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Rob Knesaurek
Group Vice President, NHL Rob brings more than four decades of hockey experience to his current role as Group Vice President, Youth Development and Industry Growth Fund at the National Hockey League. As Group Vice President, he oversees national and international programs committed to growing hockey at the grassroots level, increasing points of entry to the game, and bringing more youth and families into the hockey community. Rob also oversees the Industry Growth Fund (IGF) – a joint NHL and NHLPA initiative to promote long-term fan growth, in partnership with Hockey Canada and USA Hockey.
A key piece of his portfolio, the Industry Growth Fund, continues to create and support youth hockey development programs across North America for girls’ hockey, ball and street hockey, and high school hockey via two key programs: Learn to Play and Future Goals. On the ice since 2016, Learn to Play has introduced more than 40,000 kids ages 4 to 8-years old to hockey, providing head-to-toe equipment and age-appropriate instruction teaching basic hockey skills. Under his leadership, the impact of Learn to Play continues to break records in the U.S. with a 7% increase in participation in the program’s first year, the largest year-over-year increase in USA Hockey’s history. In the classroom, Future Goals – an online hockey course founded in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) concepts – has introduced a unique side of the game to youth in grades 4-7 across North America. Since its inception in 2014, the online hockey course has reached more than 2 million students in 15,000 schools. For some 20yrs, Rob worked in the health care industry, spending time overseas in Australia and the United States. He had several commercial roles, including CEO of ViiV Healthcare Australasia, before returning to Canada. Rob grew up playing Major Junior hockey in Toronto, Canada. He played at the collegiate level at the University of New Brunswick before moving behind the bench, supporting Hockey Canada’s minor hockey coaching development program. His coaching experience also includes two world championships, winning a gold medal as the bench boss for the Australian National Hockey team. A graduate of the University of New Brunswick with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Economics, Rob currently resides in Toronto, Canada, with wife Janet and son Alex. |