It’s hard to imagine listening to Rochester Americans hockey games on the radio without Don Stevens’s voice calling the action.
Next week, the puck drops on the 90th season of the American Hockey League, the National Hockey League’s primary developmental league. The Americans, also known as Amerks, will ring in their 70th AHL campaign on Oct. 10, at home opposing the Toronto Marlies. Americans fans—whether they are plugged into mobile devices inside the 12,000-plus seat Blue Cross Arena or following the game elsewhere—will be listening to their friend Stevens doing the talking. Stevens has been synonymous with professional hockey in western New York from as far back as most fans could remember. Since the Amerks’ 1986–1987 season, Stevens has been the voice fans have learned to trust, and wait for each fall to welcome in another season.
