The Charlotte Checkers announced today that Cristiano Simonetta has joined the team as its new Director of Broadcasting and Communications.
Starting with the season opener on Oct. 11, Simonetta will provide play-by-play commentary of all Checkers games, home and away, across the Checkers media network.
Simonetta, 29, most recently held the same title with the Checkers’ ECHL affiliate and another member of Zawyer Sports and Entertainment group, the Savannah Ghost Pirates. As the team’s inaugural broadcaster for its first three seasons, Simonetta called 216 regular-season games as well as the 2024 Warrior/ECHL All-Star Classic on NHL Network. He also appeared on NHL Network and locally in the Charlotte market on WCNC for two games during the Checkers’ appearance in the 2024 Calder Cup Finals, providing play-by-play for Game 4 and color commentary for Game 5.
Prior to joining Savannah, Simonetta spent three seasons in the same role with the USHL’s Lincoln Stars. The native of Carol Stream, Ill., is a graduate of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.