Princeton University Athletics
Westgarth '07 Named to NHL Front Office Staff
Hockey News Article
Former Princeton hockey player Kevin Westgarth '07 has joined the NHL’s Head Office as Vice President Business Development and International Affairs.
As part of his new role with the NHL, Westgarth will work with NHL's charitable and humanitarian initiatives with an emphasis on increasing league's profile and growing the sport outside of North America - most notibly in China the site of the 2022 Winter Olympics.
Westgarth played six years in the NHL with Los Angeles, Carolina and Calgary, winning the Stanley Cup with the Kings in 2011-12. In 169 career games, he totaled seven goals and nine assists and racked up 266 penalty minutes, as a league "enforcer." Westgarth concluded his playing career in 2014-15 with the Belfast Giants (EIHL).“We’re in the process of determining exactly what our plan will look like,” Westgarth recently told The Hockey News. “Beijing hosting the Winter Olympics in six years is certainly exciting for the hockey world as a whole. And the NHL, being the leader on the global stage, is excited to bring the game of ice hockey to the Chinese people and help them create a viable national team that can compete on the world stage. Obviously there’s a lot of pieces that have to be a place and we’re still in the early days.”
“There’s a small, but passionate population that’s playing hockey in China right now. Last year, we had our first Chinese player drafted into the NHL in Andong Song. That will hopefully be a little bit of a catalyst in igniting some passion. We want to help them get the resources. Especially with the Winter Olympics coming along, it’s an investment. I think that would be in the league’s best interests and I think it would be in their best interests as well.”
Westgarth, along with former Tiger George Parros '03, were both members of the negotiations during the 2012-13 NHL lockout between the league and the players assocation.