Giancarlo Nadeau
B.C. Division, Special Interest, WHL

A friend, a role model, Dan O’Connor

Written by Giancarlo Nadeau on

 

The number 700 represents the number of Western Hockey League games that Dan O’Connor had called by March 4, 2022. That number would become so much more than that and so would the broadcaster to one particular Giants fan.

Dan O’Connor joined the Vancouver Giants on August 17, 2017, replacing Brendan Batchelor who occupied the seat for four seasons. O’Connor came to Vancouver after spending the previous six years with the Prince George Cougars. Dan grew up in Tsawwassen, B.C., and has had ties with the team since the Giants’ inception in 2001-02.

Dan O’Connor and Bill Wilms get set to call a Giants game at the Langley Events Centre. The duo was together for five years. Photo credit: Dan O’Connor

He volunteered with the team during the 2003-04 season and his family spent three seasons as a billet family for the Giants from 2004-05 through 2006-07. Since he was young, Dan had dreams of one day being able to call games as the broadcaster for his hometown team. 

“As a teenager, I would practice calling Vancouver Giants games from the top row of the Pacific Coliseum and dreamt that one day I would have the opportunity to join my hometown WHL team in this capacity,” said O’Connor after the team announced that he would take over broadcast duties. Dan would get the chance to call two games at the Pacific Coliseum during the 2018-19 Giants season when the G-men hosted the Tri-City Americans and Victoria Royals for two games in December.

Dan is seen calling a Giants game from the Pacific Coliseum in 2018. Photo credit: Dan O’Connor

I want to thank the Toigo family, the management team, and the coaching staff for their trust and for welcoming me home with open arms. I’m very excited about what lies ahead for this exciting hockey team, and I can’t wait to get going.”

Dan would officially get going a couple of weeks later when he would get the chance to call his first game as the new voice of the Giants. Having had the opportunity to work for the Giants for five years he was able to be part of some of the most exciting and historic games that the Vancouver Giants have taken part in.

The 2018-19 Vancouver Giants team finished first in the Western Conference and second in the league behind the Prince Albert Raiders. That Giants team went all the way to the WHL Finals before losing in overtime of game 7. This run was the farthest Dan would go as a Giants’ broadcaster, but the memories that he created along the way continue to stick with him.

“I often think about that game, and that group of people. I learned so much about character, resilience, sacrifice and professionalism through this experience,” Dan wrote in a message on Twitter.

The 2018-19 Vancouver Giants were B.C Division and Western Conference Champions. Photo: Chris Relke

Long bus rides are not an ideal way of transportation, but they are routine in the WHL. “Believe it or not – I will truly miss the bus rides and the stories, laughs, and soul searching that accompanied them.”

The 2021 Bubble Season was also high on Dan’s list of memorable years spent with Vancouver and as a WHL broadcaster. The Bubble Season saw B.C. Division teams play a maximum 22-game schedule between Prospera Place in Kelowna and the Sandman Centre in Kamloops. The season began on Friday, March 26, and finished on Tuesday, May 11. There were no playoffs. 

Dan looked back on the season as a “once in a lifetime experience that revealed the importance of family, connection, checking in with your friends, and home-cooked meals!”

Dan continued speaking of that season on his Twitter account claiming that the season was “by no means an easy experience to participate in, but I’m grateful to have been able to live it.”

From left to right: Eric Florchuk (A), Alex Kannok-Leipert (C), Dan O’Connor, and Tristen Nielsen (A) pose for a picture during the 2021 Bubble Season. Photo credit: Dan O’Connor

There will always be bumps and rough patches that broadcasters will go through in their career and Dan was able to conquer all of them. Some of these so-called challenges Dan had to face on his own while other challenges were imposed on Dan and the people around him. Dan was always supported by his friends, family, fans, and teammates and he made them proud every game.

“When I think back on the past 11 years in the WHL (6 years in PG/ 5 years in Vancouver) and the 800-regular season, playoff, and preseason games I got to broadcast/watch, I am flooded with emotion and with gratitude,” added Dan.

One of many highlights in Dan’s WHL broadcasting career was being able to call a game at Rogers Arena for the Vancouver Giants in 2019. Photo credit: Dan O’Connor

Dan took time in the posts that he put on Twitter to individually thank several people who he worked with and met over the years. From the bus drivers who kept him safe, the players that he had the chance of calling, the staff that worked alongside him to the fans who tuned in to the games, he is very grateful. 

“It always felt great knowing there was at least someone listening/watching.” 

One of the many people who would routinely tune in to the radio or open the game up on a webcast would be me. As an aspiring broadcaster myself, just like Dan, I grew up watching the Vancouver Giants. I have always been a fan of the team. After meeting Dan and hearing his story in 2017, I decided that I would try my best to follow in his footsteps and hopefully one day have the fortune of being the voice of our hometown WHL team. I have been lucky enough to have Dan provide me with feedback and tips on my games as a broadcaster and this is something that has meant so much to me. It’s difficult at times for me not to sound like him during games that I broadcast. I have spent the last couple of years listening to all of his games and trying to model him not only as a broadcaster but also as a person as Dan is one of the finest people that I have had the chance to meet. There truly is no one else that I would want to sound like or model!

Dan O’Connor and Giancarlo Nadeau after Dan finished calling his 700th WHL game. Photo credit: Giancarlo Nadeau

Dan would open many games by saying that the team he was assigned to would “go from left to right on your radio dial and webcast screen” and now that person is Dan as he makes his way off the ice and into his new profession.

Monday, June 20 will be Dan’s final day with the Vancouver Giants. He is set to join the UBC Athletics Department as a Sports Coordinator two days later.

Dan said in closing that he is “excited to remain a fan and an ally to the WHL and its people.” He encouraged those close to him not to be a stranger and concluded his final thread on Twitter by proclaiming that “it has been an honour to work alongside all of you and to have been the proud voice of both the Vancouver Giants and Prince George Cougars.

The same can be said to you Dan from everyone who knew you. There truly is nowhere else that I would rather be and thank you for making me a part of your night.