Owen, the new General Manager of the Edmonton Oilers, rolled into the Rogers Place Arena in style, sporting a crisp suit and shiny brown leather loafers. As the youngest GM to date, this fifteen-year-old had his stats memorized and was ready to lead a team that was on a 6 to 1 winning streak.
“We’re off to a good start. We’re one of the top teams in the league right now. Hopefully, we can keep this up for the whole season,” Owen shared at a media gathering. He later went on sports radio in London and Edmonton to talk about his day and his insights as the new GM.
Owen’s passion for the Oilers began as a kid living in Alberta. He says his support has never wavered. Now in his teens, he lives in London to be close to Canada’s leading medical specialist in muscular dystrophy, and hockey is still part of his everyday life. Owen watches the sport, researches stats, and his family billets London Knights OHL players, which lets him meet up-and-coming players and develop brotherly bonds with them that lasts into their NHL careers.
In his new role, Owen sat with GM Ken Holland during practice to exchange ideas and plans. He had a grand tour behind the scenes, including a visit to the executive offices and locker rooms. “There’s definitely some stuff behind the scenes you don’t get to see on a regular basis as a fan,” Owen shares.
Owen described this experience as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that allowed him to job shadow and see what hockey management is all about. “I just love the aspect of the GM’s job, controlling the team. It’s the best position in the organization,” Owen describes to a reporter. As a teenager on the cusp of planning his future, this came at a perfect time for him.
With years of hockey experiences under his belt, culminating in this customized Shine Dream, Owen shares, “I’m planning to go to law school and try to get into the hockey side of things as a career. My primary goal is to be a sports agent because being a GM is hard to come by, but if someone offers me a general manager position I’m not going to turn it down, obviously.”
