Having completed the Sports Administration (SPAD) program at Laurentian University in 2010, Kyle Davidson has built a successful career in the NHL, progressing through various positions before assuming the role of General Manager for the Chicago Blackhawks, a role he continues to hold. I had the privilege of engaging in a conversation with Kyle, delving into the early stages of his career, the invaluable life lessons he’s gathered along the way, and even sharing some intriguing Stanley Cup stories (or lack thereof!) from his journey in the world of professional hockey.
You were born and raised in Sudbury, Ontario, can you quickly talk about what it was like growing up there, if you can speak to some of the values you may have acquired from the city or anything you identify with being from Northern Ontario?
Yeah, I think it’s just that hard-working nature, it’s something a lot of people from Sudbury possess and it’s a very hard-working town so I think that I have taken those qualities on and used those traits in my career. Sudbury is also a really big hockey town and I think this is where my love of the sport began, and where I really took an interest in the sport early in my life so when it came time to think of a career, I combined the love of hockey and the hard-working qualities that were instilled in me to do whatever I could to get into the industry.
What were some of the key points that led to your decision to take Sports Administration (SPAD) at Laurentian University? Was it some alumni you met, or was it the intriguing combination of sport and business as a program that piqued your interest?
For me, it was just as simple as being aware of the program since it was local to me. There wasn’t necessarily one alumnus in specific that I could put my finger on, but there were quite a few in the OHL specifically at the time who had gone through the SPAD program and had eventually earned themselves management positions, which was something I wanted to accomplish as well. So due to the combination of the program being local and wanting to get into hockey and management, SPAD became a logical fit for me in that regard.
You joined the Ottawa Senators for an internship during your time at Laurentian. What was your first experience in professional hockey like? Was it what you expected, or was it more of an eye-opening experience for you?
Yes! My first experience in professional hockey was extremely eye-opening. I was helping to organize the Bell Capital Cup Hockey Tournament which was out of the Ottawa Senators organization but wasn’t necessarily direct work with the team. I learned quickly during my time in Ottawa that jobs in hockey and in sports aren’t your typical “9 to 5” job, there is a lot of around-the-clock work being done and the work rate required for that is very relentless. It was a pretty intense experience, I also learned that you get really close with your peers. When you’re working towards a common goal with a group day in and day out you become pretty bonded as a group. It was an amazing educational experience for me to see this firsthand and to this day, I am still very close and have great relationships with the people I met during my time with the Senators organization.
“Jobs in hockey and in sports aren’t your typical 9 to 5 job.”
Shortly after your time in Ottawa, you became an intern with the Chicago Blackhawks. What was it like to join an organization that had been having so much success during that period of time?
Yeah! Absolutely. The Blackhawks had just won the Stanley Cup the June before I joined the organization. They had so many unbelievable players: Toews, Kane, Hossa, Keith, and the list goes on. It was a great time for me to enter the business because at that time front offices were relatively small in comparison to today, so that meant I had access to everyone in the organization and meant I was able to do a lot of different things while learning as much as I could. I was able to sit in on a lot of scouting meetings and learn different philosophies from different people. It was really cool to sit in on scouting and draft meetings and hear differing opinions and begin to gather my own perspective and philosophy on certain situations and just have that “fly-on-the-wall” mentality to absorb as much wisdom as I could. Until I was able to start contributing to those conversations with my own crafted opinions. So yeah! It was a pretty remarkable experience to join a team of that level of success and just learn as much as I could.
What are some of the things that SPAD has most prepared you for since becoming the General Manager of the Chicago Blackhawks, if that is something you can be prepared for?
I think it’s more so the life skills for me. I’d say having access to that internship in Ottawa that I previously mentioned, seeing exactly how hard the industry is. It’s not just going to the games and hanging out and enjoying the game. You are often starting work in the morning and working until around 6 PM, then you are making your way to the rink for the game to do whatever job needs to be done there, and then doing it all over again the next day. So having that access to professional sport or the Sudbury Wolves, was a great education piece for me from SPAD. But obviously, another thing is the schoolwork you’re getting done on top of all these other things, so you learn quickly how to manage your time. So, I think the big thing for me was just the life skills I acquired during my time at Laurentian that helped prepare me for the uniqueness of my job.
“So having that access to professional sport or the Sudbury Wolves, was a great education piece for me from SPAD.”
Can you recall a time in your career (University or Professional) where you had a shortcoming or failure that you believe ended up being beneficial for you?
Yeah, I think personally it was always more of a perceived thing in comparison to a real “failure”. It was more so that when I would get a promotion or any added responsibility, I would get “imposter syndrome” and think “How did I back my way into this?”. So, when I got the GM job, I remembered having that feeling on a few different occasions, but over time you realize that a new job is a new job for everyone, and you get that job or promotion for a reason. Someone trusts and believes in you, so luckily by the time I got the GM job I no longer felt like an “imposter” because I had learned along the way and understood that I deserved the job and deserved where I was at in my career. I do think that without having those experiences along the way, it could have been very crippling if that were to have happened when I was named General Manager. So, I would say just learning to realize you do belong and that other people believe in the fact that you will be able to learn the aspects of the new responsibility because every job is “new until it’s not”.
What do you think is the biggest difference between the “Laurentian University Kyle Davidson” and the “General Manager of the Chicago Blackhawks Kyle Davidson”, if you can put your finger on something?
Confidence! For example, in the most recent draft, getting up and announcing the first draft selection in front everyone in the stadium and the families watching from their homes, especially with the magnitude and importance in hockey history that draft this particular draft could hold, with that being the Connor Bedard selection. It is a moment that will be played over and over throughout his career and even longer than that because it’s the moment he is selected into the NHL. This is something that I am comfortable doing now because of the experiences I have had in my career, but if I went back to “Laurentian me”, I would have been terrified. I was terrified to get called on to talk in front of the class when I was in SPAD, terrified! So that’s something that I have improved on significantly and honestly it is also something that comes along with the job, because you’re often doing interviews, live TV, speaking at the draft or other NHL events. Those are all kinds of different scenarios the “Laurentian Kyle” would have avoided being a part of at all costs. Even just in general I have grown, especially with the job I have now, you tend to have to grow up quickly, so even looking back at the “Assistant GM Kyle”, I barely recognize the person I was then, because of the nature and demands of the job.
What is the legacy you would like to leave in Chicago outside of the Stanley Cups and on-ice success?
Obviously, when everyone thinks of success in sports it will always be determined by championships and success on the ice. I do think that goal must be the bedrock of the organization because without that you won’t last very long in the league since it is such a results-driven industry. Outside of that, I want people who work with me to either move up in the Blackhawks organization, or become executives for themselves. For example, I recently had one of my Assistant General Managers Jeff Greenberg leave and become the General Manager of the Detroit Tigers in the MLB. That’s something that’s super cool and motivating for me to be working alongside so many great minds in the sports industry, and because of those people, I get to continue to learn every day since you are never done learning in your life regardless of your job title.
“You are never done learning in your life.”
What is the best thing you got to do with the Stanley Cup after the Blackhawks’ victories?
The unique thing about that is that I am still waiting for my day with the cup! I have yet to have my traditional day to bring it home to my family and friends and eat something out of it, so that is something that I am still pushing to accomplish. Even though I have been to all of the parties and got to spend my time with it I still haven’t received that special day. In a lot of ways, it’s still something that is motivating for me because even though I have been a part of winning teams, I have yet to have that traditional day with family and friends alongside Lord Stanley.
Interviewee: Kyle Davidson
Interviewer: Joshua Gascon
SPAD Players Tribune 