Bob Kaser earns 12th Michigan broadcast award for Griffins call

Bob Kaser’s voice has become part of the Griffins’ identity, and his 12th Michigan Association of Broadcasters honor underscored why. The latest recognition came from his call of Grand Rapids’ 2-1 win at Iowa on April 19, 2025, a tight game that turned on overtime and a shootout and gave judges the kind of high-pressure finish that can make a broadcaster as much as a box score.

The award-winning segment captured Nate Danielson’s shootout goal and Jack Campbell’s shootout-winning save, the kind of sequence that leaves an arena buzzing and makes a radio call linger. Kaser shared the award with iHeartMedia West Michigan board operator Shelbie Petrongelli, and the honor landed during the Michigan Association of Broadcasters’ Broadcast Excellence Awards Gala at the Sound Board inside MotorCity Casino Hotel in Detroit, an event the organization uses to salute local television and radio broadcasters serving their communities.

For Grand Rapids, the award mattered because it reflected continuity, not just one strong night. Kaser is in his 26th season as the Griffins’ play-by-play voice and has spent 47 seasons behind a hockey microphone. His broadcasts have been a constant through multiple eras of Griffins hockey, and the club’s radio work has repeatedly been recognized by the MAB, with “best” awards in 2025, 2018, 2016, 2015, 2012, 2006, 2003, 2002 and 2001, plus “merit” awards in 2017 and 2004.

Kaser’s profile reaches well beyond Van Andel Arena. He made his NHL broadcasting debut in the 2016-17 season, calling 13 Detroit Red Wings radio games and one telecast for Fox Sports Detroit, later handling more Red Wings work on 97.1 The Ticket and FanDuel Sports Detroit. He also won the American Hockey League’s 2009-10 James H. Ellery Memorial Award and twice earned the Bob Chase Award as IHL Broadcaster of the Year while working for the Kansas City Blades.

The Griffins’ broadcasts have been shaped by more than Kaser alone. His longtime partners Larry Figurski and Lou Rabaut have helped define the home-radio sound in Grand Rapids, and TheAHL.com noted in 2021 that Kaser and Figurski are both heart attack survivors, a detail that only deepened the sense that this broadcast group has endured alongside the team and its fans. In a league built on connection as much as competition, Kaser’s latest award once again showed that the Griffins experience begins long before the puck drops and lasts well after the final save.