San Jose Sharks (@SanJoseSharks) Radio Play-By-Play Announcer Dan Rusanowsky (@DanRusanowsky), who was selected as the recipient of the 2023 Foster Hewitt Memorial Award in June, will be recognized in a pregame ceremony at SAP Center prior to the Sharks Nov. 24 game against the Montreal Canadiens. All fans attending the game will receive a "Rusy Rally Towel” to commemorate the occasion.
The award, voted on by the NHL Broadcasters' Association, is named in honor of the late “Voice of Hockey” in Canada, Foster Hewitt and was first presented in 1984 in recognition of members of the radio and television industry who have made outstanding contributions to their profession and to the game of hockey.
Rusanowsky will receive his award at the “Hockey Hall of Fame NHL Media Awards Luncheon” in Toronto on Mon., Nov. 13, 2023, and his award plaque will be displayed in the Esso Great Hall at the Hockey Hall of Fame alongside past recipients.
Additionally, beginning on Nov. 13, an hour-long audio program will debut on the Sharks Audio Network celebrating Rusanowksy’s three decades with the Sharks organization, featuring tributes from many of his broadcasting peers, current and former Sharks players and personalities, and some of his most memorable Sharks highlight calls. The show will also be available on demand on the Sharks official website (sjsharks.com/listen), on iTunes, Spotify, and Google Podcasts, or in the Audio section of the Sharks + SAP Center App, presented by Western Digital.
Rusanowsky has served as the Sharks radio play-by-play voice since the team’s inception in 1991. He has called all of the franchise’s 241 Stanley Cup Playoff games and only missed 27 regular season games due to injuries suffered from an auto accident during the 2000-2001 season.
A 44-year veteran of hockey broadcasting at all levels, Rusanowsky is one of the club’s most recognizable figures on-and-off the ice and was instrumental in helping launch the pioneering Sharks Audio Network, which provides 24/7 Sharks audio content including all games for hockey fans on a variety of platforms.
A versatile performer, Rusanowsky regularly creates and produces content for the Sharks Audio Network, while also serving as a lead contributor on sjsharks.com and the Sharks social media platforms with featured columns and broadcast reports. He continues to appear on regional terrestrial stations and SiriusXM’s NHL channel to talk about the Sharks and the NHL.
He called his milestone 2,000th Sharks regular season game on January 16, 2018 at Arizona, and his 2,400th regular season broadcast at Edmonton on March 20, 2023.
The Milford, Conn. Native is also an active member in the Bay Area communities. He serves as a board member of the Sharks Foundation, on the executive board of the Silicon Valley Monterey Bay Council, Boy Scouts of America and serves on the advisory boards for the Boys and Girls Clubs of Silicon Valley and Services for Brain Injury. As co-chair of the annual Ultimate Fantasy Hockey Playoffs Draft (through 2010), more than $450,000 was raised to benefit the Foundation Fighting Blindness. Rusanowsky also works with many other local community organizations.
Prior to arriving in the Bay Area, Rusanowsky provided the radio play-by-play call for the American Hockey League’s New Haven Nighthawks (1986-91) and was the voice of St. Lawrence University’s NCAA Division I hockey program from 1979-86. He received a bachelor’s degree at St. Lawrence and subsequently earned his M.B.A. at Clarkson University.
In 2013, Rusanowsky was inducted into the Bay Area Radio Hall of Fame in the sports category. In 2019, he was presented with the Sherwood Award through the California Historical Radio Society and the Bay Area Hall of Fame as the “most popular” in the Bay Area sports category.
Recipients of the Foster Hewitt Memorial Award are recognized by the Hockey Hall of Fame as “Media Honorees” a separate distinction from individuals inducted as “Honored Members.” Honored Members are selected by the Hockey Hall of Fame Selection Committee. The 2023 Honored Members class includes former Sharks goaltender Mike Vernon, goaltenders Tom Barrasso, Henrik Lundqvist and forwards Caroline Ouelette and Pierre Turgeon in the Player Category, and Ken Hitchcock and Pierre Lacroix in the Builder’s Category.
The 2023 Hockey Hall of Fame Induction Weekend begins on Fri., Nov. 10, 2023, culminating with the Induction Celebration on Mon., Nov. 13, 2023
