Longtime hockey broadcaster Jim Hughson has been awarded one of his profession鈥檚 highest honours 鈥� the Hockey Hall of Fame鈥檚 Foster Hewitt Memorial Award.
On Tuesday, it was announced that Hughson, a longtime Surrey resident, had received the award, as selected by the National Hockey League Broadcasters鈥� Association for 鈥渙utstanding contributions as a hockey broadcaster.鈥�
The award was announced in conjunction with the Elmer Ferguson Memorial Award, which recognizes excellence in hockey journalism and this year was awarded to longtime writer and communications executive Frank Brown.
Hughson and Brown will be honoured at the Hockey Hall of Fame NHL Media Awards luncheon in Toronto on Nov. 18.
鈥淛im Hughson has been an exemplary broadcaster on both the local and national levels for many years since his days with Vancouver Canucks,鈥� said Chuck Kaiton, president of the NHL Broadcasters鈥� Association in a news release posted to NHL.com.
鈥淛im is an excellent broadcaster and a very deserving recipient of the Foster Hewitt Memorial Award.鈥�
鈥� READ ALSO: South Surrey broadcaster ready for NHL playoffs
Hughson is the lead play-by-play broadcaster for Rogers Sportsnet and Hockey Night In Canada, and is currently in the middle of working the NHL finals between the Boston Bruins and St. Louis Blues. The first game of the series was played Monday night.
Shortly after Hughson鈥檚 award was announced, Sportsnet congratulated its longtime broadcaster online.
鈥淎n incredibly well-deserved honour for one of the Canada鈥檚 most notable broadcast voices.鈥�
The 62-year-old Hughson, who is originally from Fort St. John, B.C., has had a broadcast career spanning 40 years, and has seen him as a voice of the Vancouver Canucks and Toronto Maple Leafs on regional broadcasts before joining Sportsnet鈥檚 national broadcasting team in the late 1990s. In 2005, he joined Hockey Night in Canada. He has also been the play-by-play voice of men鈥檚 hockey at two Winter Olympics 鈥� in 2006 and 2014.
The Professional Hockey Writers鈥� Association and NHL Broadcasters鈥� Association have jointly announced that Frank Brown will receive the Elmer Ferguson Memorial Award and Jim Hughson will receive the Foster Hewitt Memorial Award.
鈥� Hockey Hall of Fame (@HockeyHallFame) May 28, 2019
Full release here: https://t.co/P22AosTNul pic.twitter.com/zPn5T8lpEz
He has also broadcast both Montreal Expos and Toronto Blue Jays baseball games, and has won five Gemini Awards for excellence in Canadian television and broadcasting.
Though he鈥檚 been on the road working since the NHL playoffs began in April, Hughson 鈥� who was not immediately available for comment Tuesday 鈥� told Black Press Media earlier this spring that, despite the travel, broadcasting postseason games 鈥� right up until someone is awarded the Stanley Cup 鈥� is the best part of his job.
鈥淚t鈥檚 fantastic, there鈥檚 nothing like it,鈥� he said at the time. 鈥淏ecause it鈥檚 never the same. Every year is different 鈥� different teams, different cities. It鈥檚 the excitement of the championship. That part never gets old.鈥�
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