How the AHL has Survived COVID: Scott Howson on Leading the League Through the Pandemic

Subscribe now using your favorite service:
        

Scott Howson was named president of the American Hockey League in February 2020 with plans for a short transition period before assuming control ahead of the 2020–2021 season. Obviously the sports landscape, along with the world landscape, looks a lot different now than it did a little more than two years ago. Howson worked during the pandemic to steer the league through a shortened 2020–2021 season that saw no Calder Cup playoffs. This season, the AHL has steered through the winter difficulties of the omicron variant to put itself on track for a full regular season and playoffs thanks to the support of medical experts and the National Hockey League as well. The AHL’s future also looks bright with the incoming addition of a team in the Coachella Valley starting next season in a new venue.

In this episode, Howson talks with SportsTravel managing editor Matt Traub about how a kid who grew up loving hockey turned it into not just a playing career but a post-playing career as a sports executive.

Among the topics featured in this episode:

• What the past two years have been like as a sports executive (2:24)
• Surviving the 2021 season that saw teams opt out, relocate and play in altered playoffs (3:55)
• How the current season compares to the previous one (5:49)
• The frustrations of a rough December because of the omicron variant (7:15)
• How the AHL has survived financially through the pandemic (9:20)
• The incentives of gambling and other revenue streams for the AHL (11:05)
• Why he was interested in the job of AHL president (12:08)
• His view of league when he was a player in the mid-1980s and later as an NHL team executive (13:35)
• The growth of the AHL which now has teams from coast to coast (15:02)
• How AHL franchises have been able to stay relevant in an increasingly crowded entertainment landscape (16:50)
• The AHL’s relationship with the NHL and its member clubs (18:17)
• Diversity, Equity and Inclusion throughout the league on and off the ice (20:16)
• Standardizing the AHL’s schedule for all 32 teams starting next season (22:10)
• The anticipation of having the Calder Cup Playoffs return (23:52)
• The league’s future priorities (24:45)
• What his younger self would think having had a playing and post-playing career in hockey (26:08)

This episode is sponsored by: