Top 5 Coolest Jobs in the NHL

If you love hockey, then scoring a job in the NHL is a good goal to have. There are some jobs in the NHL that are better than others. Here are some of the “cooler” jobs that the NHL has to offer.

Coolest Gigs in the National Hockey League

1. Equipment Manager

A hockey team’s equipment manager is definitely a problem solver. Responsibilities can vary from handling laundry, ordering supplies, and drying gloves and pads in between games. If there is a piece of equipment or uniform the players use during games, the equipment manager should know all about it. Believe it or not, equipment managers are more important to the team than you may think. They are there for anything the players need before, during, and after games.

Qualifications:

• Attention to detail
• Multi-tasking
• Lots and lots of patience

Average salary: $55,000

2. Video Producer/Editor

The video producer/editor helps to engage the crowd and make the game more exciting. In this NHL job, you are in charge of finding, editing, and completing footage for publication, including using film from games and adding graphics. It takes a ton of skill and creativity to do this job right.

Qualifications:

• Knowledge of video editing software
• Graphic design
• Video shoot coordination  
• Scriptwriting

Average salary: $60,000

3. Director of Operations

Think about everything that’s involved in an NHL game. There’s music, food, drinks, security, and even tickets. The operations manager is responsible for making sure everything that needs to happen to at an NHL event goes off without a hitch. They must hire food vendors, ticket sales employees, and anyone else needed to get the job done.

To summarize, the operations manager makes sure the arena is game-time ready by organizing crews to set up the rink, making sure the parking lots are cleared of debris and making sure the staff is ready to provide a top-of-the-line experience.

Qualifications:

• Team management
• Attention to detail
• Problem-solving
• Communication skills

Average salary: $91,000

4. Massage Therapist

Professional athletes put their bodies through an extreme amount of stress. To keep their muscles ready for game days, players require regular deep-tissue massage sessions. NHL teams hire massage therapists to be on hand during games, workouts, and even on off days. NHL massage therapists are always on the go, traveling with the teams. They’re required to know each player’s trouble spots and help them recover. It’s a little harder to land this NHL team job since there are only 30 teams in the NHL. There are only 30 positions available.

Qualifications:

• Massage Therapy license
• Ability to travel
• Knowledge of sports injuries
• Very strong hands

Average salary: $44,000

5. Zamboni Driver

If you think an ice surfacing machine driver’s job is jumping on a Zamboni anytime you can; you’re sadly mistaken. While this job doesn’t require formal education, you must have a passion for perfect ice. There’s actually a lot that goes into the perfect ice: the right temperature, the right speed, and all of the right settings on the machine.

Qualifications:

• Basic mechanical knowledge
• Ability to drive in circles
• Passion for the perfect ice

Average salary: $31,000

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