Jeremy Jacobs
Owner | Boston Bruins
Jacobs, who purchased the Boston Bruins and Boston Garden in 1975 for a mere $10 million (now worth $800M), has kept the Original Six franchise flourishing in the "Hub of Hockey" and helped transform TD Garden into the premier destination that it is today. Jacobs, ranked as one of the 500 richest people in the world last year, still serves as chairman to the NHL’s Board of Governors. He also is involved in many charitable efforts in Boston and was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in June.
Larue Renfroe
Owner | Providence Bruins
Though originally from New Orleans, Renfoe has long been a part of the Boston area’s business and hockey scenes as longtime owner of a technology systems company, Marlboro’s New England Sports Center and the AHL’s Providence Bruins and president of the Minuteman Flames youth organization. Under the guidance of Renfroe and GM Wes Tuttle, New England Sports Center continues to evolve, with an 88,830-square-foot expansion set to add two more rinks — for a total of eight — at the pioneering facility.
Cliff Rucker
Owner | Worcester Railers
Professional hockey is back in Worcester, Mass., after a two-season hiatus, and a big reason for that is Cliff Rucker, the owner and governor of the Worcester Railers of the ECHL. When the San Jose Sharks announced plans to move the city’s AHL team from Worcester to California for the 2015-16 season, part of a western migration that left three Northeast cities without AHL franchises, Rucker went to work to bring pro hockey back to the city.
His proposal, as the owner of Worcester Pro Hockey LLC, was accepted by the ECHL in February 2016. Since that announcement, Rucker has invested millions of dollars in a plan to build twin hockey rinks on property in the city’s Canal District.
The Worcester Sports Center group is planning to design and build a 100,000-square-foot facility, which will have two full-size skating rinks and about 40,000 square feet of retail space, and is being hailed as part of the city’s "Downtown Renaissance."
The Railers will play their first ECHL game on Oct. 14 against the Manchester Monarchs.
Rucker founded NFS Leasing in 2005 and is currently the president of NFS, one of the largest independent equipment finance companies in the country. Prior to his tenure at NFS, he was founder and CEO of NEXL, a national provider of IT services and outsourcing.
A father of five, Rucker and his family make their home in Danvers, Mass.
— MIKE ZHE
