From doing play-by-plays for the SAIT Trojans hockey team to filing stories for Rogers Sportsnet, this year's Outstanding Young Alumnus, Kyle Bukauskas, still makes time to visit the students at SAIT whenever he is in town.
Photo by Kate KÜNZ
"Dream big, kids. It’s a cool feeling." - @SNkylebukauskas
Growing up, before-school breakfasts in Kyle Bukauskas’s house always included watching the sports highlights. Fast-forward a few years - far fewer than you might think - and Bukauskas found himself living the dream. At 19 years old, he was just finishing his SAIT studies when he was scouted while volunteering as the play-by-play commentator for Trojans hockey.
“I know how lucky I am, and I’m grateful for it,” says Bukauskas. “When I think about the people I get to work with every week, I have to pinch myself.”
Most memorable moment?
The 2018 Stanley Cup final in Las Vegas. For so many years, I was glued to the TV during the playoffs, so standing there on the ice and reporting from my first final was surreal. Interviewing the players, seeing all the joy and all the emotion as they realized their childhood dreams on the ice - that was, and still is, the best part of my job.
Favourite question to ask?
I constantly wrestle with this. You don’t want to ask the obvious question, but sometimes it’s the right one. When you see a player’s eyes glistening and all of their emotions right there, asking them what they’re thinking allows them to let it all out.
Is storytelling important in sports?
It’s easy to get caught up in how much money a player makes or how many points they’re putting up and to forget that they’re real people. I can’t break down a hockey game at the level an analyst does, but I can dig into the human side – the stories, the anecdotes. And I hope that in those 10-second hits, I can give viewers something that complements the broadcast and makes that night more memorable.
Luck or hard work?
Both. During my first week at SAIT, I was standing in the hall with some classmates, talking about what we wanted to do. I had the audacity to say I wanted to anchor one of the sports networks. That was the dream. But now that I’m here, I don’t feel like I’ve arrived. I’m still learning a ton and have a lot of room to grow. And I don’t forget that I’m where I am today because people took a chance on me. I appreciate how willing people were to help me, and I need to do the same.
Oki, Âba wathtech, Danit'ada, Tawnshi, Hello.
SAIT is located on the traditional territories of the Niitsitapi (Blackfoot) and the people of Treaty 7 which includes the Siksika, the Piikani, the Kainai, the Tsuut’ina and the Îyârhe Nakoda of Bearspaw, Chiniki and Goodstoney.
We are situated in an area the Blackfoot tribes traditionally called Moh’kinsstis, where the Bow River meets the Elbow River. We now call it the city of Calgary, which is also home to the Métis Nation of Alberta.