The Pittsburgh Penguins have established a new Executive Management Program, designed to help candidates develop and work alongside the partnership, marketing, communication, broadcast, and hockey operations departments. The first participant will be three-time Olympic medalist and member of the U.S. women’s national team Amanda Kessel. She released the following statement:
I am excited to learn from one of the best franchises in professional sports. The Penguins presented me with the opportunity to use my experience and love for hockey in a whole new capacity and I look forward to making the most of this program.
Kessel, 30, is not completely closing the book on her playing career, telling Emily Kaplan of ESPN that she is just excited to begin taking the next steps in her hockey journey. She recently competed for the U.S. at the 2022 Olympics, scoring eight points in seven games to take home the silver medal. An incredible offensive talent, Kessel once racked up 101 points in 46 games for the University of Minnesota, winning the Patty Kazmaier Award as the top collegiate player in the country. She is currently a member of the PWHPA.
Obviously, she also already has ties to the Penguins organization or at least a shared history with some of their recent alumni. Phil Kessel, her brother, won back-to-back Stanley Cup championships with the organization just a few years ago. She also played at the famed Shattuck St. Mary’s prep academy just a few years after Penguins’ captain Sidney Crosby.
The new program for the Penguins will focus on women and minority athletes, and provide a one-year opportunity to work alongside all of the different departments in order to expose them to the entire sports business. That includes graduate school and community service components. In a statement, Penguins CEO David Morehouse also explained that it gives “unprecedented access” to attain permanent front office positions.