A true team player finds his comfort zone
Former Hockey Canada boss lands with familiar faces of Oilers brass
Bob Nicholson, the former president and CEO of Hockey Canada and newly appointed vice-chairman of the freshly minted Oilers Entertainment Group, is a consensus builder. He delegates, he’s a team player.
So, if owner Daryl Katz’s hockey and entertainment company seems top heavy with big shots, well, that’s Nicholson’s comfort zone, his wheelhouse, the milieu in which he does his best work.
It might seem, on the surface, that a man who, on his watch, helped Canada’s National Junior Team win 12 gold medals, presided over three Olympic gold medals for the men and four for Canada’s women’s team, is out of his comfort zone making Katz’s grand sports and entertainment dreams a reality.
But Nicholson said, while he was all-in as a hockey operations man early in his 24-year Hockey Canada career, his role evolved into a more sophisticated business one as the sports governing body grew from having an overall budget of about $12 million and a full-time staff of 25, to one with a full-time staff of 125 and a $45-million budget.
As for his management style, Nicholson never met a committee he didn’t like. It was clear at his introductory news conference that Nicholson will work with Kevin Lowe, who also holds the vice-chairman title but remains the head of Oilers hockey operations, and Patrick LaForge, the president and chief operating officer of OEG, the key operations man on the business side.
Nicholson talked about his 14-year relationship with Lowe, through three Olympic cycles, and his work with LaForge in staging the 2012 World Junior Hockey Championship in Edmonton and Calgary — the best event of its kind in his estimation.
Katz has helped out Hockey Canada, deploying his jet as a taxi service to take the players from their NHL clubs to Vancouver for the 2010 Winter Games, for example, putting his private box at Rogers Arena in Vancouver at Hockey Canada’s disposal during the Olympics, and much else.
“It (the long-standing relationship with the Oilers) is the main reason I’m sitting here today,” said Nicholson, whose name was mentioned as a candidate for executive positions with both the Canucks and Washington Capitals. “It has been a long and special relationship with Kevin.
“The relationship with Patrick, everything we touched has been golden, too, on the business side.”
So, no, Nicholson is not moving north from Calgary to replace anybody. After 24 years with Hockey Canada, the last 16 as president and CEO, he’s not meant to embody the wrath of God, or the collective frustration of the Oilers fan base, which has suffered through eight straight non-playoff seasons.
“First of all, I have a fresh look,” Nicholson said. “There are a lot of things that are going very well in this organization.
“I’m not coming in here to rip things apart. I’m going to come in, observe, tinker with things to try to make them better.
“I really want to make sure that we connect all the departments and everything together. If you’ve got a real strong foundation — which looks like it’s here — then that vision becomes a lot easier to achieve.”
As Katz’s second-in-command, Nicholson’s top priority is realizing the owner’s plans for the under-construction Rogers Place, the downtown arena district that will surround it, and all the properties in his sports and entertainment portfolio. That includes the Oilers and the WHL’s Oil Kings, who just won the Memorial Cup.
What are his impressions of the new building?
“Are you kidding me? My thoughts? Unbelievable,” Nicholson said. “I haven’t gone into great detail. But when I look at that, it’s going to change the downtown.
“It’s great the Oilers are going to play out of here, but it’s going to be so much bigger than that. If we can utilize that facility in the proper manner, it’s going to change day-to-day lives in Edmonton.”
The details of Nicholson’s panoramic mandate were only sketchily explained on Friday.
But think AEG, the U.S.based sports and entertainment organization that programs facilities like the Staples Center, the Nokia Theatre and surrounding spaces in Los Angeles. In Edmonton, the new arena, the adjacent community rink, the Winter Garden and much else will be where Katz’s multi-faceted vision will unfold.
“There’s a big vision coming,” Nicholson said Friday. “I (got) excited when I drove down here today ... to see the big hole in the middle of the city, how we’re going to change this city.
“And there’s going to be more on top of that. How we’re going to change this organization, not just for Edmonton and Alberta, but throughout the world.”
Obviously, the new arena will house the Oilers, and OEG, under Nicholson, will bid for events such as the World Junior Hockey Championship, the Memorial Cup tournament, as well as NHL one-off events like the AllStar Game, the Winter Classic and the NHL draft. Apparently, the opportunity to stage such events just scratches the surface of what is being planned.
In terms of attracting major international hockey events, it can’t hurt that Nicholson will remain a vice-president with the International Ice Hockey Federation through 2016.
“My main focus is going to be the business side, the vision of where we’re going,” Nicholson said. “We’re going to cross over with Kevin (hockey operations), we’re going to do a lot of things together.”
Grand, multi-faceted visions are wonderful and all, but can any of that work to maximum value if the Oilers keep losing?
“We’re all together on this,” Nicholson said. “The team has to get better, and it will get better with the personnel they’re putting in place.
“We’re going to be patient with the team, but we’re also going to make sure that (on) the business side, we keep the fans informed of where we’re going with all of our sports operations and our overall business side.”