PHOENIX, AZ – Steve Ludzik, Jarrod Skalde, Jim Bedard….and Grant “Bucky” Buckborough?. What do the four of the following have in common? If your answer was that they are all from Niagara Falls and have been in the National Hockey League at one point in their careers then you are correct.
Ludzik, Skalde and Bedard as players and coaches and Buckborough now as Front Office Executive with the National Hockey League’s “Desert Dogs” the Phoenix Coyotes. “I would have never thought that the National Hockey League was in my future, but I am elated to have the chance to finally live my dream,” Buckborough said.
Like any youngster who is born and raised in Canada, sports and hockey is a part of our life. “Watching Hockey Night in Canada was a Saturday night ritual for my parents (Gail and Len) , my brother (Chris) and I” said Buckborough while recalling his childhood .
“Some people might not believe this but Hockey Night in Canada started my career.”
One night while watching his beloved program being broadcaster in Amarillo, Texas to introduce the new Western Professional Hockey League Team, Buckborough who was 26 at the time decided he was going to apply for an Account Executive job with the team.
“My career finally began and I was living the dream making $13,000 as the newest member of the Amarillo hockey club,” he added.
He ended up leaving Amarillo in 2002 to become the Assistant General Manager of the Rio Grande Killer Bees of the Central Hockey League and the Assistant General Manager of the Rio Grande Dorados of the Arena Football League.
As Assistant General Manager, Buckborough built and managed the ticket sales team which split time selling two sports, Rio Grande Valley ranked #1 in the Central Hockey League in group sales during first two seasons and sold over $450,000 combined in corporate partnerships while managing ticket departments.
During the 2005 season Bucky was promoted to General Manager of the CHL and AFL clubs in Rio Grande. As General Manager his duties were to oversee all departments in the organization (Ticketing, Corporate Sales, Hockey Ops, Media Relations, Public Relations, Game Operations and Merchandise), he built a ticket sales team that achieved annual sales of excess of 2 million dollars ranking in the top 2 in the Central Hockey League in group sales 7 consecutive years and he served as the teams alternate governor with the Central Hockey League.
His hardwork during his time in the CHL did not go un noticed, as Rio Grande won Franchise of the Year in 2004, Community Relations Franchise of the Year in 2006 & 2008, Group Sales Franchise of the Year in 2004 – 2008, 2009 Franchise of the Year in 09’ and Game Operations Franchise of the Year in 07’ and 2010’.
Bucky also won the 2007 Central Hockey League Executive of the Year, the award is presented annually to the Central Hockey League executive who best exemplifies the qualities of excellence and professionalism in a leadership role, 2008 Central Hockey League Commitment Cup Recipient which is presented annually for outstanding service and dedication to the Central Hockey League, 2008 AF2 Executive of the Year and the icing on the cake was the 2010 Central Hockey League Executive of the Year that is Presented annually to the Central Hockey League executive who best exemplifies the qualities of excellence and professionalism in a leadership role.
“I’ve always said you’re only as good as the people you surround yourself with and we have a dedicated, hard-working group of people in the front office who make the team tick,” Buckborough said. “The personal awards have my name on it but it is a team award, without a doubt.”
“We were fortunate in Rio to win a bunch of awards over the years and it all stems from our ownership and staff. We had the best owner in the league hands down in Troy Nelson who really had the faith in each and every one of us to do our jobs and providing us with the tools to succeed. All the awards our teams racked up through the years were truly team awards which everyone played a part in. I am a true believer that you are only as good as the people that you surround yourself with.”
In July of 2010 Bucky received a call from the Phoenix Coyotes Chief Operating Officer Mike Neely to his interest level in interviewing for a Senior position within the Ticketing Department. While there was mixed emotions with this phone call he ended up interviewing for the position. “I followed the Coyotes closely last season on and off the ice and was really impressed what they overcame and accomplished as a franchise under the circumstances. I liked what Mike had to say and decided that I owed it to myself and family to interview for the position.”
“The Coyotes flew me in on a Friday and met with me close to 12 hrs and then I flew back first thing the next morning. It was a great experience for me personally and a day that I will never forget.” The rest is history and the Coyotes offered Bucky the job. Finally his dream of making it to the National Hockey League has come true but Bucky wasn’t as excited as probably should have been at the time since I felt like I was walking away from Troy and our staff, fans and friends in Rio. “I never truly got excited about my new venture until I said all my goodbyes and packed up my car and started making the drive to Phoenix, that’s went it really kicked in.”
“We’re thrilled to bring in someone with Grant’s credentials to lead our ticket department,” Phoenix Coyotes Chief Operating Officer Mike Nealy said. “His expertise in creating excitement for the game of hockey in non-traditional markets is a valuable asset for us as we look to expand our fan base in the Greater Phoenix area.”
If Bucky can give advice to someone starting out in the sports industry it would be “Set realistic goals for yourself and know going into sports that it is not a 9-5 job. Start in the ticketing department since it’s the most important department in the organization. If you have a Masters Degree in Sports Management this doesn’t mean you are qualified to run a team. I loved starting at the minor league level initially because you really got to be involved in all areas of the business which really helped me. ”
Contact Mitchell.Tychynski@prohockeynews.com
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