Steve Levy set to honor a personal hero at U.S. Hockey HOF ceremonies

Long Island, New York native and hockey fan Steve Levy grew up listening to his home-town Islanders and favorite team Rangers, but from time to time he’d sit in the family car in the driveway and hear a distinctly different voice — Bob Chase, broadcasting Fort Wayne (Ind.) Komets games.

On Monday, Levy will help honor Chase when he serves as Master of Ceremonies for the 40th annual United States Hockey Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony and Dinner in Dallas.

While Mike Modano, Lou Lamoriello and Ed Olczyk headline the 2012 class, Levy admits he’s equally excited about the 86-year old Chase being presented with the Lester Patrick Award for outstanding service to hockey in the United States.

“[Radio station] WOWO was a ‘flame-thrower/50,000-watt station on the AM dial,’” Levy says of how Chase got onto his radar and piqued his interest in pucks. “Just think — this is his 60th year riding busses in the minors, and he’ll do every game. Even Vin Scully does only select road games.”

This marks Levy’s third straight year handling emcee chores, a role he describes as, “Unbelievable, a great honor.” Recalling the first call asking his availability for the dinner, he quips: “I asked, ‘What am I being inducted for?’ and they said, ‘You’re not going in.’”

Yet Levy is respected in hockey circles. Dave Ogrean, executive director of USA Hockey, says, “We’re excited to have someone with not only great passion for the game, but knowledge of its history, serving as emcee of this wonderful celebration.”

Levy has done NHL and NCAA Division I Men’s Frozen Four play-by-play and hockey studio work for ESPN, produced and hosted a nationally syndicated NHL Radio Network show and called games for his alma mater, State University of New York at Oswego.

“Because of my years in the sport, I have personal anecdotes about the inductees that I’ll try to squeeze in, but my role is limited: opening remarks, introduce the commissioner and the players, then get out of the way,” Levy explains.

“But this year will be a new challenge — you know [NHL Commissioner] Gary Bettman will be in the audience, so I’ll have to keep the lockout humor and my personal opinions on it to a minimum.”