RALEIGH, N.C. _ The Carolina Hurricanes' game against the New York Islanders was entering the eighth round of a shootout and the noise level was rising at PNC Arena.
Canes forward Justin Williams, playing his first game of the season, was coming on the ice to take a shootout shot. The anticipation was high, the excitement palpable.
In his perch high in the arena, Hurricanes television broadcaster John Forslund was in his usual stance: standing, leaning over the edge of the booth to get a better view, pacing about, hands waving.
Forslund's call: "Cobourg, Ontario, I want to hear you! Justin Williams, in round number eight ... scores! Dead center. That's hockey, baby!"
Moments later, Canes goalie James Reimer stopped the last Islanders shooter to seal a 2-1 victory in the Jan. 19 game. But Forslund had framed the biggest moment properly, perfectly, blending his knowledge of the team and Williams _ a native of Cobourg _ with the right inflection in his voice.
And, yes, Forslund used his trademark expression, "Hey, hey, whaddya say!" when the game was won.
In his 25th year as the Canes' television play-by-play announcer, Forslund has called many a big moment. He has a Stanley Cup ring from the Canes' Cup run in 2006. Last season, he saw the Canes after a nine-year playoff absence defeat the Washington Capitals, the 2018 Stanley Cup champions, in a seven-game series.
Asked how he would best describe Forslund, Canes coach Rod Brind'Amour said, "Passionate. It's crazy how good he is. He's an icon in North Carolina and especially in this area."
Forslund, 57, was named the 2018 North Carolina Sportscaster of the Year by the National Sports Media Association. He now has won the award in back-to-back years, sharing the 2019 NSMA award, announced earlier this month, with radio host David Glenn.
Forslund, The News & Observer's Tar Heel of the Month for January, has been in North Carolina since 1997. Some would say such recognition was a long time coming, overdue. But not Forslund.
"Any time it happens it's special," he said in an interview with the N&O. "For so many years the only hope I had, for myself and the team, was to just get a piece of the sports landscape here. To get a piece of it has taken a long time. It's an honor to be seen on the same plane as those people who have previously won and the sports they've covered."
