He shoots, he scores — in Inuktitut

Watching Hockey Night in Canada on Saturday evenings was a family tradition for Pujjuut Kusugak growing up in Nunavut, even if the play-by-play was in English and not Inuktitut.

He never dreamed that might change and the broadcast could be done in Inuktitut — and that he would be a part of it.

Now for the second year in a row, APTN and Sportsnet are delivering three nights of Hockey Night in Canada in Inuktitut. And once again, Kusugak and his broadcast partners Robert Kabvitok and play-by-play man David Ningeongan will handle the show.

“It’s really been a dream come true for me” to be part of the Hockey Night in Canada broadcasts, said Kusugak.

The first game is Saturday at 7 p.m. ET, with the Vancouver Canucks playing against the Maple Leafs in Toronto.

Two more Inuktitut broadcasts are scheduled after that: Jan. 31, when the New Jersey Devils visit the Ottawa Senators; and Feb. 28 with the Calgary Flames facing off against the Los Angeles Kings in California.

Kabvitok, Kusugak and Ningeongan all live in Rankin Inlet. They will head south to Winnipeg to broadcast the games from facilities there.

“It’s a dream job, really,” Kusugak said of the opportunity to co-host the Inuktitut broadcast, the same way longtime host Ron MacLean has for the English version of Hockey Night in Canada.

“You’re doing something you only imagine as a kid — and even as an adult — and thinking, ‘it would be pretty cool to see this in Inuktitut.’ And then, boom! You are right there, part of it,” Kusugak said.

“It’s pretty awesome.”

In an interview, Kabvitok, who works for CBC, described how excited his father was to watch last year’s Inuktitut games.

While his dad has been a hockey fan for years, last year was the first time he got to hear play-by-play in his own language live on TV.

“My dad is really excited again,” he said.

Kusugak said many people made a point of telling him personally how much they appreciated the Inuktitut broadcasts. For some, he said, “it was the first time they got to watch their favourite teams play and hear it in Inuktitut — it was really special.”

Kabvitok said Inuit families are watching the games together and young people want to learn Inuktitut.

He said the broadcasts are a great way to share the Inuktitut language with young people. He and Kusugak both hope the program will continue beyond the current season.

Broadcasting big sports events is nothing new for them.

Kusugak, a former mayor of Rankin Inlet, and Ningeogan, who got his start doing commentary at local games in Rankin Inlet, covered the Canadian hockey teams at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing for CBC, broadcasting in Inuktitut.

They’ll do it again next month for the 2026 Winter Olympics being held in Milano Cortina in northern Italy.