Article published Mar 13, 2008
'VOICE OF THE WHALERS' HAS EARNED A LOYAL FOLLOWING
Power play-by-play
By ED WRIGHT
OBSERVER Staff Writer

You'd be amazed how far Pete Krupsky's voice travels when he broadcasts Plymouth Whalers hockey games from high above Ontario Hockey League ice surfaces two or three times a week, eight months a year.

With the help of 21st century Internet technology, Krupsky's smooth and polished play-by-play commentary flows up to Essex, Ontario, Canada, where a 77-year-old grandmother listens intently for the sound of her grandson's name.

It makes its way through high-speed wires to Waswanipi, Quebec, so the members of a Cree Indian village can catch up on the latest exploits of one of their own.

And just as importantly - if not as jaw-dropping - it echoes throughout southeastern Michigan so that die-hard Whalers fans can follow every bounce of the puck from the comfort of their own living rooms.

Trusted voice

Krupsky's words not only travel far via Internet streaming on www.plymouthwhalers.com - they travel well, thanks to the 20-plus years he's honed the craft that he embraces like a loved one.

"I get emotional when I talk about my broadcasts reaching the players' families because I know it's very, very important to them," said Krupsky, his eyes welling up with emotion. "Some nights, there may be only 50 people listening, but I know those 50 people are very passionate about the Whalers.

"I open every broadcast by saying hello to the Whalers' extended family, wherever they may be listening. (Whalers player) Joe McCann's 77-year-old grandmother has told me that when I say that, I'm saying hello to her. I'm not necessarily saying it to anyone in particular, but that's how they feel."

Patient climb

Krupsky's ascension to the lead play-by-play voice of the Whalers was a lot like the home game-night climbs he makes up the narrow, 20-rung metal ladder that leads from the floor of the Compuware Arena press box to the facility's broadcasting site just below the rafters: steady and focused.

Armed with persistence, patience and the willingness to work through some rough times, Krupsky's radio days commenced in the mid-80s and were coated with some remarkable circumstances.

"I didn't pursue a broadcasting career right off the bat," said Krupsky, who spent a good chunk of the past two decades working in a southwest Detroit refinery plant that eventually became Honeywell (he retired as a laboratory manager in 2004).

"Myself and a guy I played softball with used to pretend to broadcast the games from the outfield when he was in left field and I was in left-center. He told me if he ever got on the air somewhere, I was coming with him.

"Well, in roughly 1985, he called me and said, 'I got a TV gig on local access. Do you know anything about high school hockey?' Coincidentally, I had just started writing about high school hockey for 'Hockey Weekly.' He did the play-by-play and I agreed to do the color commentary."

Rough start

In the early days, Krupsky's love of hockey couldn't overcome his woefully miniscule amount of broadcasting experience, he admitted.

"For the first three years, I was terrible - I mean terrible!" he emphasized. "I didn't know what I was doing. I was nervous on the air. I couldn't eat before games. I couldn't sleep the night before games.

"But they kept me around for one reason," he added, smiling. "Because I was free."

Big break

Like a hockey team's No. 1 line that gels the more it plays together, Krupsky got better with age. And as his skills sharpened, his love for the profession swelled.

"When the Detroit Compuware Ambassadors (the Whalers' predecessors) joined the OHL in 1990, I kept calling their offices to let them know that I wanted to do their broadcasts," said Krupsky. "Well, finally, Jimmy Rutherford, who was the team's GM at the time, called me back and said, 'You don't have to call any more. We know you're interested and we're going to find something for you.'"

That "something" turned out to be a play-by-play role on AM 580 CKWW, based out of Windsor.

"Steve Bell did the Windsor Spitfire games and I was back in Detroit with the Ambassadors," he said. "During the intermissions of the Spits' game, Steve would say, '...and let's take it back to Detroit and Pete Krupsky for the story on the game between Detroit and the Soo Greyhounds.' We were doing cut-aways long before ESPN ever did."

The seed that was planted that year has grown into a sturdy 18-year-old relationship between Krupsky and the Whalers' organization, which hired him as its full-time director of communications in 2004.

"I do everything from write press releases, to take care of the media when they come in from out of town, to co-editing the team's Web site along with Natalie Shaver," he said.

While those duties are important, they pale in comparison to Krupsky's role of making sure 77-year-old grandmothers and proud family members and fans throughout the United States and Canada are kept abreast of their beloved Whalers' three-times-a-week battles in OHL rinks from Plymouth to the Soo.