For the first time in over three decades, the World Junior Hockey Championship is proceeding without the familiar presence of Bob McKenzie. The iconic TSN broadcaster, who became a holiday fixture for Canadian hockey fans, is enjoying a markedly different December from his home, breaking a personal streak that spanned an incredible 35 years.
A Holiday Tradition Interrupted
The absence of Bob McKenzie from the tournament this year marks a significant shift. While the exact start date is fuzzy in his memory, McKenzie believes his unbroken run began around 1991, when he was working as a rinkside reporter. From that point forward, his year was punctuated by the annual event, making it a cornerstone of both his professional calendar and the seasonal routines of countless viewers.
This year, the familiar rituals are conspicuously absent. There are no arena walk-throughs in a foreign city, no early-morning tapings of preview shows on Christmas Eve, and most notably, no flight to the tournament host city on Christmas Day itself. For McKenzie, this break is both deliberate and welcome.
Embracing a New, Quieter Rhythm
So, what is the voice synonymous with World Juniors analysis doing instead? He is fully immersed in the family time that the tournament schedule long commanded.
"Mostly just enjoying the holidays and getting to spend time with my family, especially my grandkids," McKenzie shared. "I can’t begin to tell you how much it meant to me to get those days back."
His retirement schedule now includes attending his six-year-old grandson's Timbits hockey practices, watching Ontario Hockey League games, and never missing a Kitchener Rangers matchup—the team where his son, Mike, serves as general manager. He also tunes in when his other son, Shawn, is calling NHL games for Sportsnet.
The Lingering Pull of Old Habits
Despite the conscious step back, the deeply ingrained patterns of a legendary career still echo. McKenzie admits he was "acutely aware" of the dates for the mid-December selection camp and the pre-tournament exhibition games. He found a quiet satisfaction in the realization that his attendance was no longer required.
He pinpointed two moments that highlighted his newfound freedom: "One, it felt great to not have to go to TSN early on Christmas Eve morning to tape the preview show. Two, it felt even better to not have to go to the airport on Christmas Day to fly to the Twin Cities."
While he no longer follows the NHL grind with the same intensity, hockey remains a central thread in his life. The difference is that now, it's on his own terms, woven into the fabric of family and personal time during the most cherished stretch of the year. For the first time in 35 years, Bob McKenzie's holiday tradition is simply being home.
