Joe Bertagna
Commissioner | Hockey East
The Arlington, Mass., native and former Harvard goaltender is entering his 35th year in the game and 20th as Hockey East commissioner. He also is a well-known goaltending instructor and was his alma mater’s first women’s coach in the 1970s. Bertagna’s contract has been extended through the 2019-20 season thanks to successes such as the 2015 NCAA Frozen Four in Boston, a new television contract and multiple sold-out events at Fenway Park.
Robert DeGregorio
Commissioner | Atlantic Hockey
A Winthrop, Mass., native, DeGregorio has guided college hockey’s sixth Division 1 conference since its inception in 2003 after previously serving as both commissioner of Hockey East and director of athletics at Merrimack College, where he helped elevate the Warriors’ program from the Div. 2 level. He was a member of the NCAA Division I Ice Hockey Committee from 1994-98 and also previously served as a director of the Eastern Football Conference.
Mike Bonish
President | Premier Hockey League
The USA Hockey director for Massachusetts, Bonish’s impact is felt all across the commonwealth. A Woburn, Mass., native, Bonish previously was president of the Massachusetts Tier II Development League and founded the Eastern Mass. Senators in 1992. He’s president of the Premier Hockey League of New England. He’s an accomplished hockey official, and as a coach, has served as bench boss for three national championships teams (one Tier I, two Tier II 18-U).
Pat Kelleher
Executive director | USA Hockey
Kelleher took over USA Hockey’s top post as its executive director in June after serving a key role in helping to grow the game nationwide, working as assistant executive director of development since 2008. With much thanks to the Brown grad (he was a four-year hockey team member) and Belmont, Mass., native, participation at the 8-U level has grown by 20 percent in the U.S. over the past eight seasons, according to the nation’s governing body.
Jerry Buckley
Commissioner | EHF
Buckley serves as commissioner of the Eastern Hockey Federation, which bills itself as "New England’s premier amateur minor hockey league." Buckley Sports Management, which the Needham, Mass., native, Boston College alum and former Bruins draftee founded in 2006, has become a leading agency representing hockey players. His clients span the U.S. and leagues abroad and include locals Keith Yandle, Ben Smith, Brian Strait, Keith Aucoin and Joe Cannata.
Richard Gallant
President | Islanders Hockey Club
Richard Gallant returned to New England in 2000 after a successful business career in New York to pursue a passion project — one that entrenched him in the sport of hockey.
Less than two decades later, Gallant is commissioner of the United States Premier Hockey League, owner of the Middlesex Islanders, owner and developer of Merrimack College’s new Gallant Rink, and a member of the board of directors for the Eastern Hockey Federation and New England Girls Hockey League.
Gallant also recently brought tuition-free junior hockey to the East Coast for the first time with the National Collegiate Development Conference.
"This is what I call my out-of-control hobby," Gallant said. "I didn’t have the vision this would end up here, but I’ve worked with so many good people and families along the way. This is something unique about the Northeast."
The Islanders, now in their 40th year as an organization, have grown dramatically under Gallant’s leadership. Gallant oversaw the merger of the Middlesex Islanders and New England Huskies in 2010. The number of teams in the organization has grown since that time from 17 to 78.
The Islander teams also have been more competitive at every level. When Gallant took over the organization, Islander teams won 32 percent of their games. In 2016-17, teams won about 66 percent of their games.
The Islanders also have been one of the more philanthropic organizations in club hockey since Gallant’s arrival. In seven years, the Islanders have raised nearly $1 million for Autism Speaks.
"There are different ways to measure outcomes," Gallant said. "We have all levels of hockey, and we design programs with all different cultures so everyone is getting a great experience. We’re in the most competitive leagues in New England. By having the kids play within those leagues, it allows us to attract some of the more gifted and competitive athletes in the area." — DAN GUTTENPLAN
