N.J. hockey team continues trend, names female as assistant GM

NEWARK, N.J. — The New Jersey Devils have named their first feminine assistant common manager, building Kate Madigan the sixth woman to keep the title in the NHL.

Common Supervisor Tom Fitzgerald introduced the promotion Wednesday, the day right before the NHL draft.

“Kate has been an amazingly worthwhile useful resource to not only me, but to our overall hockey functions leadership staff members, specifically over the previous a few years, as section of crucial hockey conclusions,” Fitzgerald mentioned. “This advertising is reflective of the responsibilities and obligations that Kate has assumed within just our organization all through that time.

“Her diligence, operate ethic, interest to depth, means to talk with all team, technique and vision are attributes that I look for in our leadership,” he additional.

The NHL has seen many females promoted to the assistant normal manager’s position in the final thirty day period, with Hayley Wickenheiser getting the occupation in Toronto this week and Meghan Hunter promoted in Chicago previous month.

The Vancouver Canucks have two girls serving as assistant common managers, Emilie Castonguay and Cammi Granato. The to start with woman to keep the title in the NHL was Angela Gorgone in 1996.

“It’s remarkable. Illustration seriously matters,” Hunter said in an job interview with The Linked Press. “I don’t forget coming out of faculty and I did not really see any one that I realized in (the) NHL, women (working) in hockey functions, so I just naturally gravitated into coaching due to the fact which is all I actually considered was out there at the time. I think a lot more representation, the far more women breaking in distinctive angles is amazing.”

Granato explained the pendulum is swinging to include range in a lot of diverse regions in athletics, whether it is broadcasting, small business or the entrance office environment.

“But I do consider the hires, they are individuals that are skilled, far too,” she mentioned. “There’s naysayers that say, ‘Oh, you are just striving to catch up and you’re just incorporating people to increase them,’ but they are capable folks. But I’m not surprised. I’m psyched about it.

“It’s extremely good that the NHL is having that type of frame of mind and hunting toward that to open the pool for applicants and for hires,” Granato additional. “Part of me is not astonished at this place, but I’m unquestionably enthusiastic about that chance that girls are having and diversity. I feel that is excellent.”

Madigan experienced been serving as the team’s govt director of hockey administration/operations. The 29-year-old also worked two several years in the video clip/player information and facts operation just before remaining promoted to director of pro scouting functions in 2021. Through the pandemic, her career in management/operations overlapped with her role in scouting.

She called the marketing an remarkable option.

“I search ahead to doing the job with this group to make the New Jersey Devils much better, every day, and carry back again the regular achievement our lovers be expecting and are worthy of,” she mentioned. “I’m energized for the foreseeable future of this team, not only now, but for what it will be.”

Madigan will provide as element of the little group that Fitzgerald will lean on for essential input, tactic and determination-producing, which involves roster development at the professional and amateur stages, transactions, hockey staff choices, crew operations, services administration, funds, and as portion of the team’s management vacation celebration.

Madigan retains a master’s in accounting and a bachelor’s in business enterprise administration from Northeastern University. She worked two many years as an accountant for Deloitte in advance of switching professions.

Tom Canavan of The Related Press wrote this tale.

AP Hockey Writer Stephen Whyno contributed to this report.

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