Men’s Hockey News

Men’s Hockey

The Inside on the Insider: How Victor Findlay became the trusted voice of U SPORTS men’s hockey

05 Apr 2018, 02:00 PM 05 April 2018, 02:00 PM

Declan Riley

Credit: Alex D'Addese

Chris Johnston. Elliotte Friedman. Ron MacLean.

All common Canadian hockey journalists. But very soon, the name Victor Findlay may also be a common household sports name. Findlay, the 22-year-old Oshawa, Ont., native has carved out a unique path through the sports journalism world, leading to his unofficial title as the insider for men’s university hockey across Canada.

Doing my job and covering this league in the depth I do, it’s not a job, it’s a lifestyle. I was totally fine throwing myself into this league 365 days a year.

Findlay

Findlay, a member of the inaugural Radio and Television Arts: Sport Media program at Ryerson University which is set to graduate its first class in June – devotes his life to everything that is university hockey. Growing up a fan of the sport, Findlay was introduced to the media side when provided the opportunity to volunteer with Rogers TV with his local Ontario Hockey League (OHL) hockey team.

victor-findlay-1.JPG (121 KB)

“I had done three year of work with the OHL, so it would make sense that I got into the university realm of things because a lot of OHL players do the same,” says Findlay, thinking back to how he was initially enveloped by the field of sports media while covering the OHL’s Oshawa Generals. “So that’s how I marketed myself as why I would be a good commentator (at Ryerson).

From there his passion and love for sports journalism only grew. As the play-by-play commentator for the Ryerson Rams men’s hockey team for the last three seasons, along with remaining involved at the OHL level, Findlay has had ample opportunity to grow his skills and develop a massive network of resources that allows him to report on news before anyone else.

As the insider, Findlay is often the go-to guy for everything U SPORTS men’s hockey. From reporting on athlete commitments, to tracking injury timelines for players across the league, Findlay keeps his readers informed on a daily basis on social media and through his weekly column Tuesday Morning Skate, published each week during the season on the Canadian University Sports Network (CUSN).

To cap off his final year, Findlay became the youngest person to call a game on Sportsnet when he was selected to handle the play-by-play duties for the 2018 U SPORTS Cavendish Farms University Cup. Calling the semifinals and championship game for U SPORTS’ official broadcaster was an experience he says is the highlight of his career.

“That was my Stanley Cup Final,” says Findlay. “I am super proud of what I had to do to get there. I am proud of the final product, and what I did when I got there and that experience and the journey leading up to getting to that point are by far the best memories I’ve had on this journey.”

Thanks to @RonMacLeanHTH for being a strong supporter of ?? university hockey, and hosting our announcement of the David Johnston University Cup earlier this week!! ?? pic.twitter.com/K73vHjGkEZ
— U SPORTS (@USPORTSca) March 18, 2018

Sports brings people together. Journalism educates the public. Like many others, Findlay – now a staple in the Canadian university hockey community – combine the two and find new ways almost daily to bring Canadians closer together through sport. Still, he remains humble of his accomplishments to date.

“I would rather be remembered as someone who was fun to work with,” he says. “Somebody who was good to be around, than I would, as a great journalist.”

Declan_Riley.png (14.91 MB) Declan is a third year journalism student at MacEwan University in Edmonton, Alberta. He returns to his second year of the program after having worked on stories of hockey, volleyball and soccer. He hopes to use his passion for sport to show Canada some of their most impressive athletes from coast to coast.