HOW HOWARD DOLGON BUILDS WINNERS WITH THE CRUNCH

HOW  HOWARD  DOLGON  BUILDS  WINNERS  WITH THE CRUNCH

By; Matthew Blittner

With  his  club  engaged  in  the  Calder  Cup  Final,  Syracuse Crunch  owner, Howard Dolgon,  took  time  out  to  chat  with yours truly about a variety of topics, they included:

1. Relationship between the Crunch and the city of Syracuse.

2. The coach and his players.

3. Team promotions.

4. How he has succeeded.

CRUNCH AND SYRACUSE: “The city and the county are in a love affair with the team, whether you're a hockey fan, a business owner, or a student. Right now, it seems like all of Syracuse is focused on the Crunch, the support we are currently feeling is just tremendous.”

WHAT’S SPECIAL ABOUT THIS CLUB: “It's a commitment to play hockey the right way. Our coach, Benoit Groulx, made it clear from day one that this is how we're going to do it. If you buy in you're going to become a better player and we're going to have a better team. If you don't buy in you’re going to have a real difficult time cracking the lineup. Benoit has his standards, and rightfully so. He expects everyone in the organization to live up to them.

“The players believe in our coaches, and most importantly they believe in each other. Saying this is a close-knit group of players would be an understatement. In the 23-years of our franchise, I would say this is the most close-knit team we‘ve had. You can tell that the players spent a lot of time with each other, both in and out of the arena. That’s a positive.”

COACH GROULX: “Any NHL club that has an opening should be looking at him. He's been a great success on both the Junior level and with Canadian national teams, where he has won a Gold medal. Ben is very transparent. What you see is what you

get and the players have known that since day one.

“His main goal is to make them better hockey players and more confident professionals, and the proof is in the pudding. We had a season where, between injuries to our club and injuries to our partners in Tampa Bay, there were points where we had seven to 10 players out of our lineup. Yet we continued to compete hard and find ways to win. This team was always prepared to play, and no matter who you put a uniform on, that player believed in our system and was able to get the job done.”

MORE THAN THE SUM OF THEIR PARTS: “Throughout the year, this team has relied on so many different players, so it really has been a total team effort. You know it's not one or two guys that we look toward to either score the goal or make the

big save or make the great defensive play. It could be one of 20 players on any given night. Teams that have success are often ones that don’t lean on one individual, but that have confidence in everyone that puts on a uniform. That’s what this team has

been about all season long.”

THE STARS: “We've had a number of players who played in the NHL this year. To point out one or two in particular would be do a disservice to the other 17 or 18. But you know obviously from a pure scoring standpoint we've got a lot of offense from

Cory Conacher, Yanni Gourde, and Matt Peca. We've got timely goals from our captain Erik Condra. We've had great defensive play from forwards, such as Gabriel Dumont. Matt Taormina was the AHL Defenseman of the Year. Having said that, you could truly choose a different player on any given night who has helped us win and gotten us to the point where we are now.”

STYLE OF PLAY: “Up tempo, fast-paced for 60 minutes. We have four-lines that keep going. Our goal is to wear teams down. We're not really a big team, not what you’d call a heavy team. We work hard and we’re always pushing the pace. We try to put

the other team’s defense on their heels. When we’re at our best, we’re creating turnovers, turning them into scoring opportunities and putting the puck in the net.”

FAVORITE CRUNCH TEAM: “There are several. This current team certainly, just based on the character of the team, the camaraderie  and  the  overall  tightness  of  the  organization.  I’ve even noticed that the players’ wives and girlfriends are extremely close with each other. So this team, if it's not number one it certainly ranks right at the top. Our team is very special.

“We went to the quarter-finals in the 2007-08 season. That was, without question, the most intimidating team we had. Opponents were never comfortable coming into our arena. We were out of playoff contention late in the year, and then we went on a hot streak, which included winning the last 15 games at home and advancing to the second round of the playoffs. We lost in Game Seven, but I always felt that if a couple of breaks went our way, that team could have won the Cup.

“Obviously  our  first  season  1994-95  is  always  special.  That brought hockey back to Syracuse; that was the birth of our franchise. We’re still in touch with that team and those players, including: Scott Walker and Mike Peca, who both had  great NHL

careers. And of course, the 2012-13 team with Tyler Johnson and Ondrej Palat that went to the Calder Cup Finals in our first year as part of Tampa Bay.”

PROSPECTS  FOR  LIGHTNING: ”Tampa  is  rich  with  prospects: so many went up and played significant roles with the Lightning this season, and were critical in Tampa’s late season surge to almost secure a playoff spot. Among them were Yanni

Gourde, Gabriel Dumont, Adam Ernie, Jake Dotchin and Matt Peca just to name a few. There’s no question in my mind that the future is very bright in Tampa.

“It's wonderful to see that, yet when they all came back to Syracuse after the season ended they were anxious to be part of this Cup run. They kept in touch with their teammates. The relationship with Syracuse is of one family, one organization, and we're all in this together right now.”

TEAM PROMOTIONS: “Historically, we have been very aggressive on the promotional front and staffing big events in our market. In 2010, we were the first AHL team to do an outdoor game at the New York State fairgrounds. Then in 2014 we had nearly 31,000 fans attend the first professional hockey game at the Syracuse Carrier Dome, where we beat the Utica Comets 2-1. That game set a professional attendance record for an indoor professional hockey game in the United States.

“This year, we got a bit nostalgic. It was the 40th anniversary of the iconic movie Slapshot, and we were well aware that parts of the movie were filmed in our home barn, the Onondaga War Memorial. We received permission from NBC Universal Studios, who owned the movie and it’s trademarks, to become the first team to wear the Chiefs’ jerseys during a game. The players skated in warm-ups with the taped glasses made famous by the Hanson brothers, and every fan in attendance was given a set of glasses as well. It was quite a scene and garnered national exposure for the event and our team. All of the jerseys were auctioned off and the money donated to charity.

“Some other promotions  we  executed  this  year  included  our Puck and Paws Night, where fans brought their puppies to the games. This year we went one step further and created a special jersey that included eight adorable puppies that the players wore during the game, and again we had the jerseys auctioned off, with the proceeds  going  to  local  animal  shelters.  We also brought in a wrestling legend, Mick Foley, also known as Mankind and Cactus Jack, to meet and mingle with our fans during the game.

“We realized we’re a small market, but we have never thought small and felt it was our responsibility to create a big-time environment for our players and our fans.”

WHY THIS TEAM: “I played hockey up until about 10 years ago, and was a Rangers’ season ticket holder from 1972-2005, so hockey has, for a long-time, been my favorite sport. For years I was a partner in a sports public relations marketing firm in Manhattan, and in 1993 was approached by the AHL about potentially owning a team in Syracuse. It took a year of hard work by a lot of people, and the trust of the Canucks assistant g.m. George McPhee, that Syracuse would be a viable market, and our dream finally came true in May 1994. This has been the most wonderful experience and I would not trade it for anything in the world.”

TELL US ABOUT YOURSELF: “Hard to believe I’ll be turing 60 in August, because my wife, kids, and friends say I act like a 30-year old. We make our home in Boca Raton, Florida eight months of the year and spend June through September at our home in Long Island. My constant flying to Syracuse has made me one of Jet Blue's frequent flyers on their airline.

“Over the years, I’ve had the chance to meet and work with some of the greatest people in hockey. There are my partners in Tampa:  owners Jeff Vinik, g.m. Steve Yzerman, and assistant g.m. Julien Brisebois. They are not only colleagues, but friends. These past 23-years have truly been a dream come true. I am both fortunate and thankful to be able to have lived this kind of life and hope that we have given back as much as we have received.”