The son of an officer in the Royal Canadian Air Force, Ron MacLean was born on April 12, 1960, in Zweibrücken, West Germany. At the age of 14 months, his family moved back to Canada; first to Chester, Nova Scotia, followed by Whitehorse, Yukon and then to Red Deer, Alberta.
In 1978, a teenaged MacLean began his career in broadcasting as a part-time DJ at CKRD-FM and then CKRD-AM. He gradually worked his way up to become a weather forecaster at CKRDTV, when his off- the-cuff wit and passion for sports led him to the opportunity of anchoring local Calgary Flames telecasts.
MacLean joined the CBC in 1986, first to host Maple Leaf games on Hockey Night in Canada, and then to become full-time host of the of Coaches Corner. He also hosted “Hometown Hockey.” MacLean is MacLean is a nine-time Gemini Award Winner, including accolades for Best Host/Broadcaster in a Sports Program for CBC’S Hockey Night in Canada (1992, 1994, 1998, 2001, and 2007) and CBC’S Hockey Day in Canada (2004 and 2006). He is also a two-time recipient of the George Gross Award, honouring excellence in sports broadcasting.
MacLean was appointed Honorary Colonel of 1 Air Movements Squadron on 20 March, 2000. Today, he lives in Oakville, Ontario, with his wife Cari MacLean, and occasionally referees NHL games.
