How Pujjuut Kusugak became part of Inuktitut Hockey Night in Canada

Sometimes, when he’s travelling beyond his hometown of Rankin Inlet, people recognize Pujjuut Kusugak by the sound of his voice.

Kusugak, Robert Kabvitok and David Ningeongan were the first people to call an NHL game in Inuktitut for Hockey Night in Canada last season.

“People tell us how proud they are to hear their language being used on that kind of stage,” said Kusugak.

“It gives us a lot of great pride, just knowing that we did something good for our people and our language.”

This season, APTN will once again air games in Inuktitut – called by the trio in three different dialects – and in Plains Cree.

The role involves a great deal of research to prepare for the broadcast, Kusugak said.

“We want to know which players are hot at the moment or what kind of trends are going on in the game – if the teams are playing well or not so well,” he said.

“This year is an Olympic year as well, so it gives us some storylines that might be different from last year.”

The Winter Olympics are scheduled to take place in Italy in February.

In addition to the hockey research required, Kusugak said he prepares notes of Inuktitut words – like the one for “referee” – that he might not use in everyday conversation, and for which he might need a reminder mid-game.

This season, Kusugak said, he’ll be better prepared for the production duties Hockey Night in Canada requires, such as filming promotions and various segments. The demands, he said, are different than those he was used to when calling Olympic hockey and basketball games.

“Having a better idea of how it works, I think, prepares us better for the three games we’re doing this season,” said Kusugak.

Viewers can hear Kusugak and his colleagues at 5pm MT on January 10 when the Vancouver Canucks take on the Toronto Maple Leafs. They will also call games on January 31 and February 28.

While he grew up playing hockey and eventually coached, Kusugak said he first got a taste of calling games when fellow announcer Abraham Tagalik invited him to the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver.

“I’m always grateful for Abraham to give me that opportunity and I guess I got my foot in the door,” said Kusugak.

“When there was another opportunity to call games in Inuktitut again, I jumped at the chance.”

He said he has noticed a recent surge in the representation of Inuktitut speakers in music and literature, and he encourages anyone interested in practising their Inuktitut to post what they’re up to on social media using the language.

“I think that’s a great use of social media,” he said.

“They can use to do some self-promotion or show what other kinds of things we can use our language for.”