Rochester Americans broadcaster Don Stevens to retire after 40-year Hall of Fame career

Don Stevens, the longtime voice of the American Hockey League’s Rochester Americans, is calling it a career.

The longest tenured play-by-play broadcaster in the history of the AHL will retire following the 2025-26 season, the team announced Thursday.

Stevens will work a limited schedule during the season, including all 36 home games, as he culminated a sports broadcasting career that has spanned almost 60 years.

“There are so many mixed emotions running through me that I don’t quite know what to think or feel,” said Stevens in a team statement. “But what I do know, as I approach my 58th year of broadcasting and 40th season in Rochester, is that I am truly humbled and blessed by the immense support I have had and still receive in my career. I plan on spending the upcoming season honoring and thanking all of you for what has been an incredible journey over the years. Here’s to one more year, and, of course, Go Amerks!”

A native of Wainwright, Alberta, Stevens joined the Amerks before the 1986-87 season and has since called more than 3,300 games. He entered the team’s Hall of Fame in 2011, and the press box at Rochester’s Blue Cross Arena was named for him in 2023.

“No other person in the history of our organization has been more synonymous with Amerks hockey than Don Stevens,” Chad Buck, the Amerks’ vice president of business operations, said in a statement. “For four decades, Don has narrated some of the most unforgettable moments in team history, which to this day have been immortalized by his unique and distinctive call. It’s only fitting that his final season in Rochester coincides with a milestone season in the history of our franchise for which he’s been a huge part of for nearly 40 years.”

Stevens was also the play-by-play announcer for the now-defunct Rochester Rhinos soccer team from 1996 to 2009. He was inducted into their Hall of Fame in 2016.