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Opportunity Unlocked

President & COO of Edmonton Oilers Tom Anselmi - Journey from Engineer to Sports Exec, Vision for the ACC and Jurassic Park, Recovering from Sports Without Fans

Opportunity Unlocked
Opportunity Unlocked

Tom Anselmi is the President of Business Operations and COO for the NHL's Edmonton Oilers and an accomplished Canadian sports executive.

He had a 17-year career at Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment and served as President and COO from 2011-2013. As part of his role at MLSE, he oversaw the development of the ACC and the creation of Maple Leaf Square (also known as Jurassic Park). He then moved on to become the CEO of the Ottawa Senators until 2018.

Prior to his time at MLSE, Tom helped to develop the Rogers Centre and also served as the Vice President of Canucks Sports and Entertainment in Vancouver.

Tom is a member of the board of Canada's Walk of Fame, the NHL Alumni Association, University of Saskatchewan Huskie Athletics and the Huntsville Hospital Foundation.

For his active role in supporting the Canadian military, he received the Chief of Defence Staff commendation in 2011, the highest military honour for a civilian. In 2012, he received the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Medal and was inducted into the Etobicoke Sports Hall of Fame.


Tom studied Landscape Architecture at Ryerson University and Engineering at University of Saskatchewan.

Discussion Highlights:

  • (1:47) From studying engineering to becoming a sports executive.
  • (5:33) The vision for the ACC and Jurassic Park.
  • (8:34) How the Oilers are treating the downtime from the postponed season.
  • (9:44) The reaction when things were cancelled: "This is bigger than hockey."
  • (10:59) What he would like the continuation of the NHL season to look like.
  • (12:07) Sports without fans.
  • (12:59) The life of a sports exec without sports.
  • (14:26) Message to fans who miss the sports that they love.

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