Robert Malcomson McKenzie (born August 16, 1956) is a Canadian

hockey Hockey is a term used to denote a family of various types of both summer and winter team sports which originated on either an outdoor field, sheet of ice, or dry floor such as in a gymnasium. While these sports vary in specific rules, numbers o ...

commentator who has covered hockey since joining TSN in 1986. As a TSN Hockey Insider and TSN's Draft Expert, McKenzie provides analysis for ''

NHL on TSN ''TSN Hockey'' (formerly the ''NHL on TSN'' and ''The NHL Tonight on TSN'') is the blanket title used by TSN's broadcasts of the National Hockey League. After holding the Canadian national cable rights to the NHL from 1985 to 1998 and again from ...

'' telecasts, as well as for the IIHF World Junior Championships, NHL Draft, NHL Trade Deadline, Free Agency, and for six Olympic Winter Games.

Early life and education

McKenzie was born in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

and attended Bendale Public School. After graduating from

Ryerson Polytechnic University Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU or Toronto Met) is a public research university located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The university's core campus is situated within the Garden District, although it also operates facilities elsewhere in Toro ...

, McKenzie was hired for his first full-time newspaper job at ''

The Sault Star ''The Sault Star'' is a Canadian broadsheet daily newspaper based in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. It is owned by Postmedia. In 2015, the newspaper had a daily paid circulation of 7,577 weekdays and 7,763 on Saturdays. Its total circulation includ ...

'' in 1979.

Career

In 1981, McKenzie quit ''The Sault Star'' and moved back to Toronto to earn a job in the sports department at one of the mainstream papers. Although he earned a position as a copy editor in ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...

''s sports department, he was not offered any full-time positions. In 1982, McKenzie was offered a position as editor-in-chief of ''

The Hockey News ''The Hockey News'' (''THN'') is a Canadian-based ice hockey magazine. ''The Hockey News'' was founded in 1947 by Ken McKenzie and Will Cote and has since become the most recognized hockey publication in North America. The magazine has a readers ...

''. McKenzie stayed at the magazine for nine years before joining the ''

Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. The newspaper is the country's largest daily newspaper by circulation. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part ...

'' as a hockey columnist until 1998. While with the ''Toronto Star'', McKenzie was reporting from the

Tampa Bay Lightning The Tampa Bay Lightning (colloquially known as the Bolts) are a professional ice hockey team based in Tampa, Florida. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. They play th ...

dressing room after a loss when he was asked to leave by

Phil Esposito Philip Anthony Esposito ( , ; born February 20, 1942) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player, coach and executive, and current broadcaster for the Tampa Bay Lightning. A member of the Hockey Hall of Fame, he played 18 seasons in t ...

. Upon refusing, a scuffle ensued and McKenzie filed a complaint with Toronto police claiming assault. McKenzie returned to ''The Hockey News'' for three years where he participated in their half-hour segments on

The Sports Network The Sports Network (TSN) is a Canadian English language sports specialty channel established by the Labatt Brewing Company in 1984 as part of the first group of Canadian specialty cable channels. Since 2001, it has been majority-owned by comm ...

(TSN), and was eventually hired as an analyst for

Canadian Hockey League The Canadian Hockey League (CHL; french: Ligue canadienne de hockey ‒ LCH) is an umbrella organization that represents the three Canada-based major junior ice hockey leagues. The CHL was founded in 1975 as the Canadian Major Junior Hockey L ...

games. He was eventually offered a position with TSN's broadcasting team in 2000. In honour of his reporting skills, McKenzie won the Gemini Award for Best Studio Analyst for his work on the 2008 IIHF World Junior Championship: Gold Final. In October 2014, McKenzie and

Darren Dreger Darren Dreger (born June 13, 1968) is a Canadian sportscaster for The Sports Network, TSN, and currently serves as one of TSN's Hockey Insiders. He had previously hosted ''Leafs Lunch'' on CFMJ, CFMJ AM640 Toronto Radio. Broadcasting career After ...

began appearing as full-time contributors on

NBCSN NBCSN was an American sports television television channel, channel owned by the NBC Sports Group division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It originally launched on July 1, 1995, as the Outdoor Life Network (OLN), which was dedicated t ...

. This was due to the fact that TSN lost their NHL broadcasting rights package to

Sportsnet Sportsnet is a Canadian English-language sports specialty channel owned by Rogers Sports & Media. It was established in 1998 as CTV Sportsnet, a joint venture between CTV, Liberty Media, and Rogers Media. CTV parent Bell Globemedia then ...

. Two years later, he received the 2016 Canadian Screen award for Best Sports Analyst. McKenzie was awarded the 2015

Elmer Ferguson Memorial Award The Elmer Ferguson Memorial Award is an accolade presented annually to a print newspaper columnist or reporter in recognition of their achievements covering the game of ice hockey. The award is "to recognize distinguished members of the newspaper ...

, as selected by the Professional Hockey Writers Association. He was inducted into the Whitby Sports Hall of Fame in 2017. In 2019, McKenzie signed a five-year contract extension with TSN.

Personal life

McKenzie and his wife Cindy have three sons, all of whom played hockey. Although one of his sons quit the sport due to concussions, his son Mike McKenzie went on to play professionally. Cindy is the older sister of John Goodwin, a former professional ice hockey player.

References

External links

TSN.ca biography of Bob McKenzie

* {{DEFAULTSORT:McKenzie, Bob 1956 births Canadian columnists Canadian newspaper editors Canadian male journalists Canadian people of Scottish descent Elmer Ferguson Award winners Living people National Hockey League broadcasters Olympic Games broadcasters Journalists from Toronto Toronto Metropolitan University alumni