The hockey world reacts to the tragic passing of longtime TSN anchor Darren Dutchysen

Long-time TSN personality and SportsCentre host Darren Dutchyshen has passed away. He was just 57 years old. TSN made the announcement on social media this morning.

“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.

“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 started with TSN way back in 1995, hosting the weekend edition of Sportscentre. Since then he's been a staple on the Sportscentre booth, co-hosting alongside Rod Smith and later with Jennifer Hedger.

In 2021, Dutchyshen announced that he had prostate cancer and was undergoing treatments. He took a year away from his position to fight the disease and made a memorable return in 2022.

“He passed as he was surrounded by his closest loved ones,” the Dutchyshen family said. “His sharp wit remained until his final moments, classically delivering plenty of jokes – most of them pretty good and all of them inappropriate.”

The entire Canadian sporting world, and in particular the Canadian hockey community, is mourning Dutchyshen this morning. Check out some of these thoughtful messages from Dutchyshen's friends and colleagues: