Hershey Bears

Congratulations to Broadcaster Zack Fisch for Calling First Caps Game

(Caps Outsider)

Hershey Bears broadcaster Zack Fisch called his first NHL game on Tuesday as he filled in for John Walton, who was taking care of business in PyeongChang for the Olympics.

“It’s something I always dreamed about as a kid,” Fisch said before his NHL broadcasting debut. “I knew I wasn’t going to make it as a player pretty early, but I thought this would be something fun to do. I took a lot of long bus rides, a lot of people to thank, a great support system.”

We believe Fisch is the first broadcaster to rise up the ranks from the South Carolina Stingrays in the ECHL, to the Hershey Bears, to the Caps. Typically, only players do this. Both Braden Holtby and Philipp Grubauer took this road to the NHL, as did Michal Neuvirth. As for players, most recently, Nathan Walker. Others who played for all three teams are Joey Tenute, Andrew GordonKyle WilsonJonas Johansson, and Garrett Mitchell.

“Any time you come up the ranks, it showcases the power of the affiliation, which the Capitals have the best affiliation, with the Stingrays and with the Bears, bar none,” said Fisch, who joined the Stingrays in 2015, and was promoted to the Bears in 2016. “Many NHL teams don’t care about their ECHL team. The Stingrays are well taken care of. I had a wonderful year in South Carolina. Hershey is one of the best places on earth, and I absolutely love my gig there.”

Less than an hour before the game, Fisch found himself right at home in the broadcast booth. He just returned from a trip to Canada, where he called three Bears games in four nights. “It makes it pretty special that you’re able to go through the ranks. A lot of guys put in the work down at the minor league level and nothing is ever given, I’m glad to be one of those guys.”

Ben Sumner

Ben Sumner is the editor of Capitals Outsider. He also works for The Washington Post and contributes there when he gets a scoop.

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