“Founders Choice” is a series of pieces that periodically show up here at Sturmstack when time allows and the mood strikes. To see the entire series, click to our archives here.
“First one of these I’ve ever done!” - Razor after a rare telling of many of his own personal hockey stories.
I hope your weekend is excellent and that you get to do something fun. But, there is likely no chance that your weekend will be as enjoyable as Daryl Reaugh’s weekend will be.
Razor is being honored at the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto this weekend to celebrate his many decades of service to this great game. And I do mean many decades of service.
Here is the press release from this summer:
TORONTO – Frank Seravalli, President of the Professional Hockey Writers’ Association, and Chuck Kaiton, President of the NHL Broadcasters’ Association, announced today that…Daryl Reaugh will receive the Foster Hewitt Memorial Award for outstanding contributions as a hockey broadcaster.
A former 2nd round NHL draft pick as a player, Daryl Reaugh began his broadcasting career working on Hartford Whalers broadcasts in the 1990s. He then found a home in Dallas, where he has served as colour analyst on Dallas Stars radio and television broadcasts for the past 29 seasons. Reaugh’s unique style and expertise has led to 12 Lone Star Emmy Awards and calls from NBC, ABC, ESPN, FOX and CBC to work on the national stage.
“Daryl Reaugh has been a cornerstone of consistency and eloquence for Stars fans over decades,” said Kaiton. “His unique approach to painting a vivid picture as he analyses the play brings life and enjoyment for all to hear. His use of language is nothing short of sheer wizardry. He has earned his place among the best NHL broadcasters.”
Reaugh will receive the award at the Hockey Hall of Fame NHL Media Awards Luncheon in Toronto on Monday, November 10, 2025, and their award plaques will be displayed in the Esso Great Hall at the Hockey Hall of Fame alongside past award recipients.
Recipients of these awards, as selected by their respective associations, are recognized by the Hockey Hall of Fame as “Media Honourees” − a separate distinction from individuals inducted as “Honoured Members.” Honoured Members are selected by the Hockey Hall of Fame Selection Committee. The 2025 Hockey Hall of Fame Induction Weekend begins on Saturday, November 8, 2025, culminating with the Induction Celebration on Monday, November 10, 2025.
Named in honour of the late “Voice of Hockey” in Canada, the Foster Hewitt Memorial Award was first presented in 1984 by the NHL Broadcasters’ Association in recognition of members of the radio and television industry who have made outstanding contributions to their profession and to the game of hockey.
What an outstanding honor to recognize a man who I think might have taught me more about the sport and this organization than anyone.
I believe you could make the case – as I will right now – that one could suggest that no human is more identifiable with Dallas Stars hockey by those of us who love this sport quite like Razor.
He has been here pretty much every step of every season for as long as most of us have followed the team. He has talked us through the good and the bad with a helping of ugly in there, too.
Yes, I realize that he hasn’t won a single game and definitely not a Stanley Cup in the uniform of this franchise. I realize he won’t be likely to earn a statue out front of whatever arena they are playing in at the time (but I won’t rule it out). He isn’t Mike Modano and I am not saying he is greater. But, Modano’s memory in Dallas is already a snapshot in time that isn’t getting closer to us.
Modano is to the Stars like Troy Aikman is to the Cowboys, but like many of you, I have sons who love sports. They only know Troy Aikman as a broadcaster because they weren’t conscious for his conquests on the field. They know Modano as the guy we always talk about and the statue out front of the AAC. When my 20-year old son claimed he cannot really remember Modano playing – as he was 5-years-old when it ended in Dallas – it reminded me that time moves faster than we all wish to admit.
Whether it is Modano, Sergei Zubov, or Derian Hatcher, you might need to be at least 30 years old to have a solid grasp on their glory days. But, I will tell you this, my son knows who Razor is because he is in our living room several nights a week. I cannot tell you how rare it is for an organization to hold on to someone like this who is perhaps its most identifiable representative over three decades. He does such high quality work in a way that makes you feel he brings more fans into the fold than anyone could expect an announcer to gather. He is worth watching even when the hockey isn’t as great. He makes the games more fun and anyone who knows his work will happily verify.
Allow the internet to prove it here with some of his greatest calls:
So, yes, I would argue he belongs in any discussion about influential sports broadcasters of these last few generations in this region. He has defined “growing the game” in a non-traditional hockey market far, far away from Kamloops and Moose Jaw. I think it would be fair to ask where this organization’s health level would be without his contribution to it all these many years.
I feel quite indebted to his body of work as a hockey enthusiast and wish to honor him properly. How would I do that in a uniquely “Bob” sort of way?
Well, we are not here to talk about his broadcasting Dallas Stars games today. Instead, I am taking this chance to write something about Daryl Reaugh in a much different direction.
I have always wanted to know about his playing career. From the first time I met the man in 1998 until last week, I knew that he played in the NHL and had definitely searched his name, found his hockey card, and read his bio enough times to know that he was in the big leagues – yet, I didn’t really know anything about it beyond that.
I would ask him questions periodically about something here and there (probably involving his spot on arguably the greatest team in NHL history), but it always lacked context and depth. He is a guy who did a lot of things in his own personal hockey journey, but he definitely doesn’t spend much time telling people in Texas about it.
Until today.
I love that about this #Sturmstack home of mine. When you work for someone else, they keep you inside your lane and I have always been a Dallas Cowboys writer and broadcaster exclusively when working for others. But, when I work for myself, I am more than happy to wander down side-roads that may not be everyone’s vote for how I pick my projects, but that doesn’t always matter. There are times – especially these Founders’ Choice projects – where I get to write about something that I have always wanted to know about and now I can tell you or show you what I find in my personal rabbit hole searches.
So, that is what this one is about. I wanted to know about Razor’s hockey playing journey and not his broadcasting memories. I wanted to hear about his personal hopes and dreams, victories and defeats, and assorted moments in time from those days when he was trying to chase his own Ken Dryden-dream.
And that is exactly what we did. I went to his hockeydb page and searched for clues to see where he had been and what he had done.
The wild thing about this journey is according to the dates above starts when he is 16 years old and ends about 18 months before arriving in Dallas as the new broadcaster for the Stars just after his 30th birthday. It spans, I believe, 12 different franchises and took him all over the world (literally).
In the end, 27 NHL games were played with 8 of them being registered wins. I was able to find countless newspaper accounts and several Getty Images from his career including the one up top which he currently has in his office (as you will find in our conversation).
It started at the start with stories of his upbringing and then in British Columbia playing junior hockey and one of his very first coaches when he got to Kamloops was the young and talented Ken Hitchcock. Nobody would imagine what they had in their futures down in Dallas, Texas.
He was the 42nd pick by the Edmonton Oilers in the 1984 NHL Draft where I will show you 1-51 because I think the 51st pick is pretty significant. There are many familiar names and four Hall of Fame players in this draft with Mario Lemieux, Patrick Roy, Brett Hull (pick 117) and Luc Robitaille (pick 171).
As you can imagine, the team that drafted him is both a blessing and a curse. A blessing in that he was teammates with Wayne Gretzky, Mark Messier, Jari Kurri. An entire wing of the Hockey Hall of Fame and a true dynasty of the sport which won five Stanley Cups in seven seasons. They were the NHL Stanley Cup Champions in 1984 (the month before his draft), 1985, 1987, 1988, and 1990. And that is also the curse in that when you have Grant Fuhr, Andy Moog, and even Bill Ranford, there wasn’t much room for a young goalie unless he immediately proved dominant.
There was one game in March of 1985 when he was 20 years old and they needed him to drop everything in Kamloops and Hitchcock told him to get to Edmonton, “Razor, you’re going up!” He had to start against the Winnipeg Jets.
The game, as he would tell us, did not exactly turn out perfectly for our young hero as he played in a game where his talented roster sort of went through the motions in the dog days of another season where they were waiting for the playoffs to defend their Cup.
Here is the Edmonton Journal the morning after the game, March 4, 1985:
As you might have seen, the first goal Razor ever conceded was to current Dallas Stars General Manager Jim Nill. The second one? Nill again! The boxscore is amazing and you should check it out here.
From there, he was sent back to the AHL for a few years before being called up in that 1987-88 season and he had rare moments of involvement as their backup for 60 games in that Cup season (despite having his name being left off the actual Cup engraving in an injustice).
But, look at this beautiful picture of young Razor and part of Wayne Gretzky’s back.
The great Grant Fuhr was getting 75 starts, so the amount of work for any backup goaltender was quite rare and at the deadline, Edmonton traded for a more proven No. 2 goalie in Ranford (who had started 45 games in Boston already) and that was that in Edmonton.
I will just tell you that in our conversation below, we spent a decent chunk on talking about Gretzky and assorted tales from that year. I won’t spoil them, but I loved it and I think you will, too.
That summer, Gretzky and Reaugh would both exit Edmonton and seek greener pastures elsewhere. The Great One was traded (on 8/8/88 to the Los Angeles Kings) and Razor would work his own way to Milwaukee, Nova Scotia, and Finland before arriving in Hartford.
There are two incredibly notable moments in Hartford that are 10 days apart and perhaps better than anything, they tell the tale of 99% of professional athletes. Most players don’t get a Tom Brady or LeBron James exit to palm branches and tears. Instead, most athletes get a moment or two where they shine and get to feel like it would be a great chance to hug family and then probably a sudden exit where they realize it is all probably over without any sort of warning.
The first was February 16th, 1991 in Montreal on Hockey Night in Canada. His story of that night was just brilliant. Three days after his 26th birthday, he would have his greatest performance in the big leagues.
I found the Montreal Gazette from the next morning and to see Red Fisher wrote the game story that day and Daryl Reaugh was the No. 1 star that night makes it a paper that is suitable for framing.
I recommend you listen to our talk just to hear this retelling and his showing of the picture with the Guy Carbonneau and all that goes with it.
Then, 10 days later…
The Whalers are in Winnipeg against those Jets again. February 26, 1991 would be the day his NHL career would end with a gruesome hamstring injury did him in. Here is the story from that morning’s Hartford Courant:
As you can see at the end of that story, people already spotted a guy who had a personality that would translate easily into a media career.
This follow-up dives into his impressions and such:
He had plans to remain in hockey and here he is in 2025.
I can’t think of anything more poetically cruel as your greatest night in the NHL and your unexpected injury ending all happening in the span of less than two weeks, but that is how it happened to our Razor. Everything happens for a reason, they say.
And I spent several evenings going through all the old newspapers from the time he was a better prospect than Patrick Roy to the time he took the job next to Ralph Strangis in Dallas in May of 1996.
The rest, as they say, is history. And he has been calling the heck out of games ever since – including the night that he joined me in Buffalo on The Ticket’s Post Game Show at 3 AM following the Stars Stanley Cup win in June of 1999. It has been a pleasure enjoying his work for all these many years.
Well, that – and the interview below – will fill in many of the gaps. I hope you enjoyed this piece because I had a blast researching it (which is how you know a project is worthwhile). But, now, I invite you to grab either this video version or the audio version below it to hear it all in his words.
The hockey life of our Hall of Fame Broadcaster, Daryl Reaugh:
AUDIO ONLY BELOW - (Downloading is available)
I can't think of any sports broadcaster that is better than Razor. He's just incredible and never gets old to me.
My only complaint with this? The video of his greatest moments omitted my favorite - the commentary on the Aaron Downy KO of Jesse Boulerice - "Discard what you don't need!!"
Find the full version on Youtube. You're welcome
Great piece! One of my favorite color guys regardless of sport.