This story is part of our September 2018 magazine – a speciality edition chronicling the top 40 people under 40 who are reinventing themselves in hockey.
Michael Murray
Executive V.P. of hockey operations | AHL
Michael Murray might not be the most popular person in the AHL. In fact, he’s likely far from it.
Murray is the AHL’s executive vice president of hockey operations. In this role, he’s the man who hands down supplemental discipline to players in the form of suspensions and fines.
“People in this position deal with assistant general managers to communicate supplemental discipline,” Murray said. “We’re not always seeing eye to eye.”
Murray, 38, joined the AHL in 2011 after three seasons with the ECHL’s hockey operations department. An admitted member of the Massachusetts Bar, Murray is a graduate of Dartmouth College, where he played varsity hockey for four years, and Suffolk University Law School in Boston.
Between his college career at Dartmouth and his law school experience at Suffolk, Murray played two seasons of pro hockey in the low minors of the ECHL and UHL.
“I did that and got it out of my system,” Murray said. “I got as far as I was going to go as a player in the game. I thought law school would be a nice résumé builder, and it would make me more attractive for a front office position.”
A Dover, Mass., native, Murray comes from a well-known hockey family around New England. His father played at Boston University in the early 1970s, his older brother played at Princeton, and his younger brother played at UNH.
As for Murray’s future plans? He hopes to make a transition from a league administrator to an employee in the front office of an NHL team.
“Somewhere down the line, I’d like to get on the team side of the business,” Murray said. “Being involved in the sport, we all want to win a Stanley Cup. I don’t get to do that for the league office.” — Dan Guttenplan
Brian Smith
Assistant commissioner | Hockey East
The Woburn, Mass., native was a student-athlete at Boston College, competing on the track and field team. After college, Smith took a communications position with USA Hockey in the Fishman Internship Program.
Now, he’s back where he grew up as the assistant commissioner of Hockey East, based in the league’s Wakefield, Mass., office. He spearheads all media relations and communications efforts for one of the top conferences in college hockey.
Neil Ravin
Director of communications | EHL
Ravin has helped the Eastern Hockey League’s growth as its director of communications over the past three seasons.
The Quinnipiac University alum promotes the EHL’s brand through the web and social media and also called play-by-play for more than 75 games last season.
Ravin’s hockey résumé also includes time at Hockey East and with the American Hockey League’s former Portland Pirates.
Brian Kelley
Assistant athletic director, communications | Boston University
Kelley has served on Boston University’s athletics communication staff since 2005. He was promoted to his current role in 2013.
The Lincoln, Maine, native been the primary media contact for the Terriers’ hockey team, plus served as a media relations contact for USA Hockey at the 2018 Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea.
Eric Lindquist
Vice president of marketing and communications | Worcester Railers
Though he is a North Andover, Mass., native, Lindquist has made a name for himself in Worcester while calling play-by-play for the city’s two latest professional franchises.
He spent nine seasons with the Sharks’ American Hockey League affiliates in Worcester and San Jose before returning from California after one season to serve as vice president of marketing and communications for the ECHL’s Railers.
Lindquist, who called his 1,000th pro game in February, also has won the Showcase Showdown on “The Price is Right” with Bob Barker and won over $60,000 on “Wheel of Fortune.”
Brett Peterson
Agent | Acme World Sports
On the ice, Peterson was a standout defenseman at Boston College who went on to play five professional seasons.
Since his playing career ended following the 2008-09 season, the Northboro, Mass., native has turned his attention to working for the Chicago-based agency Acme World Sports. And he’s thriving as one of the lone African-American agents representing pros in the National Hockey League and elsewhere.
Boston Bruins goaltender Tuukka Rask is among Peterson’s clients.
Drew Laine
Founder/owner | The Penalty Box; The Hockey Tape Club
Drew Laine has been involved with technology start-ups in the Boston area for the past 10 years, never losing touch with his hockey roots.
He channeled his hockey passion into a hockey subscription box business operated out of his basement. After a few of the larger “hockey mom” blogs posted about the subscription box being a great Christmas gift, Laine was left scrambling to fulfill hundreds of orders in a matter of weeks.
Since then, the company has expanded drastically and moved headquarters into warehouse space at Breakaway Arena in Tewksbury, Mass. Now shipping thousands of parcels a month with The PenaltyBox and The Hockey Tape Club, Laine has expanded the venture to include e-commerce and a nonprofit foundation, The PenaltyBox Foundation.
The foundation will focus on small grants to hockey families and programs who are facing tough times. In its first fundraiser after the Humboldt Broncos tragedy, the foundation raised more than $10,000 in just three days.
