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Hockey History
Bulldogs announcing staff provides professionalism and excitement Derek Wills and Al Craig are as vital as part to the Hamilton Bulldogs as any of the players and coaches. For each home game the pair walks across the catwalks in the upper reaches of Copps Coliseum to their broadcast booth, settle down with their notes and headsets, and bring the action of the American Hockey League club into the homes of fans. From their perch high above the ice, Wills and Craig not only call the game, which goes out via Hamilton’s Talk820, they present pre and post-game shows, along with recaps and analysis. “We describe the game and offer opinions,” said Craig, a Grimsby resident with more than 35 years in the broadcast industry. Craig performs the color commentary during the games, along with post-period analysis, and will interview guests between periods. He called the first game in the Bulldogs history as the club’s first play-by-play announcer in 1996. He rejoined the team for the 2001-02 season as Wills’ commentator.
When Wills started with the Bulldogs, he wanted Craig to be with him. “It made sense to me to get Al,” Wills said about acquiring the talents of the former CHML Radio Sports Director. “He knew the history of the team, and has covered a lot.” While Craig is at all home games, and at selected road games, such as when the Bulldogs travel to Toronto, Wills is the voice of the Bulldogs for every one of its games throughout the regular season, and into the post-season if necessary. Wills is Director of Broadcasting and Communications for the club, which involves a great deal more than just his play-by-play duties. He oversees all the communications of the Bulldogs, including dealing with the media, public relations work, and related items such as website updates and the team’s media guide. “I covered every sport under the sun,” said Wills before joining the Bulldogs in 2001. “I wanted a career in broadcasting, and I did a lot of behind the scenes stuff working for a cable channel in Welland,” noted the Port Colborne native. He added he did a lot of work with the Golden Horseshoe Junior B league, and gained valuable experience. “I then got my break at 24 with the Bulldogs. I became the youngest announcer in the league.” And since that time when he joined the team, Wills has announced almost 700 games. Some seasons have been shorter than others, but they are at least six months, and have been much longer three times when the team has gone into the playoffs. “I’ve done almost 700 games in a row,” Wills proclaimed. “I’m pretty proud of that.” Wills and Craig look very much as ease in the broadcast booth, very professional in their rapport. Their lively pre-game banter gets serious when the first puck is dropped, and they are both leaning out of the booth to get a better view of the play many feet below on the ice. Wills is in constant motion during the broadcast, either calling the play or discussing a point with Craig during a break, all the while working a console in coordination with the producer with more buttons and knobs than the Space Shuttle setting up for commercial breaks and pre-taped interviews. For Wills, the hours can be long. After the post-game show and signing off after a recent game at Copps, he was loading up to get on the bus to travel with the team for a next-day game in Cleveland. When asked if home team favoritism crept into their broadcasts, both Wills and Craig were refreshingly candid. “It’s interesting at this level,” Wills said, referring to the objective reporting of non-partisan television coverage at the NHL. “I work for the team, and it’s okay to be bias in a sense. Yes, I scream louder when Hamilton scores over the other team, but I try not to be a homer.” Craig concurred. “Management does not stifle our criticisms of the teams,” he said. “We certainly try to be fair but we are Bulldogs employees. As an example, we have been told by fans that we are the fairest announcing crew in the league.” Aside from his broadcast and media duties for the Bulldogs, which earned him the AHL’s James H. Ellery Memorial Award in recognition of outstanding media coverage, Wills is also the major force behind the Molson Canadian/Hamilton Bulldogs Charity Golf Classic, providing for the community. Since joining the Bulldogs, both Wills and Craig have kept to a basic formula which has worked well for the past seven years. They are both keen and enthusiastic about their duties. “We’ve been a part of three Calder Cups,” said
Craig. “This is a heck of a hockey club.”
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