Nicholson about to join Oilers?
Former Hockey Canada president no stranger to Oilers organization
The Rexall Sports Group has called a press conference Friday morning for a “major announcement,” which conceivably is the hiring of former Hockey Canada president Bob Nicholson, possibly running Edmonton Oilers owner Daryl Katz’s overall sports business brand.
Nicholson’s job description could be similar to that of Tim Leiweke, who was brought in to run Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment in Toronto, the umbrella organization for the National Hockey League’s Maple Leafs, the Major League Soccer Toronto FC, the National Basketball Association’s Raptors and the American Hockey League’s Marlies.
Rexall Sports owns the Edmonton Oilers, the Western Hockey League’s Edmonton Oil Kings, the ECHL’s Bakersfield Condors and the Edmonton Capitals baseball franchise.
Nicholson’s name has been out there for National Hockey League jobs since he resigned recently from the powerful Hockey Canada post. Ken Campbell of The Hockey News said Wednesday that Nicholson could be in the Oilers’ sights but also mentioned the Vancouver Canucks and Washington Capitals as possible landing spots for Nicholson.
With Hockey Canada, he was more involved in the hockey side of things — the Program of Excellence for junior kids was his baby along with getting TSN involved with the world junior tournament — than with the business end of things, in which chief operating officer Scott Smith vigorously worked at expanding the Hockey Canada brand.
But Nicholson is a multifaceted executive.
Kevin Lowe is currently president of hockey operations for the Oilers, and unless he’s moving aside, which is unlikely, that doesn’t seem to be the role for Nicholson.
Patrick LaForge also handles the business side of hockey ops and has been heavily involved in the new downtown arena.
Nicholson has lived in Calgary for years, but he’s no stranger to the Oilers. He’s had many threads to the Oilers’ organization, including Katz, who lent his private plane to ferry Canadian players to the Olympics in Vancouver in 2010.
Nicholson also brought in Wayne Gretzky to run Hockey Canada’s 2002 Olympic team — a very astute move — with Lowe on that team’s management group in Salt Lake City.
Lowe’s been a mainstay of the Olympic program, helping pick the team through four Olympics.
Back in 1996, Nicholson had ex-Oilers GM Glen Sather running Canada’s World Cup team. Also, current Oilers GM Craig MacTavish got a gig as Hockey Canada’s Spengler Cup coach when he was between NHL jobs for the tournament in Switzerland.
Mark Messier was also a GM of Hockey Canada’s world championship team several years back, and the Oilers have always been keen on sending their players to the men’s worlds every spring.
On the junior side, one-time Oilers coach George Burnett was brought on board to be world junior team coach, too, at the tournament in Winnipeg, but Burnett opted to take an assistant coaching position with the Anaheim Ducks.
Former Oilers assistant GM Kevin Prendergast also became chief scout for Canada’s under-20 and under-18 world teams under the Hockey Canada umbrella.
Nicholson started with Hockey Canada in hockey ops with now-WHL head man Ron Robison on the business end of things.
Nicholson saw a void with nurturing junior hockey and built the Program of Excellence in the early 1980s that now includes under-17, under-18 and under-20 national teams, also bringing coaches into the fold to move up the ladder on Canadian teams abroad.
On his watch over close to 25 years, his teams have won gold three times at the Winter Olympics and the women four golds and a silver. His world junior teams have been in a slump lately but have been hugely successful for much of this time (12 golds, six silver) with great interest on TSN over Christmas.
The Oilers, of course, were involved in the World Juniors in Edmonton and Calgary at Rexall Place and the Saddledome.
One of Nicholson’s biggest skills has been surrounding himself with excellent people and terrific networking.
Healsoplayedthegame.He was a forward at Providence College with Brian Burke and Ron Wilson, and Lou Lamoriello as coach.
He’s been steeped in the hockey side for about 40 years, but he could be doing a lot more business work with the Oilers.