Dan Mackenzie

[LDN]

First full time president with loads of NBA experience. In my opinion he will be good at growing the game.
What are everyones thoughts on him?
CHL Names Dan MacKenzie First Full-Time President – Ontario Hockey League

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[Ward Cornell]

First full time president with loads of NBA experience. In my opinion he will be good at growing the game.
What are everyones thoughts on him?
CHL Names Dan MacKenzie First Full-Time President – Ontario Hockey League

I know absolutely nothing on him but with him being associated with the NBA speaks volumes of what he potentially will bring!
The NBA maybe the most marketing and media savvy sports league in the world.

 

[LDN]

I know absolutely nothing on him but with him being associated with the NBA speaks volumes of what he potentially will bring!
The NBA maybe the most marketing and media savvy sports league in the world.

agreed on that front. I also know nothing about him. The NBA is such a marketable league. Say what you want about the players , but wow basketball is worldwide and will continue to grow. I would love to see hockey grow like soccer and basketball have. It would also be great to see every fanbase in the OHL and CHL grow to the point of sellouts on a regular basis

 

[AttackSound]

I know very little about the NBA, what I do know about sports the bigger exposure you can have the better it is for all involved.

Putting a face to help brand the league will benefit everyone.

 

[Generalsupdates]

I know absolutely nothing on him but with him being associated with the NBA speaks volumes of what he potentially will bring!
The NBA maybe the most marketing and media savvy sports league in the world.

A large part of that is player visibility with them not wearing helmets or hats (football/hockey/baseball) and only have 12 players on the entire team. Also one player can carry an entire team unlike any other sport so its easy to root for certain players.

Very hard to market OHL because the good players are here for like 24 months and then gone. Also nearly every team is god awful for at least 2 years every 6 seasons. Makes it inherently hard to market. Impossible to market when you charge $500 to watch games online

 

[Purple Phart]

Gotta give Dave Branch props for growing the game, especially the OHL. That might prove to be problematic for the new guy's stated mandate, since the topic of growth has been discussed in this forum many times. Most of the viable markets in Ontario do have franchises, so not all that much opportunities within the present geography. His challenge will be to find and develop new markets, or expand the current ones to capacity. Dave leaves big shoes to fill, and it'll remain to be seen how well Dan MacKenzie fulfills his stated goals.

 

[WaW]

A large part of that is player visibility with them not wearing helmets or hats (football/hockey/baseball) and only have 12 players on the entire team. Also one player can carry an entire team unlike any other sport so its easy to root for certain players.

Very hard to market OHL because the good players are here for like 24 months and then gone. Also nearly every team is god awful for at least 2 years every 6 seasons. Makes it inherently hard to market. Impossible to market when you charge $500 to watch games online

Really hope he looks at this. Wonder if there's opportunity to partner with DAZN or something since there's no hockey on it currently.

 

[Generalsupdates]

Really hope he looks at this. Wonder if there's opportunity to partner with DAZN or something since there's no hockey on it currently.

There has to be something. Isn't the AHL like 20 bucks or something like that?

 

[BadgerBruce]

An article published on Sportsnet some time ago provides some insight into the role MacKenzie will play and the “new CHL hierarchy”:

“[T]he new president will report to what we call our executive council which is each of the three league commissioners. And we bring a wealth of experience and knowledge, we have over 100 years of experience amongst the three commissioners.”

Q&A with David Branch: On president search, taking CHL to a new age - Sportsnet.ca

In other words, David Branch (OHL), Gilles Courteau (QMJHL) and Ron Robison (WHL) do not report to new CHL-boss MacKenzie. Rather, he reports to them.

That’s an interesting setup, to say the least.

Also, while the “over 100 years of experience amongst the commissioners” is genuinely valuable, the flip side is that all 3 league commissioners are getting a bit long in the tooth. Branch is in his early-70s and both Courteau Robison are in their mid-60s. They’ve led their respective leagues for 41, 34 and 20 years, respectively, and all 3 held senior positions within hockey leagues/governance bodies prior to assuming major junior hockey league presidencies.

It’s a fine line between guiding the new CHL commissioner and getting out of his way as junior hockey is on the cusp of its 3rd decade of the 21st century. Can the 3-headed monster to which MacKenzie must report pull this off? Maybe.

About a year or so ago the CHL moved from being a self-described “umbrella organization” to a fully incorporated entity, so corporate governance issues do matter now. Is Dan MacKenzie just the President, or is he the President and CEO? There’s a significant difference, and one would need to see the official CHL Letters Patent and Articles of Incorporation to know for sure and to get a grip on MacKenzie’s true role within the CHL’s corporate hierarchy. The Devil (or the Angel) is usually in those structural Details.

My sense right now — and this could definitely change in the future if more information becomes public knowledge — is that MacKenzie was hired to be something akin to a Senior Marketing Officer (or Executive Director) reporting to the 3 league commissioners.

The CHL doesn’t really have an employee infrastructure — it’s used David Branch’s OHL office and staff since 1996. Will there be a separate CHL headquarters? A staff infrastructure to do the work? Even Branch’s general counsel with the OHL in Ontario has been on retainer for years and usually undertakes CHL-related business too. Will that continue with MacKenzie?

Lastly, there’s the issue of “right-hand man.” Bettman has Daley, and they are both graduates of NYU law. This kind of “I need someone I completely trust beside me” approach to leadership is the norm these days, and don’t be surprised if MacKenzie does not come alone when his new job begins in September. Frankly, while MacKenzie has an impressive resume on the marketing side (a lot with TSN), I’m a bit surprised the 3 commissioners didn’t opt for a trained attorney, and their decision to hire a “Marketing Guy” probably speaks to the role he will fill. I wonder what he told the 3 commissioners during his interviews? Most marketing experts try to sell a signature strategy they wish to pursue if hired, and I’d love to have been a fly on the wall listening in.