Everett Silvertips Radio Voice May Spill The Tea, But He'll Never Drink It

For every home game of the WHL’s Everett Silvertips, you’ll find Casey Bryant high above the ice in the broadcast booth at Angel of the Winds Arena.

The 28-year-old has been director of broadcasting and media relations for the Silvertips for three seasons. Bryant’s energetic and charismatic play-by-play for games home and away can be heard on Everett station KRKO.

Caroline Anne: How do you prepare before each game?

Casey Bryant: I have spot charts where I’ll go player by player and log essential info. Hometown, age, measurements, etc. Then I’ll look at where they were drafted, programs they came from, who they played with growing up, see if there’s connections to teammates or guys on the other side.

I’ll read game recaps and media notes to get a feel for the team’s recent play. I’ll listen to podcast interviews with players, read articles, see if there are tidbits that might make for good stories.

CA: Radio sportscasters need to create visuals for their listeners. How do you accomplish that?

CB: It’s tough! Especially when you don’t have a color commentator to act as another pair of eyes. Maybe it’s the drama kid in me talking, but I see sports as a theatrical spectacle. It’s all human drama, there’s an arc in every game. So you try to paint that picture.

CA: Describe your style.

CB: I get pretty bombastic when the big moments hit. If there’s an aside to make, a story to tell, I’ll take a detour if the moment allows. I’d like to think we keep things light in our calls here. I’m paid to entertain people win or lose. So let’s have some fun with it.

CA: How do you keep your voice healthy?

CB: Allergy season is always fun. I’ve been told tea with honey helps. But I hate warm beverages, particularly tea. Maybe sing a little in the car ride to work to warm my voice up. I’ve called games with strep throat before. The worst part of that is when I’m sick my voice sounds so much higher and I sound younger than I already do.

CA: One of the hardest tasks is describing a moment that may be troubling for listeners to hear.

CB: The most extreme example (was) the hit that Dexter Whittle took on opening night against Victoria. Alex Edwards runs him into the boards, Whitts winds up with a near-catastrophic neck injury that takes six months to recover from.

Whitts is writhing around on the ice and everyone else is brawling. It would have been easy in the moment to yell, ‘dirty hit, kick him out, suspend him, kick his butt, etc.’ like a fan would. I believe my duty in that moment is to keep a level head, lay out what happened in objective terms, then diplomatically voice opinions while keeping the focus on the player’s well-being.

Since the WHL is an online streaming service, I assume that half my listening audience is from the opposition fanbase. So I try to be fair.

Editor's Note: Caroline Anne continues their conversation with Casey Bryant in this space tomorrow, including why an ALS pin is always on his jacket lapel.