Drew Remenda


Drew Remenda is a Canadian former hockey coach, radio broadcaster, and television hockey analyst. He is currently a colour commentator for regional telecasts of the Edmonton Oilers. He served as colour commentator for television broadcasts of San Jose Sharks games on CSN California, as well as the co-host of Sports Night with Jamie Nye and Drew Remenda for CKOM in Saskatoon. Remenda has also served as a commentator along with his broadcast partner Randy Hahn for the video games NHL 2K9 and NHL 2K10.

Coaching career

As a coach, Remenda got his start as a video coordinator for Hockey Canada in the 1980s, providing support for Canada's national team and the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association. He served as the coach for the University of Calgary's hockey team for the 1989–90 season before being hired as an assistant coach for the San Jose Sharks expansion team. Remenda served as an assistant coach for the Sharks from 1991 to 1995, then spent a year as the head coach of the Sharks' minor league affiliate the Kansas City Blades.

Broadcasting career

After his coaching career, Remenda was offered a job as a broadcast analyst for the Sharks. Remenda started on radio, calling games with long-time Sharks radio announcer Dan Rusanowsky. In 1999, Remenda moved up to the Sharks TV crew, joining announcer Randy Hahn in calling Sharks games. His broadcast work with the Sharks over the years earned Remenda three Northern California Emmy Awards in the "On Camera Sports" category in 1999, 2001 and 2006. Remenda also hosted Shark Byte, a 30-minute magazine-style show on CSN Bay Area dedicated to a behind the scenes look at the Sharks.
Remenda was also active in the Bay Area community during his first stint working with the Sharks organization. He was featured in the team's Reading Is Cool program, reading books to children and also starring alongside team mascot S.J. Sharkie in videos distributed to Bay Area schools.
On May 17, 2006, following the Sharks' ouster from the 2006 Stanley Cup Playoffs by the Edmonton Oilers, Remenda and Hahn tearfully wrapped up the telecast by announcing that Remenda would not return to the Sharks broadcast team in 2006–07. Remenda moved on to host The Drew Remenda Sports Show on News Talk 650 CKOM, a news/talk AM radio station in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. The program also airs on News Talk 980 CJME, a news/talk AM radio station in Regina.
After leaving the Sharks, Remenda accepted a position with the CBC, where he was frequently the colour commentator alongside play-by-play announcer Don Wittman for NHL broadcasts. When broadcasting Sharks games for the CBC, Remenda would frequently appear on the local Sharks FSN Bay Area telecast with Hahn and Marty McSorley, Remenda's on-air replacement, between periods.
Remenda teamed up with Hahn on FSN Bay Area again during Games 3 and 6 of the Sharks Western Conference semifinal matchup with the Detroit Red Wings when McSorley was unavailable for what the Sharks called "personal reasons." The San Jose Mercury News reported on July 3, 2007, that the Sharks had made an offer to Remenda in an effort to lure him back to the team's broadcast booth for the 2007–08 season. A month later, the San Jose Sharks reported on their Web site that Remenda had agreed to return to the organization as the team's television colour analyst, replacing the departed McSorley. Remenda also started hosting The Drew Remenda Sports Show for Newstalk 650 CKOM and 980 CJME that season. CKOM is based in Saskatoon and CJME is based in Regina. In 2009, The Drew Remenda Sports Show was rebranded Sports Night with Jamie Nye and Drew Remenda. This change saw Drew co-anchor the show with Jamie Nye. In June 2012, Remenda suddenly disappeared from radio for unspecified reasons. The show was renamed "Green Zone", and was shortened from two hours to one hour. It was later extended to three hours. Jamie Nye still hosts the Green Zone along with Greg Moore, otherwise knows as "Wheels". Remenda will often appear as a guest on the show to talk about the NHL.
On June 17, 2014 it was reported that Remenda would not have his contract renewed as the Sharks colour analyst. He would be hired as colour commentator for regional Edmonton Oilers broadcasts, replacing Louie DeBrusk.