It was a touching scene inside American Airlines Center on Monday when Trevor Strader, son of late Dallas Stars play-by-play man Dave Strader, performed the national anthem before their game against the Winnipeg Jets.
The hockey world lost Dave Strader on Oct. 1 after he passed away following a long battle with cholangiocarcinoma, a rare form of bile duct cancer. While he was diagnosed in June 2016, he managed to work five Stars games last season as well as a few during the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
[Stars announcer Dave Strader dies at 62]
This is the second straight year Trevor has performed during the the team’s Hockey Fights Cancer night. The lavender warmup jerseys players wore during warmups will be auctioned off with proceeds, along with those from a 50/50 raffle, benefiting charity, including the Cholangiocarcinoma Foundation.
Strader’s voice is missed not only in Dallas, but all around the hockey world. Next week he’ll be honored during the Hockey Hall of Fame induction ceremony in Toronto as winner of the 2017 Foster Hewitt Memorial Award, which is gived to members of the radio and television industry “who make outstanding contributions to their profession and the game of ice hockey during their broadcasting career.”
Foster Hewitt Award. Greatest honor of my career. There are no adequate words. So humbled & so many to thank. @rcamcole #honortogoinwithyou
— Dave Strader (@TheVoiceDS) April 17, 2017
“People who I’ve never met before, have talked to me for 20 minutes about not only what an incredible broadcaster he was, but how all he talked about was his kids,” Trevor Strader told Sean Shapiro of NHL.com. “Which I knew he was proud of us, so knowing we were always on the front of his mind, even at his job. He was always a dad and a husband first and then did his job. There has just been amazing support from so many people.”
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Sean Leahy is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @Sean_Leahy.