IceCaps’ Mullowney earns Ken McKenzie Award

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. … The American Hockey League has named Rob Mullowney, the vice president of operations for the St. John’s IceCaps, the winner of the league’s Ken McKenzie Award for the 2012-13 season.

Recognizing the important role played by team management in building a successful franchise, the Ken McKenzie Award is presented annually to an AHL team executive who most successfully promotes his or her own club.

Mullowney’s overall knowledge and experience in all areas of the organization’s business has been a critical component to the IceCaps’ success off the ice, showing increases in ticket revenue and corporate sponsorship revenue in 2012-13 while selling out every game at Mile One Centre for a second consecutive season.

Mullowney has also helped the IceCaps increase their community footprint with a number of grassroots marketing programs, and is responsible for the team’s game operations as well. And under Mullowney’s guidance, the IceCaps are one of the league’s leaders in social media, showing a 60 percent growth in followers over the last year while incorporating unique corporate-partnership opportunities into their social promotions.

The AHL’s Ken McKenzie Award, first presented in 1978, honors Ken McKenzie, the founder and long-time publisher of The Hockey News and a 1997 media honoree by the Hockey Hall of Fame as the Elmer Ferguson Memorial Award winner. Mr. McKenzie, the NHL’s first publicity director and creator of its first media guide, passed away in 2003.