JR. BLUES HIRE ZANABONI AS NEW PLAY-BY-PLAY VOICE

Jan 1, 2021

AFFTON – The St. Louis Jr. Blues are happy to announce that Joey Zanaboni will serve as the team’s new play-by-play voice for the remainder of the 2020-21 season. A native of St. Louis, Zanaboni has served as the voice of the Johnson City Cardinals (St. Louis Cardinals Advanced Rookie affiliate) as well as the University of West Florida, St. Mary’s University (Texas), and the River City Rascals.

“We are excited to bring Joey on board,” said Blues GM and head coach Chris Flaugher. “He has an impressive resume, professional experience, and ideas that will benefit the Jr. Blues program.”

Zanaboni takes the broadcast reins from Kevin Gier, who served as an assistant general manager, PA announcer, commentator, and media director with the team from 2013-2020. This will be Zanaboni’s first season in the North American Tier III Hockey League (NA3HL). 

“I am very excited about and humbled by this opportunity with the Jr. Blues,” said Zanaboni, who will also begin duties as the team’s media director. “The chance to work with a special program like this does not come around very often. I will bring my very best work to each and every Blues broadcast.”

Zanaboni began his professional career as an announcer with the River City Rascals of O’Fallon, MO in 2014. His resume includes six seasons in professional baseball and six years of calling collegiate athletics at Coahoma Community College (MS), West Florida, and St. Mary’s. He served as the lead voice of the 2019 NJCAA Men’s Soccer National Championship as well as the 2018 and 2019 NAIA Women’s Soccer National Championships.

As the voice of the Johnson City Cardinals in 2019, he called the team’s run to a historic twelfth Appalachian League title. Highlight reels of his work have been featured by USA Today, CBS Sports, and Barstool Sports, and his football play-by-play appeared in Season 2 of the hit Netflix docuseries Last Chance U. He continues to work locally with his alma mater St. Louis University High, handling soccer and basketball commentary for the Jr. Billikens.

“This is a fantastic opportunity to continue to grow as a broadcaster,” said Zanaboni. “I am eager to enhance my hockey play-by-play skills, and I look forward to working with Chris, his great staff, and all of these talented players.”

The St. Louis Jr. Blues return to action at Peoria January 2nd. Start time is slated for 6:45 pm. The team resumes its Affton Ice Rink schedule at 4 pm on Saturday, January 9th vs. Rochester. All NA3HL games are broadcast live through Hockey TV with home teams responsible for individual streams. Visit https://www.stljrblues.org and https://www.hockeytv.com for details and the full Jr. Blues broadcast schedule. For the latest news, follow the team on Twitter @JrBluesHockey. Media inquiries: zanaboni.blues@gmail.com.

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