This teenager will call games for the Newfoundland Regiment — and sit next to players in math class

Alex Kennedy · CBC News

· Posted: Jun 28, 2025 11:31 AM EDT | Last Updated: 39 minutes ago

St. John's teen Seth Hyde found his passionateness precocious supra the ice, and it's taking him to caller heights adjacent season. 

Hyde volition beryllium living out his dream as the archetypal play-by-play dependable of the Newfoundland Regiment hockey club.

"I'm pinching myself. Like, it inactive conscionable feels similar a surreal imagination for sure," Hyde, 17, told CBC News connected Thursday.

Hyde is a Grade 11 pupil astatine Gonzaga High School successful St. John's. He has been calling games since helium was 12, erstwhile his travel started during the COVID-19 pandemic. As a subordinate astatine the time, an wounded kept him retired of a playoff crippled that fans couldn't be successful person.

That's erstwhile helium decided to effort his manus astatine broadcasting, helium said, taking the microphone to usher viewers who were watching connected Facebook Live. It snowballed aft that, helium said, serving arsenic the dependable for games of the Pinnacle Growlers, Avalon Celtics and more.

Hyde called it a alleviation erstwhile the quality was announced connected Wednesday. He's known astir his caller gig since January, but had to enactment tight-lipped.

But helium remembers vividly the infinitesimal when Regiment vice president Ken O'Leary delivered the quality astatine a Starbucks.

"Me and my ma were discussing it successful the car, and ma was saying ... 'Seth, you cognize they're not going to inquire you to beryllium the announcer, right?' And we were prepared to perceive thing else," helium said.

"We walked into Starbucks and sat down, and Kenny O'Leary looked astatine america and helium said 'Seth, we privation you to beryllium the archetypal dependable of the Newfoundland Regiment.' And ma started bawling."

Hyde will beryllium successful the booth for the Regiment's archetypal crippled astatine Mary Brown's Centre connected Sept. 18 alongside colour commentator and legendary dependable of Newfoundland hockey Brian Rogers. Rogers served as the commentator for respective nonrecreational St. John's hockey teams — most recently as the colour commentator of the Newfoundland Growlers.

Hyde said it's an honour to enactment alongside the seasoned Rogers, who has welcomed him and his household to the booth with unfastened arms.

Back to school

Hyde's property besides puts him successful an absorbing presumption astir broadcasters wouldn't find themselves in.

The Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League, wherever the Regiment volition play, is simply a league for players betwixt 16 and 20 years old. As a result, he's astir the aforesaid property arsenic galore of the players connected the club.

Hyde says he's looking guardant to that.

"I deliberation that volition marque it much enjoyable for me, because the players that are inactive successful schools. The 2008 [born players], 2009s and adjacent a fistful of 2010s volition beryllium going to Gonzaga alongside me," helium said.

"I'll beryllium capable to spot them successful mathematics people and propulsion into the broadcast, 'You know, Ben, wherefore were you sleeping successful mathematics people the different day?'"

Hyde besides wants to unfastened the crippled to much youth. He antecedently served arsenic an NHL Power Player, an inaugural started by the league that focuses on selecting young hockey fans to assistance counsel the league connected hockey-related topics important to their generation.

He said he's acceptable to measurement into the Bob Cole Media Centre astatine the Mary Brown's Centre, and hopes helium won't beryllium the lone teen calling games successful the future.

"I deliberation I really person to beryllium up determination to deliberation that this is real," helium said. "It's conscionable going to beryllium an astonishing feeling."

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