A man whose voice is synonymous with Canadian sports has passed away.
Darren Dutchyshen, a long-time TSN personality and SportsCentre host, passed away on Wednesday, the network announced this morning.
He was only 57 years old.
Stewart Johnson, senior vice president of sales and sports at Bell Media, called Dutchyshen a “legend” of Canadian sports broadcasting, and an essential part of TSN for three decades.
“A larger-than-life personality, Darren’s incredible sense of humour and magnetic energy made him a natural broadcaster who connected easily with viewers,” he said.
“His enthusiasm reminded us every day of why we love sports. Most significantly, Darren was a friend to all of us at TSN, and we will miss him dearly. Our thoughts and heartfelt condolences are with his loved ones.”
Born in Regina, Dutchyshen grew up in the miniscule town of Porcupine Plain, Sask., and began his career at TSN in 1995 as a host of weekend SportsDesk and CFL Live.
Over his storied career at TSN, he played a key role in the Kraft Celebration Tour, CFL coverage, Olympic coverage and plenty more.
In a statement released by TSN, Dutchyshen’s family said he passed away “surrounded by his closest loved ones.”
“His sharp wit remained until his final moments, classically delivering plenty of jokes – most of them pretty good and all of them inappropriate,” they said.
While his cause of death wasn’t publicized, he announced that he was diagnosed with prostate cancer in September 2021.
