Sometimes it takes an unconventional approach to look towards the future. Because of this outside the box thinking, the Arizona Coyotes ended up with a 26-year-old general manager, John Chayka. Chayka will be the youngest general manager once this becomes official.
Chayka has had a short yet pretty impressive work history. He founded Stathletes Inc., a company that focuses on analytics in hockey. Chayka founded this company when he was 20, so he knows a thing or two about bucking trends and forming his own path. He was hired as an assistant GM last season under former GM Don Maloney. It looks like from all reports that head coach of the Arizona Coyotes, Dave Tippett, will have an expanded role in the front office as well.
It was reported as recently as this past month that the Coyotes wanted to pursue another young hot shot, Kyle Dubas. Eventually, Dubas came out and said that he didn’t think he was ready for such a job and would be sticking with the Toronto Maple Leafs as their assistant GM.
As the analytics “movement” rages on, we will continue to see more and more people familiar with those types of systems placed in front office roles. This type of hiring wasn’t possible and seemed beyond far-fetched even a couple years ago.
Good luck Mr. Chayka – you’re going to need it.
