Kyle Okposo joins the NHL Players' Association months after winning the Stanley Cup and retiring
Kyle Okposo is joining the NHL Players' Association as business development and player engagement adviser.
The NHLPA is announcing the hires of Okposo, chief commercial officer Steve Scebelo and communications and media relations manager Stephanie Maniago on Thursday.
Okposo retired in September
after playing 17 seasons in the league and
winning the Stanley Cup
last June with the Florida Panthers. Okposo was a prominent member of the search committee formed in 2022 to
find a new executive director
that ended with U.S. Secretary of Labor and former Boston Mayor
Marty Walsh landing the job
in February 2023.
'I knew that I wanted to stay in the game,' Okposo told The Associated Press by phone this week. 'I love it. It's given me everything that I've had in my adult life, and I wanted to continue to stay in it and I think that this is the best route for me to go right now.'
The 37-year-old who
played more than 1,000 regular-season and playoff games
with the New York Islanders, Buffalo Sabres and Panthers from 2008-24 began considering working for the union when he participated in the executive director search. He and Walsh clearly hit it off to get Okposo in the fold after spending some time together at the 4 Nations Face-Off in February.
'I'm looking forward to learning a lot from him,' Okposo said. 'He's done a lot for the PA in a very short amount of time. We have plans to keep moving this thing forward, and Marty, I think he's the right person to lead it.'
Okposo, who wanted to take some time to make sure he had the emotional energy to devote to a gig like this, wanted to be on the business side and expects his role to be fluid as he feels out his place at the NHLPA, working under Walsh and assistant Ron Hainsey. Walsh said Okposo's experience as a player and an executive board member makes him a well-respected, trusted resource.
'Being freshly retired, I have relationships with a lot of different players and have some different ideas on how we can create excitement and engagement with the current members of the union,' Okposo said. 'For me, just having the relationships with those guys and being able to talk to them like we're in a locker room is going to be, I think, an asset to the PA.'
Scebelo comes from running his own sports and licensing consulting firm after spending more than a decade with the NFLPA, most recently serving as president of the union's licensing program, NFL Players Inc.
'Some of thing that we were able to do at the NFLPA do lend themselves to this,' Scebelo said. 'There could potentially be opportunities for the NHLPA to work with emerging companies — small or early-stage companies who may have some endemic ties to hockey as a sport that there could be investment opportunities that allow a players association to grow with that company as they grow.'
___
AP NHL:
https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
16 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Forsyth County leaders approve $225 million development in hopes of attracting the NHL
Forsyth County leaders voted unanimously to approve a major development, all in hopes of bringing a pro hockey team to north Georgia. This was the final vote on the $225 million project and a critical step in efforts to attract a hockey team. [DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] Developer Vernon Krouse was at the meeting that included the Forsyth County Board of Commissioners, the Forsyth County Board of Education and the Development Authority. Members of all three boards met, and all voted unanimously to approve the final, official documents for the project. It's a milestone. 'Without this vote, we could not go to the NHL. This was a prerequisite,' Krouse told Channel 2's Bryan Mims. TRENDING STORIES: Officer hit by car in Carrollton while directing traffic 'Senseless': Brothers, ages 13 and 14, accused of Clayton party shooting, posting it to social media Sheriffs' Assoc. sues Judge Hatchett after sheriff's guilty plea for groping her It was April 2023 when Krause publicly announced his plans to build a mixed-use development centered around an 18,000-seat hockey arena in Forsyth County. It's named 'The Gathering at South Forsyth' and would be located along Georgia 400 between Alpharetta and Cumming. The National Hockey League has not said it plans to expand and bring a franchise to the Atlanta market. However, Krause says the demand is here and his development can accommodate a team. 'A lot of people in this state believe we should have a hockey team. I believe we're gonna have one,' Krause said. Forsyth County commissioners agreed to provide $225 million in bond financing, but only if The Gathering lands a pro hockey team. With county officials approving these final, critical documents, Krause plans to meet with the NHL commissioner after the Stanley Cup playoffs. [SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter] Krause said to see three governing bodies in Forsyth County unanimously approve the project brings him to tears. 'It's emotional. It's been a lot of hard work by a lot of people. It's nice to see when your hard work, our team has worked hard, it has paid off,' Krause explained. Krause says he talked with Commissioner Gary Bettman this week. He says if this final approval from the county came today, Bettman would meet with him after the NHL finals. Krause says he expects a decision from the NHL about expansion at the latest by the end of this year.
San Francisco Chronicle
2 hours ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Healthier Panthers are nearing full strength in the Stanley Cup Final against the Oilers
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — The bumps and bruises and worse started to pile up midway through the Florida Panthers' third consecutive trip to the Stanley Cup Final. Matthew Tkachuk only returned for the playoff opener after sitting out the final two months of the regular season with the injury he suffered at the 4 Nations Face-Off in February and seems to still be gutting through it. Sam Reinhart and Niko Mikkola each missed time during the Eastern Conference final, and A.J. Greer's injury he tried playing through eventually sidelined him. 'It's very hard to win a Cup with unhealthy bodies,' Greer said. The Panthers found that out the hard way two years ago when they were the skating wounded. Tkachuk had a broken sternum, Aaron Ekblad had a broken foot, two shoulder dislocations and a torn oblique muscle, Radko Gudas had a high ankle sprain and they lost to Vegas in five games in the final. While the Edmonton Oilers looked to be in better shape going into this series with the notable exception of injured forward Zach Hyman, Florida has gotten healthier. Coach Paul Maurice said Reinhart is 'back to full health,' Tkachuk, Mikkola and Greer are making a difference and the defending champions are two wins away from hoisting the Cup for a second year in a row. 'It's always good to have a full team that's healthy," fourth-liner Tomas Nosek said after practice Wednesday. "It's been good so far, and hopefully it stays that way.' The Panthers will have their ideal lineup for Game 4 on Thursday night in Sunrise after that same group waxed Edmonton 6-1 earlier this week to take a 2-1 lead in the final. Other than do-it-all defenseman Seth Jones, no one played more than 23 minutes in Game 3. That balance, after so much overtime hockey early in what looked to be an evenly matched series, combined with an extra day between games, makes them rested and ready. 'We've been, I think, great the whole playoffs," center Anton Lundell said. 'It doesn't really matter when we play. It's always fun to play, so we don't really care. But obviously now we have had a couple days off, so it's fun to get the energy back and prepare." Reinhart scoring Monday night was his first goal since being out for two games in the Eastern Conference final, ending a drought that dated to the second round against Toronto. He had six shots in Game 2 and has been steadily progressing. 'I'm not worried about him,' Maurice said. 'I think his game is getting stronger — quite a bit stronger.' So is Tkachuk's, even if it's clear the tough winger is not moving as well as he does when 100%. But he had an assist and was noticeably better in Game 3, which Maurice called Tkachuk's best of the playoffs. 'It took him a while to build out,' Maurice said. 'The speed of the Carolina series was probably a really, really good thing. Some of these injuries I'm sure they're dealing with it, you can't condition them and rehab them at the same time. They need some time. And he was out for such a very long time that I would say the last month, but certainly the last three weeks, he's back to form now.' That spells trouble for the Oilers, playing without Hyman and with top-line forward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins dealing with an undisclosed injury that has him relegated him to game-time-decision uncertainty. Their longest-tenured player not being 100% is a major blow after Nugent-Hopkins, Connor McDavid and Hyman were such an effective trio getting to this point. Coach Kris Knoblauch foreshadowed a lineup change that may or may not be injury related. Either way, his team's depth is being tested. The same has been the case for the Panthers, who have used 22 skaters in the playoffs following 30 during the season. They've grown accustomed to shuffling players in and out and chugging along like some of the NHL's best teams have to do. 'With our depth this year, even when guys are injured or guys are out of the lineup, there's just so much depth on our team that guys can fill in seamlessly and it doesn't change our lineup that much,' Bennett said. "That's definitely a huge factor for us.' ___
Hamilton Spectator
3 hours ago
- Hamilton Spectator
Healthier Panthers are nearing full strength in the Stanley Cup Final against the Oilers
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — The bumps and bruises and worse started to pile up midway through the Florida Panthers' third consecutive trip to the Stanley Cup Final. Matthew Tkachuk only returned for the playoff opener after sitting out the final two months of the regular season with the injury he suffered at the 4 Nations Face-Off in February and seems to still be gutting through it. Sam Reinhart and Niko Mikkola each missed time during the Eastern Conference final, and A.J. Greer's injury he tried playing through eventually sidelined him. 'It's very hard to win a Cup with unhealthy bodies,' Greer said. The Panthers found that out the hard way two years ago when they were the skating wounded . Tkachuk had a broken sternum , Aaron Ekblad had a broken foot, two shoulder dislocations and a torn oblique muscle, Radko Gudas had a high ankle sprain and they lost to Vegas in five games in the final. While the Edmonton Oilers looked to be in better shape going into this series with the notable exception of injured forward Zach Hyman , Florida has gotten healthier. Coach Paul Maurice said Reinhart is 'back to full health,' Tkachuk, Mikkola and Greer are making a difference and the defending champions are two wins away from hoisting the Cup for a second year in a row. 'It's always good to have a full team that's healthy,' fourth-liner Tomas Nosek said after practice Wednesday. 'It's been good so far, and hopefully it stays that way.' The Panthers will have their ideal lineup for Game 4 on Thursday night in Sunrise after that same group waxed Edmonton 6-1 earlier this week to take a 2-1 lead in the final. Other than do-it-all defenseman Seth Jones, no one played more than 23 minutes in Game 3. That balance, after so much overtime hockey early in what looked to be an evenly matched series , combined with an extra day between games, makes them rested and ready. 'We've been, I think, great the whole playoffs,' center Anton Lundell said. 'It doesn't really matter when we play. It's always fun to play, so we don't really care. But obviously now we have had a couple days off, so it's fun to get the energy back and prepare.' Reinhart scoring Monday night was his first goal since being out for two games in the Eastern Conference final, ending a drought that dated to the second round against Toronto. He had six shots in Game 2 and has been steadily progressing. 'I'm not worried about him,' Maurice said. 'I think his game is getting stronger — quite a bit stronger.' So is Tkachuk's, even if it's clear the tough winger is not moving as well as he does when 100%. But he had an assist and was noticeably better in Game 3, which Maurice called Tkachuk's best of the playoffs. 'It took him a while to build out,' Maurice said. 'The speed of the Carolina series was probably a really, really good thing. Some of these injuries I'm sure they're dealing with it, you can't condition them and rehab them at the same time. They need some time. And he was out for such a very long time that I would say the last month, but certainly the last three weeks, he's back to form now.' That spells trouble for the Oilers, playing without Hyman and with top-line forward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins dealing with an undisclosed injury that has him relegated him to game-time-decision uncertainty. Their longest-tenured player not being 100% is a major blow after Nugent-Hopkins, Connor McDavid and Hyman were such an effective trio getting to this point. Coach Kris Knoblauch foreshadowed a lineup change that may or may not be injury related. Either way, his team's depth is being tested. The same has been the case for the Panthers, who have used 22 skaters in the playoffs following 30 during the season. They've grown accustomed to shuffling players in and out and chugging along like some of the NHL's best teams have to do. 'With our depth this year, even when guys are injured or guys are out of the lineup, there's just so much depth on our team that guys can fill in seamlessly and it doesn't change our lineup that much,' Bennett said. 'That's definitely a huge factor for us.' ___ AP NHL playoffs: and
