Remember the name Ryan Garellek. The Côte Saint-Luc resident works
for John Molson Sports Marketing, which is a subsidiary organization at the
John Molson School of Business at Concordia University. The organization's
bread and butter in terms of events is its Annual Sports Business Conference,
known as JMSM14.
Each year JMSM brings together some of North America’s best and
brightest sports marketing students to network, interact with, and learn from
industry executives. From president to general
managers, the conference hosts speakers from all of North America’s major
leagues, whose insights prove useful for aspiring students.
Somewhere between lectures, tutorials, and campus libraries is where
you'll find Garallek’s committee.
From the heights of the bleachers to the depths of the field, sports is
the common passion that unites, defines, and drives these youngsters. As their
website says, “Money makes the world go
round more than that it fills stadiums, wins games, and builds dynasties. Sports
and business will forever be intertwined.”
At Ryan’s invitation I dropped by the D.B. Clark Theatre at Concordia’s
downtown campus on Friday, November 7 to hear Montreal Canadiens General
Manager Marc Bergevin and Tampa Bay Lightning Assistant GM Julien BriseBois
speak on a panel moderated by TSN hockey insider Darren Dreger
 |
| Julien BriseBois, Darren Drager, Marc Bergevin and Ryan Garrellek |
This was a great opportunity to see how hard these guys actually work.
BriseBois, who spent nine yers in the Habs head office, is constantly on the
road scouting, overseeing the Lightning’s AHL minor league team in Syracuse and
checking on prospects in junior. He credited his wife’s support and noted how
he still tries to find as much time with his two boys, aged 7 and 5, as
possible. “We even moved close to the rink,” he said.
Bergevin spent 20 years as a player in the NHL and then immediately
moved into scouting and management (with one year as an assistant coach) so he
says his kids were used of him being on the road. Referring to his present
situation he said : “At the end of the day I am with the team most of the
time.”
August, notes Bergevin, is usually the lightest month for GM as the
roster is basically set.
Asked about what is the most important thing about the building and
development of an organization, he noted how the draft is crucial. “The
backbone of a franchise is the draft,”
he said. “It is very tricky.”
What has been his toughest decision so far? “Letting Brian Gionta and
Josh Gorges go,” he said. “We discussed it in our war room, but ultimately it
was my decision.”
Bergevin got some chuckles when he talked about the difference between hockey in Chicago and Montreal. “If you go to
the United Centre they have 21,000 fans; so do we at the Bell Centre,” he said.
“They want their team to win; so do we. But after a game they go home, take off
their Black Hawks jerseys and wait for the next game. They have the Bears, the
Cubs, the White Sox. Our fans go home and they talk about the game. Their
passion is off the charts. But there is no place I’d rather be. I was gone for 28 years, but it is like I
never left.
Others on the agenda include Hockey
Night in Canada’s Elliotte Friedman, LA Dodgers GM Ned Collettti, Director of
Content and Analytics for Bloomberg Sports Alex Burwasser, TSN Hockey Analytis
writer Travis Yost, Columbus Blue
Jackets Executive VP of Business Operations
Larry Hoepfner, Director of Corporate Partnerships for the Boston
Celtics Chris Baker, Tampa Rays Director of Marketing Carey Cox, hockey agent
Don Meehan and Cleveland Cavaliers President of Business Operations Kerry
Bubolz
Activities continue at three venues: the DB Clarke Theatre, the Holiday
Inn Expres at 155 Boulevard
René-Lévesque Est and the Sports Station at 2051 Rue Sainte-Catherine Ouest
through Saturday night, You can see the full schedule at jmsm.ca.
