Arizona Coyotes Developmental Camp

Richard Morin | The Republic | azcentral.com

Courtesy of Arizona Coyotes

One week after being promoted, Coyotes President and CEO Ahron Cohen sat down with azcentral sports’ Coyotes insider Richard Morin to discuss a variety of topics.

Among the subjects discussed were how Cohen got his start in sports business, how he found his way to Arizona, and whether the direction of the Coyotes – or the search for a long-term arena solution – will shift in wake of the executive change.

Question: How did you first become interested in sports and sports business?

Answer: I’ve always been a big fan of hockey, growing up in hockey country in Minnesota. I went to Bowdoin to college where I played football. I never played hockey in college or growing up in Minnesota. Really, when I was getting done playing football, I wanted to find a way to stay in sports. I was looking at different options I had, and thought that the best option that kept the most doors open was law school. I was looking around at different places, and I had never been to Arizona. I came down for a bowl game with my dad and really fell in love with the town and the community. Of course, it didn’t hurt that it was negative-10 degrees in Minnesota and it was 75 and sunny with lots of palm trees in Phoenix.

Sam Caravana/azcentral sports

Q: From finding yourself in Arizona to eventually joining the Coyotes, how did you find yourself in the position you do today?

A: Arizona State wasn’t really on my radar, but I met with the dean and learned that I had an opportunity to take an internship with the Minnesota Vikings and get my start in sports law. So I jumped at the opportunity, applied, and from the second I got (to Arizona) I was banging on the dean’s door trying to hustle my way to an internship with the Vikings, and I was able to do that and keep that relationship with (current Vikings COO) Kevin Warren. Afterwards, I started at Snell & Wilmer, a law firm out here, and really did everything I could to ingrain myself in the Phoenix business community. I always kept my foot in the sports world, so I got involved with the Super Bowl host committee and played a role in helping to organize that event. I was also involved with the Coyotes from an outside counsel standpoint in 2013 when the ownership group bought the team from the NHL.

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I’ve been a big fan of the Coyotes since I came down here. I love who they are and what they stand for, and their ability to work through adversity and move forward. I got a call in 2015, after some changes happened with the Glendale lease, and really stepped into some challenging situations from Day 1. I left Snell and jumped at the opportunity to join the Coyotes and help build this franchise. Ever since I got there, I’ve been dealing with a lot of complex and challenging situations – both from a legal standpoint and with some other initiatives – and every step of the way I’ve tried to give everything I could to the company and help make this a better place. I’m certainly thrilled to be where I’m at now.

Q: You’ve mentioned stepping into some challenging situations and that the arena saga has been part of that. What can you say about the work (Steve) Patterson was doing and how the search for a new arena will change with you taking over this position?

A: The arena has always been a collaborative effort and one that I’ve been centrally involved in since I started with the Coyotes. That’s going to continue with myself as well as our advisers, Mitchell Zeits being one of them, and (owner) Andy Barroway is involved and (general manager) John Chayka is involved. Really, the most important thing for us right now and what we’re focusing on is achieving our core goals. Those are building hockey fandom in Arizona, building a competitive team on the ice, and positively impacting our community. Ultimately, we have to figure out our long-term arena solution. But that problem is solved by achieving those three goals I laid out. Everything else will fall in place if we’re fulfilling those three goals.

Q: You’ve suggested that yourself, Barroway and Chayka are on the same page in terms of the organization’s philosophy. What is the significance of that?

A: John’s a close friend and a close colleague of mine. Because we share this vision for what we’re trying to achieve here and because we are in alignment with our owner, Andy Barroway, it really makes for a great collaborative process. We’re really in sync for everything that’s affecting the organization. I think that really helps because you can’t have silos. I don’t think silos work for businesses. The only way to achieve success is being collaborative and working together to achieve our goals.

Q: Are there any key people you’ve met along the way or any meaningful words of advice you’ve received en route to this most recent promotion?

A: One thing that really stands out to me is that John and I have both talked to Jerry Colangelo a little bit and have really learned his vision for running a franchise. The thing that really stands out is a team being a community asset and everything a sports organization can do for a community. Ultimately, our fans and the people of Arizona are our clients. We just want to provide them with a great experience and give back to our community and produce a winning team that people can be proud of. … Another is obviously Kevin Warren, who is the COO of the Vikings. He’s been a close friend and mentor over the years and he gave me my start in sports. He’s really ingrained in my head the idea of always doing the right thing. Sometimes doing the right thing isn’t always easy and sometimes it comes with some bad publicity or it’s not the best financially or it’s unpopular, but at the end of the day it’s the most important thing.

Q: What was it about Arizona that attracted you? What made you want to stay in the Valley, and how did that bring you to the Coyotes?

A: First off, I absolutely love this town. This is my home and I’ve been here for a long time. I think this is a really unique market because it’s incredibly open to new people whether they’re growing up or just relocating here. It’s just a very welcoming community and one that gives people a lot of opportunities. This community has been very good to me and it’s given me great opportunities with Snell, with ASU law and now with the Coyotes. I’m a local guy, my family is here and I want to be here forever. I want to do everything I can to continue to grow the Coyotes’ connection within this market. Whether it be continuing to develop great relationships with business partners or community leaders, that’s what I’m focused on.

Q: Upon seeing a change in president and CEO, the perception might be that the organization is in a transitional period. But you don’t feel that way. Why is that?

A: We have a really great team surrounding me and those people are going to continue to help me build upon our success. And I can’t speak highly enough of Steve, who was incredibly helpful to us and this organization in creating stability after some ownership changes. This was just kind of the natural evolution of that, where he has some other things going on and wanted to focus on some other business initiatives. This isn’t some new person coming in with some radical change and wants to scrap everything that we’ve done. I’ve been in the COO position over the last year and have really implemented these initiatives that we’ll continue to move forward with. It’s really a positive, forward-moving thing.

Q: You’ve said that the organization has turned a corner. Can you explain what you mean by that?

A: We’re developing some great local ties and local connections. We’re developing some success on the ice and bringing in the right people to the organization that will help take us forward. We’re starting to see some of this positivity. (A local media outlet) just ran a poll that asked people which Arizona team they were most excited for, and we got 68 percent of the vote out of the four major sports teams. That certainly signifies that we’re doing some things right. … It validates the hard work that we’re putting in during the offseason and creating some positive messaging. It’s certainly humbling and makes me very appreciative of our fans to provide that support. It’s just exciting because I think we have a lot of good days ahead. I’m thrilled to take on this role to help us get there.

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Richard Morin covers the Coyotes and Diamondbacks for azcentral sports. He can be reached at richard.morin@arizonarepublic.com and by phone at 480-316-2493.

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Arizona Coyotes draft party – 2018