The London Knights have undergone several front office changes in both the Hockey Operations Department as well as the Business Operations Department.

Jake Goldberg, Knights former Assistant General Manager, has stepped down from his role with the Knights to take on a new position with the Arizona Coyotes. He will become the Coyotes’ Director of Hockey Operations. Goldberg will be responsible for management of the pro scouting staff and video scouting platform along with assisting the General Manager in player contract negotation and special projects. Goldberg started with the Knights as a Scout, working his way to becoming the Assistant Head Scout/Director of Analytics for the Knights, before becoming the Assistant General Manager.

The team is still in the process of filling the position of Assistant General Manager.

The London Knights have also seen the departure of former Director of Marketing, Geoffrey Hare, who was a loyal member of the London Knights’ staff for the past 10 years. With this change, there have been several adjustments in the Business Operations Department.

This first is the promotion of Chris Drinkwater to the team’s Director of Corporate Sales. Drinkwater, a Belleville native, was the team’s Group Sales Manager for the past two seasons. Prior to that, he served as a Knights marketing intern. Drinkwater has a background in sales and promotions as he obtained his Bachelor of Arts from Wilfrid Laurier University in the Communication Studies Program, as well as a Post-Grad Certificate in the Sports and Entertainment, Sales and Marketing program at Loyalist College. He will be the main point of contact for all London Knights corporate partners.

The second is the promotion of Matt Gergely to Director of Marketing and Game Day. This will be Gergely’s second season with the team, taking on an expanded role. Gergely’s role has expanded to include making marketing decisions and execution of promotional strategies of the team, while maintaining his responsibility of running the London Knights’ game days. The Georgetown native received his education from the University of Guelph, receiving a Bachelor of Commerce in their Marketing Management (Co-op) program.

Ryan Starr will also expand his role with the team from the Public Relations and Communications Manager to become the Director of Branding and Communications. This upcoming year will be Starr’s third with the team, after joining the organization in the 2015-2016 season. He will be responsible for all team communications and media relations as well as the branding of the organization in the community. The King City native received a Master of Arts from Brock University in the Sport Management program, after receiving his Bachelor of Sport Management, also from Brock University.

Finally, the team is excited to announce the hiring of Paul Dermody, as the Knights’ new Group Sales Manager. Dermody comes to the Knights after serving as the Administrative Coordinator for the Ontario Women’s Hockey Association. He has strong experience in hockey in different facets of the game. The Ancaster native received his education from Brock University, obtaining his Bachelor of Sport Management. Dermody will be responsible for all group sales and youth programming for the team.

Chris Drinkwater – Director of Corporate Sales

E: cdrinkwater@londonknights.com

P: 519-681-0800 ext. 6443

Matt Gergely – Director of Marketing and Game Day

E: mgergely@londonknights.com

P: 519-681-0800 ext. 6438



Ryan Starr – Director of Branding and Communications

E: rstarr@londonknights.com

P: 519-681-0800 ext. 6431

Paul Dermody – Group Sales Manager

E: groupsales@londonknights.com

P: 519-681-0800 ext. 6435