Over the past few seasons, the Washington Capitals have drawn plenty from the Hershey Bears — including coach Bruce Boudreau and several young players. Now they’ve gone back to the well for a new radio voice.
John Walton is the Caps’ new play-by-play broadcaster, making the move up from the American Hockey League to the NHL.
It was only fitting that the first call Walton got Tuesday morning came from Boudreau. This was finally Walton’s big break.
“I’ve seen a lot of Hershey Bears become Washington Capitals,” Walton said. “To finally have that feeling of what it’s like after 14 years in the AHL is amazing.”
Walton spent the past nine seasons with the Bears and served as their public relations director. He succeeded Dave Mishkin, who is now with the Tampa Bay Lightning.
“It’s a feeling that I’m not sure I can put into words,” said Walton, who will have the title of director of broadcasting and radio play-by-play announcer. He added that it finally started to “get real” when he heard from Boudreau.
Walton replaces the popular Steve Kolbe, who held the position for the past 12 years. Radio station 106.7 The Fan reported Kolbe was not informed by the team when news broke; a team official told The Washington Times that Kolbe was told before the Caps announced Walton’s hire.
Kolbe is no longer with the organization.
• Stephen Whyno can be reached at swhyno@washingtontimes.com.
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