After his last game doing play-by-play for Ferris State hockey, Jared Shafran will be passing the mic to Ferris journalism senior Harrison Watt.
Shafran will be headed to Charleston, South Carolina to act as the new Director of Communications and Broadcasting, as well as the play-by-play announcer for the South Carolina Stingrays of the East Coast Hockey League (ECHL).
On the other end, Watt will not only be stepping into Shafran’s role as the play-by-play announcer, but also will help fill the void Shafran left as the Athletics Communication Associate at Ferris. Watt was the color commentator for Ferris hockey, acting as Shafran’s right hand man before accepting his new role.
“This has been my dream job since I was 9 years old,” Watt said. “Jared has been an incredible mentor over the last year. I’ve learned so much from him.”
During the first four games of the season, Shafran and Watt switched back and forth between periods with one doing color commentary and the other play-by-play but Watt will be doing it all on his own this Saturday against the University of Michigan.
Watt said he thinks he’ll feel some butterflies, but is grateful for the opportunity.
“It’s the University of Michigan. It’s Red Berenson and Bob Daniels,” Watt said. “It’s hard to really put into words how big that game is, and for my first solo game to be that broadcast—it’s a huge honor that they have the confidence in me to hand me the keys in this one.”
Watt may be a little nervous, but Shafran isn’t worried about the performance of his successor.
“I think he’s going to be really good. He has learned a lot over the past year,” Shafran said.
As for advice?
Shafran said, “My advice to Harrison is to always be prepared and to make sure that he’s giving the time and score as much as possible. Everyone listening wants to know the time and score.”
As Shafran moves on to the ECHL, he said he’s going to miss college hockey, the environment at Ewigleben Ice Arena and the people at Ferris State, especially the players.
“I’ve been around a lot of different hockey players, and the players here at Ferris State are outstanding. They’re great guys,” Shafran said. “I’ve become close with a lot of the guys and we’ve got a good relationship. It’s gonna be tough, I’ll miss it a lot.”
As Watt takes over the reins, he will not be without Shafran’s presence while he does his first game as the voice of Ferris hockey.
“I’ll be watching from afar,” Shafran said.
Watt’s inaugural game doing full-time play-by-play between the Bulldogs and Michigan will take place at Ewigleben Ice Arena Saturday, Oct. 15, at 7:07 p.m.
Fans can also tune in to radio station Sunny 97.3 FM or with FSU’s live audio and video streaming package on the Bulldog Sports Network and WCHA.TV to hear Watt’s broadcast.