Edmonton Oilers Chief Executive Officer and Vice Chairman of the Oilers Entertainment Group Bob Nicholson will be named to the Order of Hockey in Canada tonight. Nicholson joins CHL President David Branch, 2002 Olympic gold medallist Geraldine Heaney and 1987 Canada Cup winner, 2002 Olympic gold medallist and 2004 World Cup of Hockey winner Mario Lemieux in the Class of 2016.
Hockey Canada hosts its annual gala Monday at the Cunard Centre in Halifax, Nova Scotia, honouring the newest members of the prestigious Order of Hockey In Canada as well as the Canada’s gold medal winning squad from the 2016 IIHF World Championship, including Oilers’ players Connor McDavid, Taylor Hall and Cam Talbot.
Nicholson played junior hockey for his hometown Penticton Broncos in the BCJHL where he won a BC-Alberta championship in 1972-73 and then went on to play with the Providence College Friars in the NCAA. In 1979, Nicholson was hired as Technical Director for BC Hockey. In 1990, Nicolson was hired as the Vice President of Hockey Canada. In 1998, Nicolson was promoted to President of Hockey Canada where he spent 16 years running the world’s greatest hockey power. He played a big part in the expansion of Canada’s hockey body and helped turn the non-profit organization into a lucrative brand. Team Canada won 44 gold medals in men’s, women’s and junior levels of competition under his watch.
Nicholson took over the position during a difficult time for Hockey Canada following disappointing results in the 1996 World Cup of Hockey and the 1998 Winter Olympics. Though he was brought in to help guide Team Canada back to the top of the hockey world, Nicholson’s biggest goal coming into the job in June 1998 was improving the game at the grassroots level.
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“I came in wanting to make sure that kids could play the game of hockey,” Nicholson said in an interview with Hockey Canada Monday. “Even the day I left, it was still a goal that was never fully achieved, but we made major advancements on it.
“Canadians see Hockey Canada representing them at the Olympic Games and World Juniors, but the most important thing for the President of Hockey Canada is to make sure kids play the game of hockey and play it in a safe, fun environment.”
Hockey Canada had many special moments under Nicholson’s watch. However, the proudest moment of his career likely isn’t one that instantly comes to mind for most Canadian hockey fans.
“The one that really sticks out in my mind was Torino and it wasn’t at the Olympic Games, it was at the Paralympic Games,” Nicholson recalled. “Our sledge team was going for a gold medal and they’d never won a gold medal, the emotion around the players when they won was unbelievable.
“When we brought on sledge hockey, I promised the sledge players that we would treat them exactly the same as the men’s team, as long as they gave us the same commitment back. To see them win gold and put on those gold medal rings really was special because they’d gone through so many traumas already in their lives. For them to not only represent, but win for their country at that level was special.”
Nicholson was elected as IIHF Council as Vice President in 2012 and was re-elected to the position last month for another four-year term. The 63-year-old Penticton, BC native was hired by the Oilers as Vice Chairman of OEG on June 13, 2014, and took over as the CEO on April 20, 2015.
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Nicholson will become the third Oiler, and first non-player, to join the prestigious Order of Hockey in Canada, following Wayne Gretzky in 2012 and Mark Messier in 2013.