'The King of Rochester' finally has his Cup

Posted at: 07/06/2012 5:48 PM | Updated at: 07/08/2012 2:28 PM
By: Justin Granit | WHEC.com

Nick Nickson’s Stanley Cup journey started on Rochester radio in 1975. Now in 2012, the Los Angeles Kings have their first Stanley Cup with the tones of Nickson narrating along the way.

"A lot of people would say, ‘Nick, have you thought about what you're going to say if they win the Cup?" said Nickson, voice of the Kings. "I told them all I’ve been working on it for 31 years.”

"After 45 years, the Kings can wear their crown! The Los Angeles Kings have won the Stanley Cup!"

It’s a call Nick Nickson made in Los Angeles and it now echoes in Rochester. 

Nickson said, "I still have to say to myself, ‘We really did win the Cup this year.’ Its been special. Its been real fun."

Nickson has been the radio voice of the L.A. Kings for 31 years. He has called games for the likes of 'The Great One,' Wayne Gretzky. But there was no greater moment for the Brighton native than calling the Stanley Cup Game 6 clincher against New Jersey. 

Nickson said, "Looking around and seeing all these people... the hugging, weeping, the crying. They’re throwing things in the air. It was like it really happened." 

After graduating from Penfield High School, Nickson attended Ithaca College where he was Sports Director for the school’s radio station. Upon graduation, Nickson joined Rochester’s WBBF. Less than a year later, the play-by-play job for the Rochester Americans opened up. 

Nickson said, “I went down to the studios at WBBF. I spent three hours with a razor blade and edited out all the bad stuff.” 

The good stuff was good enough to land Nickson the gig with the Amerks. He spent one season with Rochester, then four with the AHL’s New Haven Knighthawks before heading to the West Coast. Now Nickson is part of a Stanley Cup team and he’ll spend a day with Lord Stanley’s hardware in September. 

Nickson said, “It’s amazing, the magnetism that the Stanley Cup has when it’s in a room and you can’t get enough pictures with it.” 

Nickson wasn’t only featured on the radio during the Stanley Cup. NBC’s Doc Emrick, another AHL radio alum, had a special shout out for Nickson at the end of Game 6.

Emrick said, “Nick Nickson, the radio guy, whose parents, Nick Sr. and Jan are watching up in Rochester, your kid’s going to get a ring.”

'The King of Rochester" finally has his Cup.

Have a story you want our news team to investigate? Call us at 585-232-1010, click here to send us an e-mail or leave us a Facebook post or tweet.

Print Story