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Kenzie Lalonde becomes first female play-by-play announcer for Canadian NHL team

Originally posted on Daily Faceoff | By Hunter Crowther | Last updated Nov 12, 2024 1:56 PM ET

History was made Tuesday when Kenzie Lalonde became the first woman to do play-by-play for a Canadian NHL team, as the Ottawa Senators traveled to Toronto to take on the Toronto Maple Leafs in Scotiabank Arena.

Lalonde shared the news on social media with an accompanying photo of the Sens mascot Sparty, writing that if the mascot told her she would one day call play-by-play for the Ottawa Senators, she wouldn’t have believe him.

If Sparty had whispered to this three-year-old girl that one day she would wake up on a Tuesday morning and call play-by-play for the Ottawa Senators, she wouldn’t have believed him.

I am incredibly excited to be in the booth tonight for my first @Senators game on @TSN_Sports pic.twitter.com/OeZ4f4vqh4

— Kenzie Lalonde (@KenzieTSN) November 12, 2024

“I am incredibly excited to be in the booth tonight for my first @Senators game on @TSN_Sports,” she wrote.

Lalonde was part of a rotating trio of announcers, which includes Gord Miller and former NHL forward Matt Cullen.

Two-time Olympic gold medalist and broadcaster Cheryl Pounder congratulated Lalonde on social media, calling her colleague “super talented, knowledgeable and prepared.”

It's a great day! @KenzieTSN is making her PxP NHL broadcast debut #SensvsLeafs. Kenzie is super talented, knowledgeable and prepared. Kenz, you can be sure, although I'm on the other side of the broadcast tonight…I will be in your corner, dancing alongside ya! CRUSH IT!

— Cheryl Pounder (@cherylpounder) November 12, 2024

Lalonde made history when she became the first woman to do play-by-play for a Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) game. She would go on to call games at the Women’s World Championship, the U18 women’s tournament and report on the 2022 Olympic Winter Games.

Before stepping into the broadcast booth, Lalonde was an accomplished player in her own right, playing five seasons of Canadian university hockey with Mount Allison University between 2012-13 and 2016-17.

Lalonde scored 24 goals and 17 assists for 41 points in 115 career regular-season games, and served as captain of the team in her final two seasons.

This article first appeared on Daily Faceoff and was syndicated with permission.

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