Dave Strader Remembered: Barry Melrose & John Buccigross Reflect on “The Voice”

We lost one of the very good guys in the Capital Region and all of sports over the weekend. After battling a rare form of cancer for more than a year, Dave Strader died early Sunday morning at the age of 62. The Glens Falls native reached the height of the broadcasting profession, calling NHL games for 4 different franchises and for media giants ESPN and NBC. But it all started in 1979 at the Glens Falls Civic Center as the Adirondack Red Wings, Detroit's AHL affiliate, started their decade of dominance in the 1980s.

Dave Strader was as kind a person as you will ever meet. Every phone call, text or email was answered quickly and with a tone as if he was happy to hear from me, even though the majority of the time, I was bothering him for a TV or radio interview. Dave Strader was as humble a Hall of Famer as you will ever meet. I first met Dave at his Adirondack Hockey Hall of Fame induction and in a room filled with much more important people, Dave chose to spend time with me, off camera, sharing stories of his great broadcasting career. So, on a day that is sad for so many reasons because we've lost truly one of the best in the business and, more than that, one of the best people, the brief time I knew Dave will always make me smile.

ESPN's Barry Melrose and John Buccigross each shared their memories on Big Board Sports this morning.