Last Friday (August 16) the Okotoks Oilers made it official that Brady Pupp is the new Business Manager for the team.
Pupp is not a stranger to the game of hockey or the Okotoks Oilers as he worked with the team last year and even played against them during his hockey career in the AJHL. Pupp played for the Calgary Mustangs during the 2016-2017 season and spent some time with the Bonnyville Pontiacs in the 2017-2018 season.
After his junior career, Pupp played hockey for the Marian University of the NCAA Division III for four seasons.
"So I joined in last year after I graduated college. I was down in the States for college hockey where I did sports management and marketing as my degrees. The job opening for the business operations lead when it became open, I applied for it, and it worked out that once I got back, it was perfect timing for me to come onto the team," Pupp explained.
"I have only known good things about Okotoks, I have played against them and I have had friends play for them, they loved it here. So, I knew it was a great spot to be in."
Pupp's role with the Oilers was on the administration side of things, helping with sponsorships and ticketing for the team.
"I wanted to take on a bigger role this year, and it kind of fit perfectly. Now I get to work with Tyler Deis (GM and Head Coach of the Oilers) very closely which I am very excited for, especially with his past experience. I'm excited about it and with the team we are building now with Ryan Kanten and Mike Gould, I think it's going to be a great spot for us," he said.
A big difference from this year from last season is the Oilers are playing in the BCHL over the AJHL and will be in competition with teams across B.C. Pupp explains what else fans can expect from the Green and Gold this season.
"We are trying to update merchandise quite a bit, Ryan (Kanten) is going to be taking the lead on that. We are trying to create new ideas, fun ways, and different events that happen around our games. Trying to get more heavily involved with the community, getting the players out there," Pupp added.
"We have new teams coming in, it's not the same four teams coming in anymore, and the competition is only going to go up. I know we are going to be competitive as a team this year, so it's going to be a great experience for everyone who comes and gets season tickets as well."
Pupp said his dad was a big influence on him playing hockey as his dad played sports growing up and hockey was one of his favourites. He also joked that it seems like pretty much every kid is born with skates on.
"I was always an athletic kid growing up, I did hockey and lacrosse mostly. I actually had a cousin who played for the (Okotoks) Raiders when they were here. He decided to go that way, I chose hockey because I thought I was better at it. Played in Calgary growing up with the Calgary Buffalos association in Midget AA and then jumped to the Junior A with the Calgary Mustangs when they were still a team," he said.
"Now I am happy to be on this side of things because now I get to see this world and make a career out of it at the same time."
With the move to the BCHL official, Pupp is now able to talk to all the teams involved and said that he has marketing meetings once a month with each team and the league.
Pupp also touched on how important billet families are to the players and Okotoks Oilers organization.
"Billet families are a huge part of our team, we have a community essentially just with the players, to staff, to billets. It's a full family essentially. We are needing more families to help our family out and it's a huge thing we need. It's always been a big thing for our community and we just need a few more beds for our players." he said.
Billet coordinator Sheena Denscombe and Pupp have been working every day together to help make the transition for players to their billet families a smooth one and trying to find homes for the players who don't have one yet.
"We are trying to create more communication between the billets as well and doing some more billet parents socials so you get to know the players, player's parents, the coaching staff, and myself as well. Just so they don't feel left out or here is just a bed, we want them to feel appreciated as well," Pupp added.
He was a billet player during his hockey career and explained he has made lifelong relationships with his billet family. He said he still keeps in touch with his billet family and explained that it helped him mature as a person.