Category: Hockey

Company: Bauer Hockey 

Position: Social Media Manager

Madeline’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/madeleinemccarty/ 

Bauer Hockey Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bauerhockey/

Bauer Hockey has been around since 1927. Since then the company has been making skates for players from all around the world. Meet Madeleine McCarty. Madeleine has been the Social Media Manager for Bauer Hockey since January of 2023. She is a graduate of Boulder University in Colorado. I chose Madeleine because she is a female working for one of the most well known sport companies in the world. Furthermore, I decided on Madeleine because she is creating innovative ways to promote her company’s products on social media. I noticed Madeleine because she is someone who I aspire to be like especially since I myself want to eventually work in the world of hockey.     

Madeleine is able to keep athletes’ private information confidential especially when it comes to posting for the company. According to an academic article written by Birkner and Nolleke, “athletes have a negative image of journalists and media in general” (2016, p. 377). This quote points out how most athletes are not a fan of interviews because the reporter tends to ask too many personal questions that the player is uncomfortable answering. Madeleine is responsible for making the players look good on the Bauer Instagram that she runs. She is also responsible for dismantling any rumors about the player. In order for her to do this she engages in what is known as co ownership. Co ownership is where a hockey player shares private information with Madeleine and she does her part of not sharing the information with anyone else on her team. 

Furthermore, Madeleine is able to use players to promote upcoming events. An example of this can be seen on the Bauer Instagram page where Madeline made a post about the upcoming Dallas Stars game and she used a photo of Jake Oettinger who is the goalie for the team. When she is making her instagram posts for Bauer she is able to have different highlights on the page about the different events or teams so that fans can keep up with their favorite brand. In addition, she is able to sustain her relationships with the athletes because she has highlights of each individual one on the Bauer Instagram page. Furthermore, she is able to engage with the fans as well. An example of this is that she made an Instagram reel and asked fans to state one word that would describe Jack Hughes who plays for the New Jersey Devils. This is an example of how Madeline is able to communicate with both the fans and players. 

There are a few takeaways from Madeleine that can be applied to my everyday life. The first idea that I can use is the concept of co ownership. This is a necessary  concept for me to apply especially when I am interviewing athletes in the future. Another takeaway that I can use is the idea of adapting to the needs of the player. This is important especially when it comes to keeping the athletes’ information private and out of the public’s eye. In the future Madeleine aspires to continue working for Bauer. She has optimism that more women will enter the sports world in the near future. Madeleine has faith that she will continue to open doors for women who have a passion for working in the sports industry. 

Citation: 

Birkner, T., & Nölleke, D. (2016). Soccer players and their media-related behavior. Communication & Sport, 4(4), 367–384. https://doi.org/10.1177/2167479515588719

Company: National Hockey League (NHL)

Position: Director of Social Media Programs

Rebecca’s LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rebeccafriedman/ 

NHL Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/nhl/ 

The National Hockey League is composed of 32 teams from the United States and Canada. The league has been around since 1917. Enter Rebeca Friedman. She has been with the league since 2022. Rebecca’s position with the league is the director of social media programs. She is responsible for interviewing athletes as well as preparing for upcoming events such as the 2023 Stanley Cup playoffs. I was drawn to Rebecca because I hope to one day work in the hockey industry on the communications side and maybe even gain some experience on the social media side as well. Furthermore, I was inspired by her because she is a part of a small percentage of women that have the privilege of working in the sports industry, specifically hockey. There are more women that are gaining important roles in the league whether that be on the bench as part of the coaching staff, working in the social media department or even being a part of the communications and marketing team. I also choose her because she is setting a great example for young women who have just graduated college and are looking to work in the hockey industry. 

Rebecca prioritizes keeping certain information confidential about each athlete that she interviews. She is also able to handle the athletes’ private information in a mature manner by having each athlete’s information in a separate highlight on the NHL Instagram page. In addition, she ensures that no one should access athletes’ personal information except her. Furthermore, Rebecca excels at her role because she is able to conceal that private information from being posted on social media. This can be seen in academic research as well. From an academic article written by Pulido et al, “creating boundaries prevents the risk of exposing private information” (2017, p. 438). This means that Rebecca has the ability to understand that certain athletes’ information needs to be kept private and off of social media. Furthermore, Rebecca’s job is to post about the player’s accomplishments. An example of this is when she posted about Yanni Gourde who plays for the Seattle Kraken who scored the overtime goal in game 1 of the second round of the playoffs versus the Dallas Stars.

In conclusion, from Rebecca I have learned that it is important to keep athletes’ information confidential and all in one place. I have also learned the importance of being able to organize the information by sport, league and player. In addition, I have picked up her perseverance especially as a woman in a predominantly male field. I hope to be able to follow in her footsteps and be able to work in the communications field where I can also interact with players and coaches from the different sports leagues. Furthermore, I hope to take what I have learned from her and apply it to my current job and my future job as well. Rebecca will continue to work for the NHL where she will continue to interview athletes as well as prepare for upcoming events. She also will continue to keep the players’ information private until they are ready, if they ever are, to have it released to the rest of the world on social media.  

Citation:

Pulido, A. J., Yang, K. C. C., & Kang, Y. (2017). Collegiate student-athletes’ privacy management strategies and their impact on Twitter usage behaviors. The Journal of Social Media in Society. Retrieved February 20, 2023, from https://thejsms.org/index.php/JSMS/article/view/285

Company: Chicago Blackhawks 

Position: Social Media Manager 

Leah’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leahhendrickson/ 

Chicago Blackhawks Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nhlblackhawks/

The Chicago Blackhawks have been around since 1926. Since then the team has gone on to win three stanley cups which is one of the hardest trophies to win in all of sports. Enter Leah Hendrickson. 

Leah has been with the Blackhawks for the past 11 years. She has had many roles that have led her to the social media manager position that she is currently in. Her position allows her to accommodate In addition, she also does her best to make sure that all of her posts are relatable to the general public and to all hockey fans. An example of this can be seen on the Chicago Blackhawks Instagram that she runs where she has posted a reel about the 35 top moments from Jonathan Toews career for his birthday. This is one of many posts that the fans can relate to as they may remember being present for a highlight or two. Furthermore, she is able to accommodate by making sure that she posts about all of the players and the team equally so that one player does not get more attention than the rest. According to an academic article written by Suggs, “reporters have no guaranteed privileges in the locker room or press box” (2016, p. 275). This quote is important to recognize because it talks about how reporters for the different teams and companies do not always get the game recap straight from an athlete after a game. This is valuable information for Leah because she is responsible for posting about the player’s interview or highlights on the Chicago Blackhawks Instagram that she runs. Around the holidays Leah enjoys posting about the player’s holiday outfits, especially the suits that they tend to wear around the Christmas season. This can be seen in Leah’s posts on the Chicago Blackhawks Instagram. Leah further takes the confidential information about each player and organizes it into the highlights that she has for each player on the Instagram page. She does this in order to keep her information organized. 

There are a few takeaways from Leah that are important to highlight. The first one is  her ability to verify with the players that the post is okay to go on Instagram before she publishes it. I will use this takeaway in my future job especially after I have finished interviewing someone. Another important takeaway from Leah is that she understands that she might not be able to get the recap of the game straight from the athlete directly after the game. This is important for me to recognize as a woman entering the sports world is that I might not always be the first person to hear new information first hand from the player. Leah aspires that more women will follow in her footsteps as she continues to open doors for women in the sports world. Leah sees herself working for the Chicago Blackhawks until she retires. Leah is optimistic that there will be more women in the sports world who will be able to stick up for female athletes in the near future.   

Citation:

Suggs, D. W. (2015). Tensions in the press box. Communication & Sport, 4(3), 261–281. https://doi.org/10.1177/2167479515577191