Chicago’s regular-season games, and also hosting a weekly radio show – ‘Blackhawks Live’.
In addition to his hosting duties, Brand called game action as the primary play-by-play broadcaster for Blackhawks preseason and select regular-season games as recently as last season when John Wiedeman was unavailable, working in the booth alongside former NHLers Troy Murray and Hockey Hall-of-Famer Chris Chelios.
Brand’s play-calling abilities extend beyond hockey, as the Chicago, Illinois native has spent over a decade calling baseball, football, basketball, and other sports at both the professional and collegiate level. He has called select regular-season White Sox games on ESPN 1000 WMVP and hosted their pre- and post-game show. He’s also worked with the Kane County Cougars of the American Association of Professional Baseball, an official Partner League of Major League Baseball, as their radio and television broadcaster.
Brand is a graduate of Illinois State University with a degree in broadcast journalism.
