From Harnarayan Singh at the Players' Tribune:

Nearly a decade before I became known worldwide as the broadcaster who called out, “BONINO! BONINO! BONINO! BONINO! BONINO! BONINO! BONINO! BONINO! BONINO! BONINO! NICK BONINOOOOOOOO!” on the air after Penguins center Nick Bonino scored one of the biggest goals of the 2016 Stanley Cup finals, I was just a 21-year-old hockey fanatic living in Calgary, Alberta. I was contemplating whether to continue pursuing my dream of becoming a hockey broadcaster, or to give in to those who cautioned me about the unlikelihood of achieving my goal. Then, in 2008, while sitting at my desk as a reporter for the CBC, I got a call from Joel Darling, an executive producer with Hockey Night in Canada, the television program based in Toronto.

He had an idea for me.

The CBC was looking to spearhead a diversity project that would entail covering hockey in my native tongue of Punjabi, and they wanted me to serve as a commentator. I was surprised by the idea, but I’m pretty sure I said yes before Joel could even explain the whole thing.

Within a few weeks, there I was with my colleague at the time, Parminder, calling the 2008 Stanley Cup finals on Hockey Night in Canada. With Punjabi being the third-most-spoken language in Canada behind English and French, the idea actually wasn’t as farfetched as it may have seemed. Once the finals were over, though, I wasn’t exactly sure what would come of it.

Continued