Derek Wills enters his 13th season as “Voice of the Flames”. Since following in the footsteps of Hall of Fame broadcaster Peter Maher in 2014, Wills has provided the play-by-play for 946-consecutive regular season games. Amongst Wills’ most-memorable calls in the National Hockey League are Matt Stajan’s series-winning goal in Game 6 versus the Vancouver Canucks in 2015, Jaromir Jagr’s first goal as a Calgary Flame – the 766th-and-last goal of his NHL career in 2017, Johnny Gaudreau’s overtime-winner in Game 7 vs. the Dallas Stars in 2022 and Patrick Maroon’s double overtime-winner for the St. Louis Blues in Game 7 versus the Dallas Stars in 2019 for Westwood One and NBC Sports Radio’s national radio broadcast of the game.
Prior to coming to Calgary, Wills spent 13 seasons with the American Hockey League’s Hamilton Bulldogs, where he served as the team’s Senior Director of Broadcasting, Communications and Team Services / Play-By-Play Announcer, calling 1,028-straight regular season games, the 2004 AHL All-Star Game and the 2003 and 2007 Calder Cup Finals, when led by rookie goaltender Carey Price, the Bulldogs won the City of Hamilton’s first and only professional hockey championship. In 2005, Wills won the James H. Ellery Memorial Award for outstanding media coverage of the AHL.
In 2024, Wills was inducted onto the Sports Wall of Fame in his hometown of Port Colborne, ON.
Wills, 50, who lives in Calgary with his girlfriend, Jen, is scheduled to call his 2,000th-consecutive professional game on November 25th and his 1,000th-straight Calgary Flames game on January 28th.
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“I’m thrilled to be joining the team at Corus Entertainment. Following in the footsteps of the incomparable Peter Maher has been the biggest honour of my life, so I’m honoured and excited to call games from the Peter Maher Radio Broadcast Booth during the farewell season at Scotiabank Saddledome and the inaugural season at Scotia Place. I’m really looking forward to working with Meaghan, Pat and the entire crew at QR Calgary to bring the excitement of every Flames game, home and away, to the team’s passionate fanbase this season and for years to come.”