This teenager will call games for the Newfoundland Regiment — and sit next to players in math class

St. John's teenager Seth Hyde found his passion high above the ice, and it's taking him to new heights next season. 

Hyde will be living out his dream as the first play-by-play voice of the Newfoundland Regiment hockey club.

"I'm pinching myself. Like, it still just feels like a surreal dream for sure," Hyde, 17, told CBC News on Thursday.

Hyde is a Grade 11 student at Gonzaga High School in St. John's. He has been calling games since he was 12, when his journey started during the COVID-19 pandemic. As a player at the time, an injury kept him out of a playoff game that fans couldn't attend in person.

That's when he decided to try his hand at broadcasting, he said, taking the microphone to guide viewers who were watching on Facebook Live. It snowballed after that, he said, serving as the voice for games of the Pinnacle Growlers, Avalon Celtics and more.

Hyde called it a relief when the news was announced on Wednesday. He's known about his new gig since January, but had to stay tight-lipped.

But he remembers vividly the moment when Regiment vice president Ken O'Leary delivered the news at a Starbucks.

"Me and my mom were discussing it in the car, and mom was saying ... 'Seth, you know they're not going to ask you to be the announcer, right?' And we were prepared to hear something else," he said.

"We walked into Starbucks and sat down, and Kenny O'Leary looked at us and he said 'Seth, we want you to be the first voice of the Newfoundland Regiment.' And mom started bawling."

Hyde will be in the booth for the Regiment's first game at Mary Brown's Centre on Sept. 18 alongside colour commentator and legendary voice of Newfoundland hockey Brian Rogers. Rogers served as the commentator for several professional St. John's hockey teams — most recently as the colour commentator of the Newfoundland Growlers.

Hyde said it's an honour to work alongside the veteran Rogers, who has welcomed him and his family to the booth with open arms.

Back to school

Hyde's age also puts him in an interesting position most broadcasters wouldn't find themselves in.

The Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League, where the Regiment will play, is a league for players between 16 and 20 years old. As a result, he's around the same age as many of the players on the club.

Hyde says he's looking forward to that.

"I think that will make it more enjoyable for me, because the players that are still in schools. The 2008 [born players], 2009s and even a handful of 2010s will be going to Gonzaga alongside me," he said.

"I'll be able to see them in math class and throw into the broadcast, 'You know, Ben, why were you sleeping in math class the other day?'"

Hyde also wants to open the game to more youth. He previously served as an NHL Power Player, an initiative started by the league that focuses on selecting young hockey fans to help advise the league on hockey-related topics important to their generation.

He said he's ready to step into the Bob Cole Media Centre at the Mary Brown's Centre, and hopes he won't be the only teenager calling games in the future.

"I think I actually have to sit up there to think that this is real," he said. "It's just going to be an amazing feeling."

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