Alex, thank you so much for doing this. You have been with the Kraken even before they were officially\u00a0the Kraken. You’ve seen so much! Talk us through how your role and your responsibilities have evolved over your time here.<\/p>\n
So, when I came on, before Ron Francis was hired as general manager, I honestly\u00a0forget\u00a0what my title was. But my job was researching the general manager, so that was a fun little twist, getting to be a part of hiring your own boss. When Ron came on, I became director of hockey strategy and research, which\u00a0basically meant\u00a0I was overseeing the research and development (R&D)-analytics department, as well as\u00a0assisting\u00a0with general strategic decisions. From there, I became assistant general manager, which was a great honor, and I oversaw the research and development team as well as amateur scouting. And now, this year, I transitioned to doing R&D and pro scouting. So,\u00a0I’ve\u00a0been able to touch a bunch of things throughout that journey. I got to know every single one of our hockey operations hires, because as they were brought on, I\u00a0was in charge of\u00a0getting their computer and setting up their email address.\u00a0And as the one who is actually living in Seattle, especially during the COVID times, I got to wear a bunch of different hats.\u00a0And just\u00a0bringing\u00a0everyone on\u00a0board.\u00a0<\/p>\n
To that point, every hockey team has a GM and assistant GMs.\u00a0But\u00a0not every assistant GM role looks the same. There are different responsibilities among your team. You shared some of what\u00a0you’re\u00a0responsible for, but how does the team break up those responsibilities so that\u00a0you’re\u00a0covering all the bases?\u00a0<\/p>\n
Every team does it differently. I would say that General Manager (Jason Botterill) and Ron (Francis), our president of hockey operations,\u00a0don’t\u00a0have time to be involved in the day to day\u2026I’ll\u00a0call it minutia. We have quite a large staff when you think about the scouts and how\u00a0they’re\u00a0distributed, player development. So, each\u00a0assistant\u00a0GM, whether\u00a0it’s\u00a0myself, Ricky Olczyk, or Ryan Jankowski,\u00a0we’ve\u00a0all taken on different departments that\u00a0we’re\u00a0overseeing, and\u00a0we’re\u00a0involved in the day to day. We can keep Jason and Ron updated on\u00a0what’s\u00a0happening\u00a0as necessary. We can communicate with the directors and the staff beneath them to make sure that\u00a0there’s\u00a0a pulse on everything\u00a0that’s\u00a0happening moving forward. In addition to the departments that\u00a0we’re\u00a0leading, all the assistant GMs when\u00a0we’re\u00a0thinking about preparing for the draft, or thinking about free agency or the trade deadline,\u00a0that’s\u00a0when that leadership group gets together.\u00a0We’re\u00a0all working and thinking through decisions and going that way. So, for as much as we specialize, we are also all generalists and involved in just making sure that the team is running successfully.\u00a0<\/p>\n
To that point, I wanted to ask you, because Jason Botterill, who’s now\u00a0the Kraken\u2019s\u00a0GM, was an assistant GM with you prior. How has that communication evolved with him now being a general manager?\u00a0<\/p>\n
I think relationships\u00a0are huge. With Jason, I had a great relationship when he was assistant GM, and now\u00a0he’s\u00a0my boss, so\u00a0it’s\u00a0a little bit different dynamic, right? But\u00a0I think that strong relationship\u00a0maintains, and\u00a0it’s\u00a0been fun watching him take on that\u00a0additional\u00a0leadership role of being the one in charge, if you will. We have a great relationship.\u00a0We’re\u00a0constantly in contact, our entire management group\u2026we have a bunch of text threads always going on.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Everyone has different communication styles. When leadership changes, do you have to pause and say, \u2018Oh, maybe now it’s this method of communication at this rhythm?\u2019 Do you have to do that kind of evaluation when team members change over the years?\u00a0<\/p>\n
For sure. And I think, especially with head coaches,\u00a0that’s\u00a0always a huge\u00a0component.\u00a0It’s\u00a0not just how to communicate. A lot of times,\u00a0it’s\u00a0how people want to receive information and data. A lot of our (work on) the research and development side of things, when\u00a0we’re\u00a0maybe thinking\u00a0about a trade target and\u00a0we’re\u00a0writing\u00a0a report\u2026one person might want to have a PowerPoint presentation made. Another person wants to look at a bunch of charts, and another person wants to read 10 pages of text, right? Knowing your audience and knowing\u00a0what’s\u00a0going to be well-received, even though, personally, I might not enjoy writing the 10 pages of text (laughs) if\u00a0that’s\u00a0what gets the message across, then\u00a0that’s\u00a0how the team\u00a0has to\u00a0deliver the message. And so, we really tailor that message, whether\u00a0it’s\u00a0for coaches\u2026and even different coaches on the staff we know have different preferences and how they receive information. And then (the same for) management as well.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Speaking of the R&D department, for those of us who do fall on more of the stats side (of analysis) look at the caliber of the team that\u00a0you’ve\u00a0built, and they might think your group is \u2018just stats\u2019 or \u2018just analytics.\u2019\u00a0 What can you share with us about how your team helps all parts of hockey, both what we see on the ice and\u00a0maybe other\u00a0parts of the department that we\u00a0don’t\u00a0see?\u00a0<\/p>\n
I think of our department as\u00a0we’re\u00a0full of problem solvers. We are like these special task forces that can go whether\u00a0it’s\u00a0to coaches, whether\u00a0it’s\u00a0down in Coachella, to player development, to strength conditioning, and ask, \u2018What problems are you\u00a0facing?What\u00a0data do you have that\u00a0maybe is\u00a0sitting in an Excel workbook?\u2019 and \u2018how can we make your life easier?\u2019\u00a0I think that’s a really key component.\u00a0Yes, we have very smart people creating these\u00a0fantastic\u00a0– what we hope\u00a0are\u00a0fantastic! – things like player evaluation models or coaching tactics and looking at these different things. But at the end of the day, we’re also trying to create systems software that can improve the quality of life for everyone (on the coaching and team side) and (for those who are travelling) around the world, so that a scout isn’t worried about, \u2019How am I entering a report into the system?\u2019\u00a0They’re\u00a0worried about going to the game and being able to\u00a0identify\u00a0player talent for the Kraken.\u00a0<\/p>\n
How do you fold in that proactive outreach of, \u2018How can I help you?\u2019 within the demands of a season?\u00a0How frequently are you going back and revisiting any team\u2019s needs and how to communicate\u00a0answers back in\u00a0the best way?\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
I think a lot of it comes from the fact that\u00a0we’re\u00a0involved in all these departments from a procedure and information perspective. There are very few scouting meetings\u2026for example the pro scouts are having a meeting– or amateur scouts or player development — that we\u00a0don’t\u00a0have at least one representative from the R&D department in. So,\u00a0I think we\u00a0see firsthand how\u00a0they’re\u00a0solving problems and what are the friction points? What are the questions that\u00a0they’re\u00a0asking? So,\u00a0we’re\u00a0not waiting for them to come to us and say, \u2018Oh, I have this problem. Can you solve it with XYZ?\u2019 We are in the meeting, and we leave the meeting and say, \u2018We think\u00a0they’re\u00a0having this problem.\u00a0Maybe we\u00a0could create XYZ, right?\u2019\u00a0And I think that’s a really powerful thing, where we aren’t outsiders within these different groups.\u00a0We are entrenched in the same way a scout is entrenched in the problems (they are trying to solve).\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Do you have a\u00a0feel for how different that approach might be from other R&D teams and other organizations? One way is certainly not better or worse, but this\u00a0approach \u00a0just\u00a0sounds different from the paradigm\u00a0we’ve\u00a0expected or\u00a0perceived of\u00a0people who are working in a lot of data.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I think it\u00a0certainly is going to vary\u00a0from\u00a0team\u00a0to\u00a0team. I know there are some peers across the league where\u00a0that’s\u00a0what’s\u00a0happening, and then\u00a0there’s\u00a0some where maybe\u00a0they’re\u00a0a little bit more on the outside.\u00a0And\u00a0sometimes people want to keep numbers and the scouting side separate, right?\u00a0We’re\u00a0a team where they are separate,\u00a0but ultimately, when\u00a0we’re\u00a0making decisions and talking about things,\u00a0that’s\u00a0when they come together.\u00a0<\/p>\n
With all that\u00a0you\u2019ve\u00a0shared, big picture, what have you learned about the importance of intentional communication and the approach that\u00a0you’re\u00a0using with your team at big decision points and big moments to help the entire department?\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Once\u00a0you’re\u00a0in a hockey team, you really start to understand the cadence of the calendar and when the pressure points are for people making these big decisions.\u00a0I’ll\u00a0use the draft as an example. Like you might think that for the draft, we need to decide who\u00a0we’re\u00a0drafting by an hour before the draft. But\u00a0that\u2019s\u00a0not the case. If\u00a0you’re\u00a0going to make a huge stand for a player or a class of player that\u00a0has to\u00a0be done (much earlier).\u00a0There are mid-season meetings in January; there’s final meetings in May.\u00a0(On draft day) you\u00a0can’t\u00a0just randomly bring up, \u2018Oh, actually, we should draft this player who’s 20 spots down our draft board,\u2019 right?\u00a0So, I think understanding the cadence of how people make decisions\u2026and that’s just one example\u2026is really key.\u00a0<\/p>\n
You have overseen\u00a0both pro scouting and amateur scouting. How valuable has that been, and how does that continue to inform all that you’re working on and all\u00a0that you’re touching?\u00a0<\/p>\n
I think\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0a privilege\u00a0to be able to touch all the\u00a0different groups. On the analytics side, we are involved in all the groups, but when\u00a0you’re\u00a0really in the trenches, whether\u00a0it’s\u00a0with amateur scouting or pro scouting,\u00a0I think you\u00a0learn a lot about how these teams are working.\u00a0Amateur scouting is super fun and exciting, but there is this notion of the fact that you don’t actually know if you’ve done a good job for a few years down the road.\u00a0Pro scouting is a little bit more unique, because in January, we were talking about who we wanted to\u00a0acquire\u00a0at the trade deadline to make our team better. You make the decision and\u00a0they’re\u00a0playing for your team the next night, right? So,\u00a0I think you\u00a0see more of the immediate impact\u00a0in\u00a0pro scouting.\u00a0It’s\u00a0also more important to think about team\u00a0fit, team chemistry, what your team needs, and how this player can solve that need. On the amateur scouting side,\u00a0you’re\u00a0much more thinking about how\u00a0do we\u00a0draft the best player available?\u00a0<\/p>\n
Last question. Are there moments where you’re seeing the impact of you having this role? We used to be able to count on one hand the number of non-white men who were in visible, powerful positions in hockey. Have you seen moments where you\u2019re just doing what you do best and it is helping open more doors or keep them open?\u00a0<\/p>\n
I think the fact that now there are more (women in hockey) is an important aspect, and I would never take credit for that. I think there’s so many different women in the league (now) that we become (more) visible. And I love that! Now, when people meet me, they’re not like, \u2018Oh, you’re just that one woman, right?\u2019 There’s more that they have to think through in their Rolodex. And I think that’s really powerful. And when I go to a rink, whether it’s for an amateur tournament or even an NHL game, to be in a room where you aren’t the only one feels really nice.\u00a0<\/p>\n
This conversation was lightly edited for brevity and clarity.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Alex, thank you so much for doing this. You have been with the Kraken even before they were…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":535295,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5130],"tags":[5,4188,4,2686,234,5318],"class_list":{"0":"post-535294","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-seattle-kraken","8":"tag-hockey","9":"tag-kraken","10":"tag-nhl","11":"tag-seattle","12":"tag-seattle-kraken","13":"tag-seattlekraken"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nhl\/116331239448303441","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/535294","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=535294"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/535294\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/535295"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=535294"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=535294"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=535294"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}