After four seasons as the voice of the Prince Albert Raiders, Trevor Redden is moving away from the microphone.
The 31-year-old announced on Tuesday that he was stepping down from his play-by-play role with the Western Hockey League club, which is a position that he’s held since the summer of 2017.
“It’s something I’ve been thinking about for a while now,” Redden said. “The job itself is a big commitment and you are always kind of weighing the pros and cons of it.
“Through the (COVID-19) pandemic, I really thought it about it more considerably as that long break away from the rink gives you time to think about things more clearly. As we went through the bubble and since the season ended in April, things started to crystallize a bit for me.”
In a message that was posted to Twitter, Redden cited a desire to prioritize a different work-life balance and being able to spend more time with his family and friends as the key factors in his decision.
“As I think most people know, there’s evenings, weekends and road trips that go with the job,” Redden said. “Even at home here, you’re busy on Friday and Saturday throughout the day and it’s tough to find that balance of life outside of work.
“When you do have time off, it’s usually during the week when everyone else is working, so it’s hard to line things up with people. At the end of the day, you are trying to jam a social life and family time into a very short window and it was important to me to make the change on that front.”
Prior to his arrival in Prince Albert, where he took over Raiders announcing duties from Drew Wilson, Redden spent two seasons calling games for the Alberta Junior Hockey League’s Lloydminster Bobcats and was also the club’s business manager during the 2016-17 campaign.
He also spent a year as the voice of the Sask West Hockey League’s Kindersley Red Lions and served various on-air roles at the radio stations in the community.
“The whole ride has been awesome and I don’t regret a single minute of it,” Redden said. “It’s been a great seven years of calling games and I’ve seen and done a lot of things that I’d never thought I would have the chance to do.”
While the Raiders run to the 2019 Memorial Cup, which included Redden’s memorable call on Dante Hannoun’s Game 7 overtime winning marker in the league final against the Vancouver Giants, stands out the most, the Outlook product has several favourite moments from his time behind the microphone.
“The bubble in Regina this year was a unique situation…and even going back to last year when the Raiders had an eight-game losing streak and being behind the scenes to see them react to busting that slump after a win in Winnipeg was a lot of fun,” Redden said. “The series against the (Moose Jaw) Warriors in my first year here certainly stands out, especially with how the Raiders spent that season chasing Moose Jaw, Regina and Swift Current before being in the same tier as them when it was all said and done.
“Going back to my time in Lloydminster, hosting the RBC Cup in 2016 definitely stands out, especially with getting the chance to call the final between the Bobcats and West Kelowna (Warriors). Even starting out in Kindersley and going through the Saskatchewan countryside to call senior hockey games at cold barns in Eatonia, Wilkie and Unity…there are all kinds of memories that come flooding back.”
Since announcing his plans to step away from the booth, Redden has been busy replying to well-wishes from fellow WHL media members, Raiders alumni and the team’s fans.
“People support the Raiders from all over the place and you can really see just how much of a reach the team has outside of our community,” Redden said.
“To be part of an organization with such a rich history has really been a dream come true. None of this happens without the fans. They are the ones who tune in to the games, read the articles and buy the tickets that create the excitement around the team, which allows us to have the Raiders here in Prince Albert.”
While he won’t be describing the Raiders actions on 900 CKBI, Redden will be staying in Prince Albert he’ll continue in his sales position with Pattison Media.
He also plans to be at the Art Hauser Centre on a regular basis, though he’ll have to get used to not being situated in the Morley Jaeger Broadcast Booth.
“I’ll probably show up at 4 p.m. for opening night by default before reminding myself that I don’t have to do that anymore,” Redden joked.
“It’ll be an adjustment but I’m really excited about it. I haven’t been able to go to a Raiders game and watch it as a fan, so I’m looking forward to being in the crowd, hanging out in the Ches Leach Lounge and everything else that goes along with a game night.”
The Raiders play-by-play job is one of two announcing vacancies in the WHL at the moment.
The other open spot is with the Regina Pats as Phil Andrews concluded a 10-year run in April to take a position with the campus staff for Athletes in Action at the University of Saskatchewan.
Earlier this month, the Red Deer Rebels announced that Troy Gillard had been promoted to the team’s director of broadcasts and media for the 2021-22 season.
He took over the play-by-play role on an interim basis in January after longtime announcer Cam Moon took a position with the Edmonton Oilers radio team.
