Eric Duhatschek (born 1956) is a Canadian sportswriting. Duhatschek won the 2001 Elmer Ferguson Memorial Award for distinguished ice hockey journalism and is a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame. Duhatschek is also on the selection committee for the Hockey Hall of Fame. Based in Calgary, Alberta, he was the lead hockey columnist for The Globe and Mail and was a writer for The Athletic. Duhatschek rose to prominence for his coverage of the Calgary Flames as a sportswriter for the Calgary Herald.
Career
After graduating from the University of Western Ontario's grad school of journalism, Duhatschek was a freelancer writing about sports in the
Toronto Sun and news in the
Toronto Star when he was invited by
The Albertan to be their ski writer, leading him to move to Calgary. In 1980, Duhatschek covered both skiing and ice hockey on the 1980 Winter Olympics, and after
The Albertan was replaced by the
Calgary Sun, Duhatschek was assigned to do a tryout for the
Calgary Flames and write a report on his experience. The three-part series led him to receive an offer from the
Calgary Herald, where he became one of their premier hockey writers for 20 years. In the period he also was a stringer for
Sports Illustrated, was a regular on the
Hockey Night in Canada segment Satellite Hot Stove, and started a collaboration of 25 years with
The Hockey News, where he eventually got the back page column.
In 2000, Duhatschek joined The Globe and Mail as an online columnist.
After serving 15 years on the selection committee for the Hockey Hall of Fame, Duhatschek's term ended and he was replaced by Cassie Campbell-Pascall and Mark Chipman in 2018.
On November 8, 2024, Duhatschek announced he was retiring after 46 years as a sportswriter.
Publications
The following is a list of publications:
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On fire: the dramatic rise of the Calgary Flames (1986)
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100 years of hockey: the chronicle of a century on ice (1999)
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Starforce hockey: the greatest players of today and tomorrow (2000)
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One hundred and one years of hockey: the chronicles of a century on ice (2001)
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Hockey chronicles: an insider history of National Hockey League teams (2001)
-
King of Russia: a year in the Russian Super League (2008)
Personal life
Duhatschek has a son and daughter. His daughter Paula was awarded the inaugural Jim Kelley Memorial Scholarship by the Professional Hockey Writers' Association.[
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