John Wiedeman is an American broadcaster who is the radio play-by-play announcer for the National Hockey League's

Chicago Blackhawks The Chicago Blackhawks (spelled Black Hawks until 1986, and known colloquially as the Hawks) are a professional ice hockey team based in Chicago. The Blackhawks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division i ...

Early life and career

Wiedeman grew up in

Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City (abbreviated KC or KCMO) is the largest city in Missouri by population and area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 508,090 in 2020, making it the 36th most-populous city in the United States. It is the central ...

. He worked for his family's plumbing parts supply company until 1988. Wiedeman attended the

University of Kansas The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States, and several satellite campuses, research and educational centers, medical centers, and classes across the state of Kansas. Tw ...

and graduated in 1989. He decided to pursue a career in broadcasting at the age of 31. Wiedeman moved to

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

in 1992 where he hoped to find work as a sports broadcaster. He was a bartender at a comedy club in

Mount Prospect, Illinois Mount Prospect is a village in Elk Grove and Wheeling Townships in Cook County, Illinois, about northwest of downtown Chicago, and approximately 4 miles north of O'Hare International Airport. As of the 2020 census, the village had a total popu ...

and also served as an unpaid reporter for WCSJ in Morris, Illinois to cover

games.

Broadcasting career

Wiedeman served as the radio and TV play-by-play broadcaster for the

Muskegon Fury Muskegon ( ') is a city in Michigan. It is the county seat of Muskegon County. Muskegon is known for fishing, sailing regattas, pleasure boating, and as a commercial and cruise ship port. It is a popular vacation destination because of the expans ...

(1992–1994), Worcester IceCats (1994–1996), and

Cincinnati Cyclones The Cincinnati Cyclones are a professional ice hockey team based in Cincinnati, Ohio. The team is a member of the ECHL. Originally established in 1990, the team first played their games in the Cincinnati Gardens and now play at Heritage Bank Cen ...

(1997–2001). He worked his way to the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

(NHL), where he served as the radio and substitute TV play-by-play commentator for the

Philadelphia Flyers The Philadelphia Flyers are a professional ice hockey team based in Philadelphia. The Flyers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home games in Wells ...

(1996),

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 ...

(1997),

Columbus Blue Jackets The Columbus Blue Jackets (often simply referred to as the Jackets) are a professional ice hockey team based in Columbus, Ohio. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference, ...

(2001), and

New York Islanders The New York Islanders (colloquially known as the Isles) are a professional ice hockey team based in Elmont, New York. The Islanders compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference ( ...

(2001–2006). He joined the

in 2006 and served as the team's radio play-by-play commentator. Wiedeman provided commentary for the Blackhawks alongside

Troy Murray Troy Norman Murray (born July 31, 1962) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre who played in the NHL. He is currently the color analyst on NBC Sports Chicago broadcasts of Chicago Blackhawks hockey games. Murray was born in Calgary, A ...

on the radio, including three

Stanley Cup Finals The Stanley Cup Finals in ice hockey (also known as the Stanley Cup Final among various media, french: Finale de la Coupe Stanley) is the National Hockey League's (NHL) championship series to determine the winner of the Stanley Cup, North America ...

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

and

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

. In 2021, the Blackhawks announced

Pat Foley Pat Foley (born 1954) is an American retired play-by-play commentator for ice hockey. Personal life Born in Glenview, Illinois in 1954, Pat Foley is the son of Mary and Bob Foley. He is an alumnus of Loyola Academy and Michigan State Universi ...

would retire as the team's TV play-by-play commentator after the season. Wiedeman, along with other announcers, "auditioned" to succeed Foley throughout the

2021–22 NHL season The 2021–22 NHL season was the 105th season of operation (104th season of play) of the National Hockey League (NHL). The league expanded to 32 teams with the addition of the Seattle Kraken. The league had an October-to-April regular season sche ...

. In 2022, The Blackhawks announced that Wiedeman would not succeed Foley as the team's TV play-by-play announcer, but retain his role the team's lead radio play-by-play announcer for the

2022–23 NHL season The 2022–23 NHL season is the 106th season of operation (105th season of play) of the National Hockey League (NHL). The regular season began on October 7, 2022, when the San Jose Sharks and the Nashville Predators played the first of two games ...

Awards and honors

John has been awarded the following honors by the Illinois Broadcasters Association: * 2015 Best Play by Play, Chicago Market. Shared with colleagues

and

Judd Sirott Judd Sirott (born January 1969) is an American sportscaster on WBZ-FM's coverage of the Boston Bruins where he replaced Dave Goucher as the radio voice of the Bruins starting with the 2017-18 season. He previously appeared on WGN-AM's broadcasts of ...

. * 2014 Best Play by Play, Chicago Market. Shared with Murray and Sirott. * 2014 National Sportscaster and Sportswriters Association Illinois Sportscaster of the Year. * 2012 Best Sports Story shared with Murray. * 2011 Best Play by Play, Chicago Market shared with Murray.

Personal life

Wiedeman and his wife, Kelly, have one daughter and one son.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wiedeman, John Chicago Blackhawks announcers National Hockey League broadcasters Living people Year of birth missing (living people) American sports announcers New York Islanders announcers Philadelphia Flyers announcers University of Kansas alumni American Hockey League broadcasters