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Dan Rusanowsky enters Hockey Hall of Fame

Posted on by Erika Towne

Dan Rusanowsky is officially a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame. Rusanowsky flew to Toronto after the Sharks’ game in Las Vegas on Friday night. He arrived early Saturday morning and got settled in before touring the Hockey Hall of Fame, where his plaque will sit amongst all the other Foster Hewitt Memorial Award recipients. On Monday, he attended a ceremony where he was honored as one of the great broadcasters of the sport of hockey.

Since the beginning, Rusanowsky has been the voice of the San Jose Sharks, offering fans a comforting word during a brutal loss and bringing them to their feet in an exciting moment. Throughout the years, the radiowaves of his broadcasts have spread across large swaths of Northern California, and now every game is broadcast online. While the Sharks have a team to make that happen, Rusanowsky has been a driving force behind it all.

What is the Foster Hewitt Memorial Award?

The Foster Hewitt Memorial Award is the highest honor that can be bestowed on a member of the hockey media. It was named after the late Canadian radio broadcaster and journalist Foster Hewitt, who was famous for his play-by-play calls on “Hockey Night in Canada.” He was so famous that he was dubbed the “Voice of hockey” in Canada.

This award is fitting because in San Jose, Rusanowsky is the “Voice of the Sharks.”

Every year, a media member is selected by a committee of radio and television members who are part of the NHL Broadcasters Association. The award is given “to recognize distinguished members of the radio and television industry who made outstanding contributions to their profession and the game during their career in hockey broadcasting.”

The Hockey Hall of Fame has a complete list of the Foster Hewitt Memorial Award winners here. Every person selected for the Foster Hewitt Memorial Award receives a plaque in the Hockey Hall of Fame.

Rusanowsky got to see his for the first time over the weekend.

How will the Sharks honor Dan Rusanowsky?

The Sharks sent a crew with Rusanowsky to document his entire Hockey Hall of Fame weekend. When he gets back home, there will be a special event just for him.

On Nov. 24, during the game against the Montreal Canadiens, the Sharks will pay tribute to Rusanowsky. All fans at the game receive a Rusy Rally Towel.

The Sharks also launched an hour-long audio program on Nov. 13 as a tribute to Rusanowsky. According to the Sharks, the audio program is “celebrating Rusanowksy’s three decades with the Sharks organization, featuring tributes from many of his broadcasting peers, current and former Sharks players and personalities, and some of his most memorable Sharks highlight calls.”

You can also listen to the Rusanowsky tribute program on demand on the Sharks website or on iTunes, Spotify and Google Podcasts. It’s also available in the Sharks App in the Audio section.

There will also be plenty of in game tributes and you can bet it will include the following:

Watch Dan Rusanowsky receive the Foster Hewitt Memorial Award

On Monday, Nov. 13 in Toronto, Rusanowsky officially received the Foster Hewitt Memorial Award. During his speech, Rusanowsky congratulated all of the other Hall of Fame inductees, and specifically former Sharks goaltender Mike Vernon. Then, he talked about starting his career in broadcasting and how it all began with the Sharks. You can watch the complete speech below.

Dan Rusanowsky memories for Sharks fans

Rusanowsky has been the only Sharks radio play-by-play voice since the team’s inception in 1991. He has called all 241 Stanley Cup playoff games and only missed 27 regular season games in his entire time with the Sharks franchise. Those missed games were due to an auto accident in the 2000-2001 season, which The Mercury News’ Curtis Pashelka talks about in this post:

Rusanowsky has hit many milestones along the way. He called his 2,000th regular season game on Jan. 16, 2018 against the Arizona Coyotes. Game number 2,400 came last season against the Edmonton Oilers on March 20, 2023.

In 2013, he was inducted into the Bay Area Radio Hall of Fame. He received the Sherwood Award from the California Historical Radio Society in 2019. That same year, the Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame named him “most popular” in the Bay Area sports category.

For Sharks fans, many of his radio calls are what they remember when they remember their fondest Sharks moments. Drop your memories below.

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