PEORIA, ILL – It isn’t just players that have NHL dreams.
Matt Brooks started his career in professional hockey a few years ago as a student intern. He drove the 40+ miles to work from his college home in Normal, IL, where he was a student at Illinois State University. He worked doing all kinds of odd jobs, from folding programs to fetching stats sheets for media and scouts on press row. Not exactly glamorous.
Matt Brooks%2C standing%2C directs the activity during stoppages in play.Photo by Paul D. Wilkinson
Having to pay for gas, he cut back elsewhere, living off Ramen Noodles, $5 footlong subs, and anyplace that had a 2-for-1 coupon. The lifelong Chicago Blackhawks fan was following his dream, working for a professional hockey team, the Peoria Rivermen.
That turned into a full-time job with the AHL affiliate of St. Louis Blues after graduation. He was instrumental in using social media to help market the team and that lead to more opportunities.
Now, Matt Brooks peers down from his perch above Section 19 in Peoria’s Carver Arena, twin headsets clamped to his head. From this spot, he controls the game, at least the aspects of it that do not involve the players. As the Director of Game Operations, he calls the shots on everything from the music to the video board, the promotions and the PA announcements.
After the game he drops by to chat. He will relinquish his perch after next weekend. He’s just been hired by the Chicago Blackhawks and he could not be happier.
“This is my dream job. I am going home to work for the ‘Hawks,” he says through a wide grin.
Home is correct in more ways than one. The native of South Holland, a south suburb of Chicago, starts his new job March 1. Getting the job wasn’t so easy, though.
“I have always wanted to work in the NHL. That’s been my goal. I have kept my eye on job openings in the NHL and, in four years, haven’t seen a single posting for the Blackhawks. I saw this notification come across at 5:30PM one evening. My resume and letter were sent by 5:40PM. I called the next day to make sure they had received it.”
Photo by Paul D. Wilkinson
He was called for an interview. He wasn’t certain about the process but put on his one-and-only suit and headed to the United Center.
“I was interviewed for three hours by five different people. They kept saying, ‘hold on, there is someone else that might like to talk to you.’”
But after the interview?
“It was two weeks before I heard anything…the longest two weeks of my life!” he says, laughing.
Brooks will now be a Customer Service Executive, helping season ticket holders. He doesn’t plan to stop there, though.
“There is so much for me to learn. There are some great sports people and great business people who work for the Blackhawks. I hope to learn from all of them.”
Brooks says he will miss running the show in Peoria. The man who brought the “Bongo Cam” to Central Illinois says he will miss the group of people he works with now, as well.
“I really like Peoria. My boss, (Rivermen Chief Operation Officer) Jason Penning has been great about this.”
This was no accident for Brooks, though. He set out with a goal in mind. It goes back four years ago, when he was first hired with the Rivermen.
”During my interview, they asked me the question ‘Where do you see yourself in five years?’” Brooks remembered. “I said, ‘Hopefully working for the Chicago Blackhawks.’”
Self-fulfilling prophecy? More likely it was hard-work and dedication.
Even if you aren’t an NHL player, NHL dreams can still come true.
Contact the author: Shaun.Bill@ProHockeyNews.com
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