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"I was shocked": Sandra Prusina grateful for chance as AHL's first female play-by-play voice

Aaron Vickers
Aaron Vickers
|
Oct 15 2022, 9:57 pm
"I was shocked": Sandra Prusina grateful for chance as AHL's first female play-by-play voice

Sandra Prusina’s latest gig might be new, but play-by-play calling is anything but for the freshly-anointed voice of the Calgary Wranglers. 

She’s been calling games for years. 

“My earliest memories are of watching Hockey Night in Canada with my dad, and I would have my little tape deck recording as I talked about what was happening in the games,” Prusina told Daily Hive. “I would even go to the library, take out the NHL’s yearly stats books, and read them out loud.

“Broadcasting sports is all I can remember.”

That’s the start of the journey for Prusina, hired by the minor-league affiliate of the Calgary Flames on Friday.

The next chapter is a groundbreaking one. She’s believed to be the first full-time female play-by-play caller in the American Hockey League, according to a league spokesperson. 

 That’s not lost on Prusina, the former voice of the Calgary Inferno of the Canadian Women’s Hockey League, and a fixture for 660 News and Sportsnet 960. 

“When I first heard that, I had to take a moment to compose my thoughts,” she admitted. “I remembered that young girl who would pop on her headphones and listen to Peter Maher on her walkman calling Calgary Flames games. The same girl who had a binder full of hockey cards and flipped through them all the time, reading the backs. 

“But it’s not about me. Leah Hextall, Cassie Campbell, Jennifer Botterill — they already opened the door, so the rest of us can walk through it.”

Campbell-Pascall regularly calls games on Sportsnet. Hextall, now with ESPN, became the first woman to call play-by-play for a nationally televised NHL game as part of Sportsnet’s all-female broadcast team in March 2020 alongside Campbell-Pascall and Linda Cohn.

Prusina’s name is now added to the list of firsts.

Perhaps surprisingly, even to her.

“When I decided to pursue a career in journalism after finishing university, I wasn’t sure if it would take me in the direction of sports,” she recalled. “In 2010, a friend recommended me to Olympic Broadcast Services for the Vancouver games, and I covered women’s hockey. That was a life-changing experience — seeing Marie-Philip Poulin burst onto the scene and later Sidney Crosby’s golden goal. 

“For anyone in this industry, you have moments that underscore what you’re doing. Vancouver 2010 was it for me. From there, it was full steam ahead with sports broadcasting thanks to tremendously supportive parents, family and colleagues.”

In all, Prusina has covered three Olympic Games, the Women’s World Cup, the Professional Women’s Hockey Players Association, the Canadian Women’s Hockey League’s Inferno for three seasons, and a part-time spot with the Stockton Heat of the American Hockey League.

She can now add the hometown Wranglers to her list. 

“I was shocked,” she detailed. “Everything came together very quickly. I didn’t even know the role was available until the Calgary Flames reached out. Up until that point, I figured the spot was filled. 

“I’m still feeling many different emotions, but it starts with gratitude. I’ve been fortunate to work with incredible people along the way who have supported my career. I was ready to throw in the play-by-play towel after the Canadian Women’s Hockey League folded in 2019. 

“I wasn’t sure if or when another opportunity to do play-by-play would come up in Calgary.

“I’m honoured and excited to be part of Calgary’s hockey story. We’ve evolved into such a great sports city. I’m so grateful for the opportunity.”

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