THE STEVENS STORIES
Current and former Amerks colleagues share their most memorable stories of the legendary Don Stevens
May 14, 2026One of my favorite and most memorable moments with Don Stevens comes from the months he spent recovering from a broken leg years ago. During that time, Don was unable to drive, and since we lived close to each other, I became his personal driver. Those daily car rides are some of my fondest memories with Don because of the bond they created between us. The conversations we shared, the stories, the laughter, the insights, made the commute fly by. I hold that time in a special place, and I’m grateful for the opportunity it gave us to grow closer, even though it came from an unfortunate situation for Don. We truly made the most of it. The running joke in the office that season was that Don had finally reached the peak of his celebrity status and now required his own personal chauffeur. And honestly, it felt like an honor to fill that role. – Chad Buck, Amerks Vice President of Business Operations
COVID BEARD! I will never forget the zoom calls with that massive beard you had working! "No ball in the office" is a great memory of mine, you scared a lot of ticket reps when you got the "Don voice" working! It has been a pleasure to work with you over the years. I am grateful that I was able to work with such a Rochester legend and a legend amongst the hockey world! You deserve all the praise you have been receiving this season and I hope you enjoy every minute of your night. I know the fans and of course long-time season ticket members are excited to see you be celebrated! I will miss the ticket requests next year, however! Thanks for everything Don! – Tim Darrow, Amerks Director of Ticket Sales
Don was welcoming from the moment I joined the Amerks organization, interested to learn about me and my background even though he is an absolute giant in the hockey world. Unpretentious and unassuming, he's not only a great commentator and legend of the game, he's also a genuine human being. – Jordan Balls, Amerks Ticket Sales Executive
When Don put out a tweet following the end of the 2019 Calder Cup Playoffs after a Game 3 loss in Toronto *falsely* announcing his retirement when in actuality he was saying he just ended his 50th season in broadcasting. The post was completely misconstrued by the public, including Amerks fans and media members alike, causing an uproar on social media and the Amerks PR department to be inundated with a frenzy of calls and texts looking for confirmation during the season-ending post-game press conference. As a result, the organization went into a little bit of a crisis mode. Due to the high volume of calls, I immediately had no choice but to call Don, who was sitting alone on the team bus at the time. He picked up on the first ring, to which I said, "Don, did you just announce your retirement on social media?" He replies instantly, "No, what are you talking about? Who said anything about retirement?" I said, "I've been getting flooded with calls and text from media asking if you retired. Go back and re-read your post." "Oh, no....," he says." "You need to follow-up with another post right now confirming you are not retiring." He did indeed, and we can laugh about it now, but that will always be something that will stay with me forever. – Warren Kosel, Amerks Sr. Director of Public and Media Relations
My favorite Don Stevens moment is during a game from the 2023-24 season in a road game against Belleville. Don made an error in the Bud Light Power Play read. To cover for this slip of the tongue, Don said, "Boy, it seems like I've had one too many Bud Lights." This moment will forever make me laugh and smile! – Matt Crowley, Amerks Associate Manager of Business Development
As a send-off request for my last game night as an Amerks’ front office member, I had asked Don to sneak a little catch phrase into a goal call. So, at the end of the night as I was logging our highlights, I beamed with the goofiest smile when hearing Don make good on the request by belting out “JEEPERS CREEPERS, THE AMERKS TAKE THE LEAD!” – Matt Miller, former Amerks employee
I had the pleasure of spending nine seasons working with him. Every single game he brought his broadcast travel case all the way down and put it right under the bus and never let us take it for him. Didn't matter if we were leaving after a home game or heading home. Despite doing all the work himself, he gave me a handwritten card every year at Christmas and the end of the season thanking me for taking care of his stuff. Whether it was a tough loss or a great win, Don would commend or console the players as they walk onto the bus. Respectful and positive every day. A true professional and a great man. – Carl Hirner, Amerks Head Equipment Manager
During Don's Farewell Tour, he was doing an interview on Sabres Live. Being a supportive office, we all tuned in. During the interview, Don casually mentioned that he hated the movie Caddyshack. Those of us who sat around Don were appalled. When Don returned to his desk, we quickly made a plan: put the movie on the office TV with the volume turned up. It took him a few minutes to realize what was playing, but when he did, he responded with some very creative language that perfectly captured his horror and his amusement at our prank. – Julie Mros, Amerks Director of Game Presentation
Don was calling someone to confirm an event but had reached their voicemail. When he got to the end of the message, he started leaving his cellphone number and after the first few digits he realized he had forgotten the number. His exact words were "Give me a call back at 585....whatever this number is." – Julie Mros, Amerks Director of Game Presentation