- You became president of the San Jose Sharks in 2018. Have you always been passionate about ice hockey, or did you develop an interest later on?
I’ve always been a sports fan but became interested in the San José Sharks and ice hockey in the 90’s when the team started playing at SAP Center. Over time, I grew from an occasional ticket buyer, to a partial plan holder, to a full season member.
- Since becoming president of the Sharks, can you tell us what has been the best and the worst period of your presidency?
I frequently tell people that I have the best job in the world so there aren’t many bad days. The toughest times on us as an organization (and me personally) were during the pandemic. Due to local health regulations, we were one of the very few teams that couldn’t practice or play in our home facilities, so we had to temporarily relocate to Arizona. Even when we returned to San José, we initially couldn’t play in front of fans. The local restrictions were financially crippling, with very little revenue for 18 months.
Not a period exactly, but the best moments are when we get to introduce the game of hockey to people unfamiliar with the sport, especially children. I’m obviously biased but it’s the best live sport and you often have to see it live to appreciate it. This year more than 70% of our individual game attendees were new to our database, suggesting they hadn’t been to a Sharks game in the last decade.
- In the first 27 years of the Sharks’ history, the franchise missed the playoffs six times. Now, the Sharks have missed the playoffs for six straight seasons. Is this a problem?
Of course, you always want to be in the playoffs and compete for the Stanley Cup. The downside of having been such a consistent playoff team over nearly two decades is that you have to spend resources like draft picks and young players. At a certain point, it’s time to replenish those assets. We obviously want to get back to our consistent winning ways and, over the last two years, have made significant progress on our rebuild. With one of the youngest teams in the NHL and one of the highest ranked prospect pools, we are trying to position ourselves to once again be a consistent contender for a long period of time.
- When do you think the Sharks will return to the playoffs, and when do you think they will be able to contend for the Stanley Cup again, like they did in 2016?
It’s a question we get a lot from fans and one that is difficult to answer. Our focus is on building a winning culture and making the playoffs consistently. If we can do those things, a deep playoff run will be likely come as a result.
- This season, the term #TheFutureIsTeal has been used. Do you believe that the prospects from the Minors and the Barracuda can provide the decisive push for the Sharks to return to winning and contend for the Stanley Cup?
Yes, the foundation of our future is the prospects and Barracuda players, along with the young core already on the Sharks. The Barracuda making the playoffs for the first time in five years is a good step in that direction.
- What impact has 18-year-old Macklin Celebrini had on the Front Office and the team in his first NHL season as the number 1 pick in the 2024 Draft?
This was the first time our franchise was awarded the overall number one pick so that alone created lots of interest. Celebrini has more than lived up to his top billing in his first season, but the excitement includes Will Smith and the rest of the young core. The on-ice statistics are well documented but some business results which are less known:
- 14 sellouts, up from 8 last season
- Broadcast ratings up more than 50%
- Every social metric up substantially; NHL has us consistently ranked top 10 in social
- Merchandise orders up more than 60%
- After the retirement of players who made history for the Sharks, such as Marleau, Thornton, Pavelski, and now Couture, do you believe the future of the franchise is in the hands of the Celebrini-Smith duo?
Celebrini and Smith are certainly the nucleus of the young core but veterans like Toffoli, Goodrow, Ferraro, and Wennberg are important ingredients as well. Additionally, we are very excited about many of the prospects who are not yet on the Sharks, including Quentin Musty, Igor Chernyshov and Sam Dickinson. And with two first round draft picks in 2025 and 2026, we will have the opportunity to add additional talented players to our system with the hopes that this larger group of players becomes the new core of the team.
- So far, the Sharks have had excellent goalies, such as Nabokov and Martin Jones in recent years, but not true dominators like Hasek, Brodeur, Roy, or Fleury, to name a few. Do you think Yaroslav Askarov could become a “Dominator” goalie?
Askarov has been a “dominator” style goalie at each level of his career so far, but it’s too early in his NHL career to project what will happen. As compared to skaters, goalies typically take longer to mature.
- Before the 2022-23 season, the Sharks went to Europe, to Berlin and Prague, first with the friendly game against Eisbären Berlin, then playing the Nashville Predators for the NHL Global Series. Would you consider playing in Europe again?
The Sharks have played in Europe multiple times and in Japan once. As part of the NHL International Series, we do expect to play internationally again.
