Wyatt Nelson will get to do what many 12-year-olds dream of on Tuesday night — call play-by-play for an NHL playoff game.
The Saskatoon native called part of the first period of Game 2 in the Western Conference final between the St. Louis Blues and San Jose Sharks for “superstation” KMOX radio.
Nelson became an Internet sensation after a video showed him doing play-by-play in the stands of a Western Hockey League game for his blind father.
“I’m meeting so many household names that a 12-year-old boy would dream of meeting and I’m getting to rub shoulders with them and get pictures with them,” Wyatt said to NHL.com on Tuesday. “Now I get to call part of a NHL game. I can’t believe it, I’m pumped.”
Nelson’s father, Gerry, lost his vision in 1988 due to diabetes. Wyatt started calling Saskatoon Blades games for his father after one of the team’s pre-season games wasn’t being broadcasted. He’s been doing it ever since.
Blues broadcaster Kelly Chase discovered the viral video and, along with St. Louis GM Doug Armstrong, invited the Nelsons to the game. The Blues lead the series 1-0.
Wyatt’s debut in the broadcast booth on Tuesday night at Scottrade Center will be a proud moment for Gerry.
“No matter what he does tonight or how he does it, the moment he starts broadcasting, however long that will be, I’ll start bawling, thinking, ‘That is my 12-year-old son doing an NHL radio broadcast,'” Gerry told NHL.com.
