Veteran TSN broadcaster Darren “Dutchy” Dutchyshen, long-time host of SportsCentre, has died. He was 57.
“Darren Dutchyshen was a legend of Canadian sports broadcasting, a great teammate, and an essential part of TSN for the last three decades,” said Stewart Johnston, Senior Vice President, Sales & Sports, Bell Media, in a statement to TSN.
“A larger-than-life personality, Darren’s incredible sense of humour and magnetic energy made him a natural broadcaster who connected easily with viewers. His enthusiasm reminded us every day of why we love sports. Most significantly, Darren was a friend to all of us at TSN, and we will miss him dearly. Our thoughts and heartfelt condolences are with his loved ones.”
Dutchyshen began his TSN career in 1995 and became a mainstay over the next three decades.
He was born in Regina, Sask., and raised in Porcupine Plain, Sask.
He cut his teeth in the broadcast industry with early jobs at STV in Saskatoon and IMTV in Dauphin, Man.
He went on to work seven years as the host of ITV’s Sports Night in Edmonton (now Global Edmonton).
His TSN career began as weekend host of SportsDesk and CFL Live, before moving over to host the late night edition of SportsCentre.
Dutchyshen was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2021, forcing him to step away from the broadcast desk to take care of his health. He returned to the broadcast in September 2022, despite having metastatic cancer present throughout his body.
“The place that I feel best is right here,” he said during his return to the SportsCentre desk.
“He passed as he was surrounded by his closest loved ones,” the Dutchyshen family said in a statement to TSN.
“His sharp wit remained until his final moments, classically delivering plenty of jokes — most of them pretty good and all of them inappropriate.”
TSN says it plans to honour Dutchyshen over the coming days, inviting close friends and co-workers to share their memories “about what made him truly one of a kind.”
Within an hour of the announcement of his passing Thursday, the term “RIP Dutchy” began to trend on X (formerly Twitter), with sports fans and industry colleagues sharing their memories and tributes.
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