SPRINGFIELD – The voice of the Springfield Thunderbirds, Ryan Smith, will make his NHL broadcasting debut on Tuesday night in Boston as the Thunderbirds’ NHL affiliates, the St. Louis Blues, visit the Bruins at TD Garden. Smith will take the radio play-by-play headset for the second period of game action, which can be heard on 101 ESPN Radio in St. Louis at this link, as well as on the St. Louis Blues app.
Smith joined the Thunderbirds in August of 2016 and has been the team’s play-by-play broadcaster ever since. He has called more than 350 games in the American Hockey League.
“This is a great experience for Ryan; he has worked diligently at his craft since joining our organization at its inception and as the saying goes, hard work pays off,” said Thunderbirds President Nathan Costa. “Thank you to the Blues organization and Chris Kerber, a Springfield Hockey alum, for providing Ryan this opportunity - in the American League, we are developing people on and off the ice, and we look forward to Ryan getting his chance to show off his talent at the top level this evening.”
A deeper look at Smith’s career can be read right now on the Blues’ website. Click here for the story.
The Blues enter tonight’s game in Boston riding a five-game winning streak. St. Louis sits in a tie with Minnesota for second place in the NHL’s Central Division. In total, 12 different players have skated for both the Blues and the Thunderbirds during the 2021-22 season.
-- Courtesy of Springfield Thunderbirds