The RBC Cup brings together families who have a passionate love for the game of hockey.
Landon Eggen and his father Wayne, have been representing this through their public addressing throughout the championship.
The father-son team spent 12 days together rotating roles as the P.A. announcer for games.
Landon’s passion for P.A. announcing stems from his father, who had been announcing for many teams throughout the years, as he and his family moved between towns and cities across Saskatchewan and Alberta.
“Growing up as a teenager, and seeing the kind of respect that he would get from the fans, the players and coaches, is really something that I looked up to.”
Landon recalled as a young boy, always being around a hockey rink, growing up loving the game and spending all winter in rinks with his entire family.
“Moving from Brooks to Weyburn, dad always did some announcing for the Weyburn Red Wings in the SJHL, and the time at the rink was always an entire family involvement.”
With Landon’s brothers playing Junior B hockey, it was an easy fit for Wayne to hop on board and be one of the announcers for the team. It grew from there to include himself and his mother.
“I ended up being stick boy, water boy and in-between periods, sometimes, I would hop up to the booth and run music for dad. Than mom would be selling game-day tickets or 50/50 tickets,” Landon said.
“You would have the entire squad there some nights.”
Wayne explained that he began his P.A. career many years ago for a senior team in Gull Lake and carried it on as his job in the oil field took him across the prairies.
“I started with some announcing and score keeping in the penalty box for the teams, and then my job transferred me to Brooks. When my two oldest boys starting to play junior B hockey, the team needed a PA guy,” Wayne explained.
“I did that for eight years and then when the Junior A team, the Bandits, came to Brooks, I started to do announcing for them.”
When the organizing committee for the RBC Cup needed another P.A announcer, they asked Landon for help and he mentioned that his dad announces for the Brooks Bandits and that he would be more than willing to assist.
The championship has been a unique and memorable experience for them both.
“Some people would say good luck spending 12 days with your parents after you have been moved out for 10 years. But this went by so quick and so fast and it was a lot of fun,” Landon said.
“The entire week has been amazing, and I wouldn’t hesitate to do it again.”
Wayne added saying he was, “Very proud of him, and he is way better at it than I am. He does a very good job at it as far as I am concerned.
“He may sometimes wear his feelings on his sleeves, but he takes after the old man like that, I can get a little worked up when I’m watching the home team play too.”
Landon added it was a pretty unbelievable experience to have his dad here, and how in some ways it was a step back in time.
“Although the equipment that we are using now, the wireless microphones and laptops, the ability to queue up any song at any point in time so you don’t have to make the fans suffer, is a little different, just to be able to have both my parents involved this week was really special.”
Landon has been with the Bobcats for over six years, and though he works full-time as a television control master at Newcap, on game days, you will always find him behind the mic.
“Even now, almost eight years later, I am still not entirely sure where I want to take broadcasting. One thing is for sure, I will always want to do the P.A. announcing for hockey. Hopefully this transpires into something bigger, maybe major junior hockey to start out with, and than one day be announcing for professional hockey.”
By Tyler Marr, Lloydminster Meridian Booster