There is something special about international hockey, about representing not a city you likely don’t live in but a country that gave you everything you had. Paul Graham, the 2025 recipient of the IIHF Media Award, learned this early on in life, and it was a value that guided his career for some four decades.
 
“I’ve been lucky enough to be involved in many Stanley Cup victories over the years, but when you see a player with the crest on his jersey and hear the national anthem after winning gold, that has to be something special, and that’s one of the reasons international hockey means so much to me,” he said during his acceptance speech.
 
“My first exposure to international hockey, like a lot of Canadians, was 1972,” he recalled. “The whole country was so engaged in the Summit Series, and it was a thrill to watch that in our classroom in school.”
 
Graham retired from TSN this past season, so his being honoured now couldn’t be more fitting. His work has been integral to TSN’s expanding resume in the international hockey world, from its start-to-finish coverage of the World Junior Championship to its comprehensive coverage of the Men’s and Women’s World Championships. More recently, TSN has included men’s and women’s U18 events in its programming. As the IIHF has expanded its reach around the globe, Graham and TSN have been there every step of the way. 
 
“It's great to receive this honour in Stockholm,” he started. “My first trip here was 40 years ago. I was here working for Hockey Night in Canada, and I was pleased to spend a lot of time with the late Pelle Lindbergh. As everyone knows, Pelle was a great guy. And since then, I’ve been here many times, so it’s special for me to accept this award here.”
 
Graham last held the title of vice-president and executive producer of live events for TSN, capping a 45-year career in broadcasting that most memorably took the World Junior Championship out of its nascent stage and into an event that has become part of so many households across Canada and throughout the world over Christmas and New Year’s.

The Growth of the World Juniors

Back in 1992, TSN’s coverage of the World Juniors extended only to Canada’s games. Under Graham’s enthusiastic push to expand, TSN then included teams from Canada’s group, then games in the secondary venue, and, finally, every game of the tournament. And the coverage is no longer limited to Canada. Many countries around the IIHF world have full coverage now thanks to Graham’s ambitions.
 
“My first World Juniors was in 1992 in Fussen, Germany,” he explained. “Back then, we had only five cameras for the tournament and games went back only to Canada and we televised only five games. And you look at where we are today, it’s quite amazing. I then worked the 1992 World Championship, and by then I was hooked. My career highlight, though, was being part of the five gold medals in a row that the World Junior team had in the 90s, but it’s also great to see other teams win the gold medal, and it’s been very cool to be part of that.”
 
Graham continued in that vein. “It’s a big event. You want to make it big, and you want to make it look big all the time. One of the things I’m proudest of looking back is that it’s not just big in Canada. It’s not just Canada’s tradition anymore. Now, countries like Sweden and Finland carry every game of the tournament. All the participating countries have a TV package where they’re watching these games.”
 
“TSN saw the value of international hockey, and I was lucky enough to be in a leadership position to make a difference. Televising every game was a major priority for me, and now all 64 games of the World Championship also go back to Canada, and TSN has been host broadcaster of the World Juniors for the last 35 years.”

A Hockey Kid from Edmonton

Like most Canadian kids, hockey was part of Graham’s childhood. The NHL was never in the cards, but that didn’t matter. Hockey remained in his blood throughout his formative years.
 
“As a kid from Edmonton, I grew up across the street from a hockey rink, and hockey was a major part of my life pretty much from day one. I played hockey up to Junior B level, wasn’t that good, went into coaching, wasn’t that good either, spent some time at hockey schools and then spent a whole lot of time in beer leagues, where I actually wasn’t that bad.”
 
He recalled his beginnings, small perhaps for him but at a major intersection in hockey history. “I got my first job in TV in 1979 when my hometown Oilers joined the NHL. It was something special to be around that dynasty in the 80s, to see the players develop into the hockey team that they became. In 1988, I was lucky enough to work the hockey venues at the Olympics in Calgary which, again, was a tremendous experience for me, and then my first official IIHF event was in 1990 in Ottawa, producing the first ever Women’s World Championship. Eight years later, I was lucky enough to produce the gold-medal game at the 1998 Olympics in Nagano.”
 
Graham acknowledged what few fans watching on TV realize—the dedication of those behind the camera to put on a game, whether it’s over Christmas or during the marathon of games that make up the Men’s Worlds, and every event in between.

“A special shout out," Graham emphasized, "to the many men and women, talented, behind-the-scenes people, who deliver incredible pictures and sounds of these incredible games. We’re always focused on the players on the ice, as we should be, but there are a whole bunch of people behind the scenes making sure that the everything comes off without a hitch. Whether it be working many long hours in May, or being away from your family over Christmas at the World Juniors.”