NHL-ийн туршлагатай тайлбарлагч Стив Конройд 2026-27 оны улирлаас эхлэн WGN радиогийн Чикаго Блэкхокс багийн тоглолтуудыг бүрэн хариуцан ажиллахаар боллоо.
Чикаго Блэкхокс багийн домогт тайлбарлагч Трой Мюррей хорт хавдрын улмаас таалал төгссөний дараа тус баг болон WGN радио хамтын ажиллагаагаа олон жилээр сунгаж, Стив Конройдыг үндсэн тоймчоор баталгаажуулсан байна. Конройд өнгөрсөн улиралд Мюррейг хүндэтгэн түүний оронд түр хугацаагаар ажиллаж байсан бөгөөд ирэх улирлаас энэхүү үүрэгт ажлыг албан ёсоор хүлээн авч байна.
Конройд нь 2005-2020 оны хооронд Чикаго Блэкхокс багийн бүрэлдэхүүнд 16 жил ажиллаж, мөн NHL-ийн бусад багуудад тайлбарлагчаар ажилласан 25 жилийн арвин туршлагатай нэгэн юм. Тэрээр багийн тоглолтыг тайлбарлахдаа тоглолтын явцыг бодитоор дүгнэж, алдаа дутагдлыг чөлөөтэй тайлбарлах нь үнэнч үзэгчдэд илүү ойлгомжтой байдаг хэмээн онцолжээ.
Тус баг радио нэвтрүүлгийн тусгай хөтөлбөрөө үргэлжлүүлэн хөгжүүлж байгаа бөгөөд Конройд нь тайлбарлагч Жон Видемантай хамтран ажиллахдаа хэдийнэ сайн ойлголцолд хүрсэн байна. Тэрээр Чикаго Блэкхокс багийн тоглолтуудыг тайлбарлахаас гадна Нотр-Дам их сургуулийн хоккей болон NHL-ийн сүлжээнд үргэлжлүүлэн ажиллах болно.
Дэлгэрэнгүйг эх сурвалжаас харах
↓Эх сурвалжийг нээх ↓
Steve Konroyd hoped he was only temporarily filling in for Troy Murray as WGN Radio’s Chicago Blackhawks color analyst last season.
Konroyd and Murray played together with the Blackhawks from 1988 to 1991 and were long-time friends. Both Canadians settled in the Chicago area after retiring as players and became established broadcasters. Their paths had been similar.
After Murray made his cancer diagnosis public in 2021, he missed some time on the radio broadcast due to treatments, but he was still able to call games consistently. But last fall, Murray, who had been part of the team’s broadcasts since 1999, decided he needed to step away as the cancer worsened. Konroyd was working for NHL Network and commentating Notre Dame men’s hockey games when the Blackhawks contacted him and asked if he could jump in for Murray alongside play-by-play broadcaster John Wiedeman.
“Troy’s a former teammate of mine, good friend and he was struggling, so obviously I was happy to be able to fill in,” Konroyd said. “We were all hoping that Troy would eventually be able to come back.”
Like the rest of the Blackhawks community, Konroyd was crushed when Murray’s death was announced on March 7. Konroyd finished the season with WGN Radio and will return in the same role permanently for the 2026-27 season. The Blackhawks and WGN Radio announced Monday that Konroyd will be their full-time color analyst this season. The team and radio station also announced a multi-year extension to their broadcasting agreement. The contract was set to expire after the coming season.
As excited as Konroyd is to call more Blackhawks games and continue doing what he loves, it’s bittersweet knowing who he is replacing and why.
“Obviously big shoes to fill,” said Konroyd, who previously worked for the Blackhawks as a studio analyst. “He did such a great job in the chair, but such an amazing human being. (This position) means a lot to me. I’ll never be compared to Troy Murray, but I just hope that I can do the job that he did with John for so many years.”
With another NHL team, the Columbus Blue Jackets, announcing this summer that it eliminated its radio-only broadcast in favor of simulcasting the TV audio over the radio, the Blackhawks have continued to commit to their dedicated radio broadcast. Murray and Wiedeman’s presence had a lot to do with that. Fans always knew what they were getting when they tuned into WGN Radio for Blackhawks games.
Konroyd doesn’t expect to replicate Murray and Wiedeman’s synergy, but Konroyd said he and Wiedeman began to create some on-air chemistry last season.
“You’ve listened to John before; he is so good at describing what’s going on,” Konroyd said. “I think he’s the best in the business. And what it allowed me to do at times was I’d be listening to his call, and then I could kind of watch what was going on the bench, or I could watch what was going on behind the play. I didn’t necessarily have to follow where the puck was because he does such a good job of describing exactly what’s going on. So in that respect, I think I developed chemistry pretty quickly with John, and I think he enjoyed having me there, too.”
Konroyd’s commentary style isn’t the same as Murray, who was known for his hockey knowledge, wittiness and humor, but Konroyd is known to be a pro’s pro after nearly 25 years as a broadcaster, including an initial stint with the Blackhawks that spanned 16 years from 2005 to 2020 and TV color analysis work for the Blue Jackets and San Jose Sharks. He knows to lean in the Blackhawks’ favor as the home-team broadcaster, but he’s also not afraid to explain when something goes wrong and why.
“First and foremost, fans are pretty knowledgeable, and they know what’s going on, so you know you can’t paint everything with a glowing brush,” Konroyd said. “I’ve talked about this numerous times: Hockey, and sports in general, it’s a game of mistakes, and you’re gonna make mistakes. Especially in today’s game, things happen so quickly, and sometimes it’s a bad bounce, or sometimes it’s just the speed of the game, really, and there’s gonna be breakdowns. So, if we can, (we) kind of help describe what the breakdown was, (and) where it happened. But I think you’ve gotta kind of be that way and to be believable.”
Konroyd, who turned 65 in February, has been broadcasting the NHL a full decade longer than he played in it. He’s not slowing down, either. On top of his Blackhawks duties, he will continue to call Notre Dame games and appear on NHL Network this season. The Blackhawks are expected to have someone sub in for him occasionally.
“I love the game, and it’s something that I enjoy doing,” Konroyd said. “So, when I get paid for it, it just seems like a natural fit. Hockey’s been part of my life ever since I was 5 years old, basically, and then (I) professionally played 14, 15 years, and I’ve been broadcasting 25 years now, so it’s become part of my life, part of my routine.”
