Granato Joins Badger Hockey Broadcast Team
October 04, 2001 | Men's Hockey
Former Badger and NHL great Tony Granato will be part of FOX Sports' Badger hockey telecasts for the 2001-02 season. Former Badger John Johannson (1980-84), who enters his fourth year as the color commentator on Wisconsin hockey broadcasts, will split duties with Granato, with longtime play-by-play announcer Paul Braun.
Granato, a four-year letterwinner at Wisconsin from 1983-87, is one of just three players to score 100 goals in their UW careers. He ranks third all-time in career goals (100), fourth in total points (220), tied for fourth in game-winning goals (15) and sixth in power-play goals (33).
During his four-year Badger career, Granato scored 100-120=220 and is one of only six players to surpass 200 points. The 1986-87 team MVP, led both his sophomore and senior UW teams in scoring and also served as team captain (1986-87). He was a two-time all-WCHA second-team selection as a sophomore and senior and was also a finalist for the Hobey Baker Memorial Award in 1987.
Following his collegiate days, Granato played for the 1988 U.S. Olympic team before beginning what would be a 13-year NHL career. He played for three teams at that level, including the New York Rangers (1988-90), the Los Angeles Kings (1990-96) and the San Jose Sharks (1996-01). While with the Rangers he scored 43-45=88 in 78 games and was a member of the NHL's All-Rookie Team in 1989, before being traded to L.A. He played six seasons with the Kings before signing a free-agent contract with San Jose in August of 1996. He retired after the 2000-01 season with nearly 800 NHL games played, 248 goals, 244 assists and 492 points.
Granato was the first of four members of the Granato family to suit up in the Cardinal and White. Following Tony, younger brothers Don (1987-91) and Rob (1992-94) and cousin Kevin (1997-01) played for the Badgers. Sister Cammi was a member of the Gold-Medal winning U.S. team in Nagano in 1998 and is also a member of the 2002 U.S. women's Olympic team.
FOX Sports will televise 20 regular-season games this season, including the following list.
October: 19, 26
November: 2, 9, 16
December: 7
January: 4, 11, 12, 19, 25, 26
February: 1, 2, 8, 9, 16, 22, 23
March: 1
