WHL Commissioner Ron Robison; a race well run

Robison: It is mixed emotions. I must say I am looking forward to slowing down a little bit, but I will miss the league. I am very fortunate and very privileged to have this opportunity, and thank the ownership, specifically Bruce Hamilton, who has been the chair of the board for my entire time with the Western Hockey League. I couldn’t be more fortunate to have great support there.

RocketFAN: So, the plan is to name a new commissioner in the new year?

Robison: We are getting close to getting that finalized. I am looking forward to working with that individual in the transition, and it is an exciting time in the Western Hockey League. I think it is a great time to be coming into the league. I think we’ve accomplished a lot by establishing a good foundation, but the future is very bright.

RocketFAN: What type of individual would you like to see take over from you?

Robison: Someone who has a vision for the league. Someone who understands what they want to accomplish and works with the ownership to develop a strong vision. There are real opportunities for growth. We have been focusing, through Covid, on keeping the sustainability of the teams in place and making sure we don’t lose any franchises, but now it is all about growth and making sure our fanbase grows, interest in media grows, and I think there is great potential for that.

RocketFAN: Did you think the job would be as hard as it’s been?

Robison: I didn’t think there would be this many dimensions to the job. That is the fun part of it. Every day something is different. One day it is a hockey issue and then it is a business matter or even a national issue. We have a big investment with the other two leagues [OHL/QMJHL] as well as running our league, so the real enjoyment is there is something new every day and the fact you are contributing to the growth and development of young players and these franchises is really exciting.

RocketFAN. There were some stressful times for you during your time at the helm.

Robison: Covid would be at the top of the list for that one. We talked to ownership about playing when there was no revenue and we had to play in a bubble, and to find a way to make that work, and to do what was right at the end of the day, you have to give credit to ownership because they decided it was important for those players to not lose that year of development, so I think that would stack right up there. That was an area we never envisioned being in and to survive and work through it was good for our franchises.

RocketFAN: The WHL is in big centers like Vancouver, Edmonton/Calgary, and Regina, but you couldn’t make your mark in Winnipeg. Do you try a third time down the road?

Robison: We are so well positioned in every influential market in Western Canada. It is very disappointing that we couldn’t make it work in Winnipeg, the facility was the key criteria, and that didn’t materialize so we had to look at other options. The flip side of that is now we have balanced conferences, and for the first time in many years, we have a playoff situation where we are balanced, with 11 teams in the Western Conference and 11 teams in the Eastern Conference. So, that is a nice outcome of that. Winnipeg is an extremely important market. We are represented by only one team in Manitoba, a very strong and prominent team in the Brandon Wheat Kings, but we need to find ways to maintain a strong presence in the city of Winnipeg.

RocketFAN: We see it in the NHL. More women then every before are making inroads into management, or coaching positions. Do you think we will ever see a female head coach in the WHL?

Robison: I don’t think there is any question. When you look at the development of women’s hockey in this country and the rapid evolution of it now, more young women are going to get the opportunity in our league. Even with officials. We have two [females] right now, and are not only participating in our league but have bright futures in the game. We have a girl drafted by the Vancouver Giants, so we are excited about the opportunity to welcome them to the league sometime soon.

RocketFAN: You spoke about Bruce Hamilton and his help as chairman of the board. What were your first impressions of Bruce in working with him?

Robison: I have known the Hamilton family for a long time. I was in Saskatoon, in university, and I knew Bruce, Gav, Brent and the family. I knew how committed they are and how passionate they are about this league, and the leadership that Bruce has provided to the league is unbelievable. It is unheard of for someone to make this type of commitment, and people probably don’t realize it, with his daily routine we are in contact constantly. We talk about league issues, and as a franchise owner, Bruce puts the league at the top of his list and what’s best for what we can accomplish collectively, and his leadership has been invaluable for the WHL, but also I have been very fortunate through my time with the league.

RocketFAN: We have 22 teams, sometimes on 22 different islands. Can we as a league do a better job of supporting one another?

Robison: I think we can do a better job of that. It is a work in progress, yet I think everyone is willing and open to that and I think our league does a good job of sharing best practices, but I think our greatest challenge is we have limited resources. People are extremely busy, and they are challenged in their own markets and are consumed day-to-day with the task of running their own teams. But when they have time, they share openly with everyone else. We are going to have a business conference later this year with arenas across the league, where we come together and see how we can better partner together and share best practices. We develop players on the ice, but we develop people off the ice. Our staff’s continually have opportunities to grow and develop. Can we do a better job in that area? Absolutely we can, but it is a monumental task to run a junior hockey team itself, and you can’t take out the fact that the main focus for those people is their day-to-day duties.

RocketFAN: Do you believe you leave the league better than when you entered?

Robison: I think the credit is really to our ownership. Our leadership with our teams across the WHL. I had a very clear vision of what I was hoping to accomplish. It started with the player experience, and how we could enhance that overall because we want to attract the top players in the system, and we’ve accomplished that. We look at the facilities, over $400 million dollars in investment in buildings across the WHL. We’ve raised the standards of facilities. We’ve raised the level of coaching and the level of on-ice play, and I think from a business perspective, we’ve gone through a very difficult time but the local support from a sponsorship view is at record levels. We know attendance is going to build as the season goes along. We’ve got a great product on the ice, and we need to give credit to everyone – collectively – for the work we have been able to accomplish here.

RocketFAN: Who are you going to miss at the WHL head office in Calgary the most? Not seeing Richard Doreksen’s face…won’t that be sad?

Robison: Rick has been a fixture in our league for all those years, but I am going to miss everyone in our league office. Greg Gardiner, our chief operations officer, and all the staff. We have an incredibly dedicated group. Part of the fun of traveling to all these centers is seeing so many people whom I’ve met over the years and the staff’s that have worked so hard. People behind the scenes that make this work. I think about our education advisor and our security liaison officers. I think about radio broadcasters and all the people that make this work. It is an incredible family that believes in what we are doing, and it has been a real honour and a real privilege to be associated with the league.

by Regan Bartel

WHL Commissioner Ron Robison; a race well run

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