Steelheads Announcer Gets the Call

The ECHL?s Idaho Steelheads, along with the Houston Aeros of the American Hockey League, announced today that Joe O?Donnell has been named the Aeros new play-by-play announcer for the 2008-09 campaign.O?Donnell ends his tenure in Idaho having called 265 games since joining the team in March 2005. The 28-year-old was selected to announce the nationally televised 2007 ECHL All-Star Game, the same season the Steelheads claimed their second Kelly Cup Championship. Many of Idaho?s games were aired nationally by the NHL Network throughout North America with O?Donnell behind the mic. 2007 marked a great year for the Havertown, Pennsylvania native as he was named the ECHL National Conference Broadcaster of the Year and Steelheads employee of the year.?We think Joe has tremendous skill and we?re extremely happy to see him move forward in his career,? said Idaho Steelheads President, Eric Trapp. ?We are happy we had him for the short time we did, and at the same time we like to think it says a lot about our organization to see our broadcasters move up in the hockey ranks.??First off, I want to thank the entire Idaho Steelheads organization for the opportunity to work within the premier franchise in the ECHL,? said O?Donnell. ?Leaving the Steelheads? organization is a very difficult decision but the experiences and memories I gathered in Boise will last me a lifetime. It?s been an awesome three-plus years and I leave here with nothing but great things to say about the entire Treasure Valley. I want to personally thank John Cunningham, Eric Trapp, Derek Laxdal and the rest of the Steelheads staff for allowing me to part of the Steelheads family and I want to thank the fans for all of their support and passion. I know that I?m going to miss the great people associated with the Steelheads, but I?m truly excited to take the next step in my broadcasting career.? O?Donnell is the second broadcaster in team history to move up.Former Steelheads broadcaster Rob Simpson is NESN?s rink-side reporter during Boston Bruins broadcasts, spent four years as the host and producer of ?Maple Leaf America? a program he created for Leafs TV in Toronto, and hosted and produced several shows for the NHL Network.The Steelheads are currently working to fill the broadcasting job and will have a new voice in the broadcast booth for the season opener on Oct. 18th.- www.idahosteelheads.com -