Road To The NHL - A Story Of Inspiration & Keeping The Cree Language Alive

The story of Clarence ‘TsiBoy’ Iron on his journey as the Cree NHL broadcaster on APTN/Sports Network. He credits his grandparents for immersing him in the Cree language and culture in Canoe Lake Cree Nation and Durocher Lake, Treaty Ten Territory. He was also inspired by the legendary NHL play-by-play announcers such as Foster Hewitt, Bob Cole and Danny Gallivan when listening to CBC radio. 

He ended up in a residential school where hockey was a popular activity and the outdoor rink with high snow banks was his first opportunity to do a play-by play announcement of a ‘live’ hockey game with fellow students that he knew by name. He emulated the CBC radio announcer,s and naturally used his first language – Cree when possible. 

He credits his long-time friend Willie Billette a Dene language announcer at Missinipi Broadcasting Corporation (MBC) who encouraged him to try a position as a Cree announcer. A training program in radio broadcasting and journalism was his entry into a professional career. While covering a Prince Albert hockey tournament with reports, he was given the microphone and that is where he started his first live broadcast of a hockey game in both Cree and English. The CEO of MBC Nap Gardiner was then receiving calls from listeners to bring more ‘live’ broadcasts of hockey games. The popularity of these broadcasts grew to cover North American Indigenous Games and other major venues. 

In recent experiences where a radio station-CFNK at Pinehouse Lake hired him as a Cree program announcer. Within the 8 years at Pinehouse, he was recruited by the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network (APTN) to broadcast a live NHL game in the Cree language. He now works with CIPI radio at Beauval and plans on returning to APTN when negotiations with Sports Network will schedule the 2024 NHL games that they will broadcast.