In recent years, a group of young, skilled NHL stars has been changing the face of hockey.
A youth movement is also underway in the leagues chambers of power, thanks to the NHLs Power Players youth advisory board.
Launched in 2019, the program is currently accepting applications for its third season, until July 2.
Fittingly, it was the initiative of an 11-year-old that led to the birth of the program.
Not long after joining the league as Chief Marketing Officer ahead of the NHLs 2017 Centennial, Heidi Browning received a letter from young fan Sabrina Solomon, offering up her ideas about how to make the league more relevant to her demographic.
Browning invited Solomon to the leagues offices in New York, where she met with key executives.
She came in with a fully developed PowerPoint of all these ideas, Browning marvelled. And she presented them to this large group of executives with such poise.
While the league was already at work on many of the ideas in the presentation, Browning realized the initiatives might not be reaching their target audiences if a superfan like Solomon didnt know about them.
That, for us, was a moment where we thought about, How do we make sure that the content that were creating, the places that were sharing and the type of information that people are wanting to access are being made available to young fans? Browning said.
She got to work on creating a formal program where young peoples voices would be heard, and the Power Players launched ahead of the 2019-20 season.
Initially made up of 12 board members, aged 13-17, from the U.S. and Canada, the program expanded to 25 members last season, including 10 returnees who were still within the age requirements and served as mentors for the new recruits.
The membership will stay at 25 for the 2021-22 season.
Each one of them has a superpower, in that they run a YouTube channel or they run an Instagram account or they write for their local paper, Browning said. Theyve got so many skills that are just brilliant. And theyre the skills of the future, so really understanding who they are and what they care about is going to help us.
Last year, the league received more than 1,500 applications for the program. The pitches that stand out in the selection process are the ones that offer detailed, specific ideas about how to grow the league and engage with fans.
You can pretty much assume everyone whos applying is a hockey fan, so your fandom for hockey isnt quite enough Browning said. We need to know that youre willing to spend the time to share ideas, give us feedback and help us grow our sport, and imagine new ways to connect with people.
Brownings vast experience in the digital marketing space dates back to the MySpace era, when she says the relationship between brands and customers changed forever.
All of a sudden, consumers had the power to create and the power to distribute, and they had a voice, she said. That was really critical in transforming how brands engage with fans. This is the first time fans or consumers were saying, Hey, I have an opinion, and I expect you to hear me and listen to me.
The whole idea around community connection and two-way conversations really emerged out of the MySpace years.
At the NHL, that philosophy anchors their marketing principle that humans are greater than highlights. Its a departure from hockeys traditional culture, which dictates that the crest on the front of the jersey is more important than the name on the back. And while the thirst for more insight into individual stars is global and runs across all sports, its particularly strong in the Power Players age group.
Because of the important role that social media plays in the lives of these young people, they want to have a one-to-one personal connection with the players via social media and content, Browning said. They want to have that personal purview into athletes lives. Who are they? Whats their family life like? Their pets, their food, their workouts how do you become a GOAT?
This human side of athletes is really the critical piece of connective tissue for these young fans because they admire the athletes. They want to know what its going to take to become like them or to aspire to be them in their own personal lives.
The Power Players have also helped crystallize the idea of putting fans at the center of the NHLs social media content a concept that really took off last year, while the league was shut down due to the pandemic.
We see the rise of influencer media, Browning said. Our fans want that kind of recognition for the things they care about. Theyre passionate about hockey, so getting it from the league is really important because that helps them build their social currency, as well as continue to build up their audiences, and their creative or their craft.
In addition to gaining valuable experience that looks great on a college application, the first two Power Players classes have also formed close friendships that theyre maintaining, even as they age out of the program.
I see this as a huge benefit and value for our Power Players as they grow and develop as students with aspirations to get into sports or marketing in their futures, Browning said. Theyre learning about our business just as much as were learning about what matters to them.
I imagine, 10 years down the road when theyre ready to be hired into the league, I certainly hope they would consider coming to work for us in a permanent role.
