Commissioner Bettman Discusses the Impact of the Ducks on the Community, the Potential of League Events Coming to Anaheim and More

NHL commissioner Gary Bettman stopped by Honda Center on Wednesday night to meet with Ducks executives as Anaheim took on Ottawa. The commissioner spent time with media pregame to touch on a variety of subjects, including the Ducks’ legacy over the past 30 years, the impact of Henry and Susan Samueli’s ownership on the community and the future for the organization.

Notably, Bettman indicated that with the completion of OCVIBE, the potential for an NHL All-Star game and other tentpole league events coming to Anaheim is a strong possibility.

Below is a transcript of a portion of Commissioner Bettman’s media session:

On the ownership of Henry and Susan Samueli
Thirty years of the Anaheim Ducks is worth noting the ownership and commitment of Henry and Susan Samueli for this team, for this community, at all levels of the game. What they're doing with OCVIBE speaks volumes about their commitment to hockey and to Orange County. This franchise started with strong ownership, and the Walt Disney Company did a great job getting it off the ground, but the Samuelis have been perfect as owners. Their commitment to the team, the hockey and to the community, I think is maybe unrivaled, and it's really nice to see. And the team's had success, including the Cup [in 2007].

On the potential of the NHL All-Star Game and other events coming to Anaheim
We have no issue, and we'd be excited to bring tentpole events here. We've talked about All-Star games, but we want to wait until OCVIBE is completed. We've talked about Drafts, we've talked about possibly another Southern California outdoor game, so things are on the table. But as it relates to an All-Star game, we all think that it’s best to wait until OCVIBE is complete. And there's really something incredible to show off as well as just the All-Star Game, I think for all of us.

When you think about how incredible OCVIBE is going to be as a gathering point for Orange County Central location for people to come together. When you think about the investment that's been made, we want to be in a position when we bring the world's attention to one of our events to show off what's been done here.

On the growth of hockey in Orange County
When you look at hockey at the grassroots level, particularly in newer markets, what USA hockey tells you, the growth is exponential double digits every year. When the Samuelis took over the Ducks, I think there were five high school teams in Orange County. What are they now? Over [60]? 

But that's just another indication of the growth of the game, particularly among young people. And if you look at our declaration of principles, which we initiated with the governing bodies throughout the world, at all levels, the point has always been, if you want to play the game, great. If you want to become a fan, great. But we wanted to make sure that our game, the values of our game, help young people develop the values that you need as you grow up. They've done everything that you would hope ownership would do to make hockey part of the community. And again, as I said, we think hockey can make a positive difference in the quality of life in a community, particularly among young people. And this is something that they have made an organization priority and they have invested in heavily.