Jim Robson

James Alexander Robson (January 17, 1935 – February 9, 2026) was a Canadian radio and television broadcaster who was the play-by-play announcer of the Vancouver Canucks' games from 1970 to 1999. Robson was considered a "legendary" Canadian broadcaster whose "voice was synonymous with the Vancouver Canucks for more than three decades". Robson is a member of the B.C. Sports Hall of Fame, the CAB Broadcast Hall of Fame, and was inducted into the Order of British Columbia in 2011.

Broadcasting career Born in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan on January 17, 1935, Robson started his career at the age of 17 covering senior men's basketball for CJAV radio station in Port Alberni. In 1955, Robson started working for CHUB radio in Nanaimo, where he covered the Mann Cup lacrosse finals.

By 1956, Robson found himself in Vancouver covering the BC Lions football team, the Vancouver Mounties baseball team and the then WHL Vancouver Canucks hockey team on CKWX.

Vancouver Canucks When the Vancouver Canucks became an NHL expansion team in 1970, Robson moved to CKNW to announce the team's games; he was popularly known as the "Voice of the Canucks" for nearly three decades. For the first seven years, he usually worked alone. For road games, he broadcast the game without a colour commentator and provided the pre-game, intermission, and post-game shows.

He also covered the Vancouver Canucks on television broadcasts on BCTV, CHEK-TV and VTV from 1985–86 through 1998–99. From 1987–88 to 1993–94, Robson provided both radio and television play-by-play for the Canucks on simulcasts, alongside colour commentators Monahan and Larscheid, and Howie Meeker joined him on both TV and radio in 1985–86.

Robson stepped down as the radio announcer for the Canucks in 1994 and moved to television full-time. His last radio broadcast was game seven of the 1994 Stanley Cup Final between the Canucks and the New York Rangers. who later moved to Rogers Sportsnet, and then to CBC's Hockey Night in Canada. In his final year, Robson split television play-by-play duties with rookie John Shorthouse, who is now the announcer for the Canucks on TV and radio.

National television Robson also worked for CBC's Hockey Night in Canada, mostly covering games in western Canada. It was for HNIC that he broadcast the Canucks' first NHL game, a 3–1 home loss to the Los Angeles Kings on October 9, 1970. His reputation as one of the top broadcasters in the business earned him assignments to cover the Stanley Cup Final in , , (in which the Canucks faced the New York Islanders), and .

He also covered five NHL All-Star Games, He left HNIC after the 1984–85 season, but had a couple of national TV assignments afterward; for CBC in the 1987 playoffs and CanWest Global for the 1988 Smythe Division Final between the Edmonton Oilers and Calgary Flames.

Nationally, Robson is probably best remembered for his call of Bob Nystrom's Cup-winning overtime goal for the Islanders in 1980. Locally, his voice is linked to every significant Canucks moment in the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s, particularly the 1982 and 1994 Stanley Cup playoffs.

Robson was also well known for taking time to say "a special hello to all the hospital patients and shut-ins, those of you who can't make it out to the game", during each of his broadcasts,

Achievements

Robson was awarded the Foster Hewitt Memorial Award by the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1992, and was inducted into the B.C. Hockey Hall of Fame in 1998 and the B.C. Sports Hall of Fame in 2000.

The broadcast booth at Rogers Arena is named after him.

Robson was appointed a Member of the Order of British Columbia (OBC) in September 2011.

Memorable calls

Later life and death Robson died at a care home in Vancouver, on February 9, 2026, at the age of 91. He was undergoing treatment for cancer at the time of his death.