Blackhawks replace Vosters in TV booth, hire Ball from Calgary

The Blackhawks Thursday announced that Rick Ball has been named the club’s next television play-by-play announcer, replacing Chris Vosters.

Ball will join color analyst Darren Pang in the Blackhawks broadcast booth for the 2024-25 season, the team’s first on the forthcoming Chicago Sports Network, the new television home of the Blackhawks.

Ball, 57, joins the Blackhawks after spending the previous 10 seasons as the television play-by-play voice of the Calgary Flames on Sportsnet. During that time Ball has also served as play-by-play announcer for Hockey Night in Canada’s national broadcasts, a role he began in 2011 before being named the program’s lead Western play-by-play announcer in 2013.

“We are delighted to have Rick join the Blackhawks broadcast booth alongside Darren Pang as we begin this exciting new chapter in Blackhawks television with our new broadcast venture, Chicago Sports Network,” said President of Business Operations Jaime Faulkner. “An established voice in the hockey world, Rick brings a wealth of experience and knowledge to our broadcasts. Coupled with Darren’s exceptional energy and expertise, we believe we are providing Blackhawks fans with the best in-home watching experience in the NHL.”

Vosters joined the Blackhawks TV booth in 2022 after Pat Foley retired.

“We would also like to thank Chris Vosters for his time as play-by-play announcer, and we look forward to continuing discussions surrounding opportunities with our new network. Chris is a phenomenal broadcaster with a big career ahead of him, and we are excited for him to continue to showcase his immense talent through his content with Stadium as well as his broadcasting work with other national, multisport entities,” Faulkner added.