Winning the Night, Full of Surprises

When Andy Cole got a call asking him for potential Pacific Northwest-based nominees to receive a USA Hockey award, he suggested some names. A week later, a USA Hockey executive called to congratulate Cole on winning the national John Beadle Adult Member of the Year Award.

“I had just recommended other people for that award” said a surprised Cole, the Kraken organization’s director of adult hockey.

It marked the first of several surprises this month for Cole, who oversaw more than 170 teams and some 3,200 adult players in the Kraken Hockey League’s 2025-26 fall/winter season, steady growth from the 129 teams and 2,200 players in 2021-22. One fun stat: Cole’s program averages about 300 adults annually who are new players to the sport.  Before the Kraken became the National Hockey League’s 32^nd franchise, Cole was already running the then-called Greater Seattle Hockey League (GSHL) with nearly 2,000 members, growing it from grassroots over two decades.

The next surprise came earlier this month when Cole was at an upfront table getting ready to accept the award for his unparalleled efforts to grow adult recreational hockey in the Seattle area. Donna Kaufman, vice president of USA Hockey’s Membership Council who originally called Cole seeking the nominations, was introducing him to a Denver ballroom of 1,500 guests. Kauffman told a story of Cole keeping the GSHL and local rinks afloat during the pandemic despite no league games or registration fees during COVID. She revealed he took a security guard job on the overnight shift to generate income for his wife and kids so he could devote daytime hours to saving the adult hockey league. Sleep was apparently the third most pressing matter.

Cole’s Heartfelt Remarks Resonate

Already a bit nervous about talking in front of a huge audience of peers and American hockey leaders, including NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly, Cole approached the podium, took a deep breath and admitted “I didn’t know she [Kaufman] knew that story about the security guard.” The ballroom filled with laughter, helping Cole ease into his heartfelt remarks. 

The next unexpected twist connected Cole even deeper with the crowd. Cole thanked early supporters of the GSHL, officials in the Pacific Northwest USA Hockey region and leadership within the Kraken and the team’s Iceplex. Then he thanked his “incredible wife Pam” before his heart and Dad-life took hold. Cole struggled with his emotions, tears in his eyes and voice wavering, when acknowledging his son and daughter.

Hearts stop across the entire ballroom.

Cole went on to explain he was “on the phone way too much” discussing rink ice time and team schedules rather than spending more time with his son and daughter.

Cole had fair warning about letting his emotions show: “When I was writing the speech [on the morning and afternoon of the awards dinner], I started crying every time. It’s because I feel bad about how I’ve spent so much time over the last 26 years on the phone, day and night, and not as much time with my kids.”

The hockey community audience in Denver related to his emotions and let Cole know it, including post-dinner. One colleague from another NHL market said, “You had our whole table in tears.”

Connecting Bobby Orr to Present-Day Award

Casey Jorgensen, USA Hockey general counsel, posted on social media that night, making it clear Cole reminded everyone why hockey means so much to so many communities in the U.S.: “Lucky to join Andy Cole for the USA Hockey President's Award Dinner ... Andy gave an incredible acceptance speech in which he talked about his starting the Greater Seattle Hockey League to it now becoming the Kraken Hockey League. On a night recognizing three Gold Medal Olympic and Paralympic teams, everyone talked about Andy's speech winning the night. He shared about holding up the [sportsmanship] plaque Bobby Orr gave him as a kid, and getting choked up talking about his family and all the time he missed with them while on calls running the league.”

About Cole’s sportsmanship award: USA Hockey’s Northeast region honored one youth player as determined by every member hockey association. His Connecticut town picked him, and in his mid-teens Cole received the award hardware from the just retired Hall of Famer Orr. In Denver, Cole tied together recent USA Hockey recognition and the award he accepted as a teen, promising the ballroom gathering “I’m going to put this one right next to the one from Bobby Orr.”

For her part, as a USA Hockey national leader,  Kaufman is thrilled both for Cole and the Pacific Northwest hockey region. Kaufman, who has been operating a rink in Tacoma since 1992, has admired Cole’s impact on adult and youth hockey, including as a trusted advisor.

“I've been doing this for a long time and it's always really nice when we can honor those people out in the grassroots really doing all the work and quietly doing the work,” said Kaufman. “Andy's just one of those people, right? He does it for the love of a game. He impacts so many people. At the adult level he really gives players a great experience.”

Providing that “great experience” with 3,200 players in the Kraken Hockey League – and even more coming into the fold when the team’s two-rink project in Kirkland opens in the fall of 2027 – requires a fortitude that has enabled Cole to impressively grow not only participation but competitive balance in each of the near 30 divisions and welcoming all new players without resorting to a waiting list.

Cole operates what he calls a “dynamic” system that includes early-season “seeding games” to make sure teams aren’t stacked to dominate their division. Another facet is having teams travel to different rinks rather than play games on just one “home” sheet of ice. It has worked effectively since Cole started a league 26 years ago and promises to repeat the experience for new players and divisions, the latter including more women’s divisions and plus-40 divisions (intermediate and advanced) among upcoming innovations. By utilizing multiple rinks throughout the region, Cole ensures there is a spot for everyone in Kraken Hockey League and room to grow.

“Andy has focus on his approach,” said Kaufman. “When you understand what the mission is, it makes all those other little decisions easier to make. As long as those decisions for the mission are consistent, every day, then even when people who don't agree with something, they at least understand it was thought about and the decision was based on a consistent mission ... I think Andy can look in the mirror every morning and say, ‘I’m true to my true north.’”

Cole gives credit to a strong Kraken brand helping to continue momentum growing the Kraken Hockey League and inspiring the decision to build the pair of rinks in Kirkland. Kraken chief operating officer Rob Lampman turns the kudos right back to Cole.

“Andy's commitment to the game, both at the youth level and the adult community throughout the state of Washington and beyond the borders of Washington is unparalleled,” said Lampman.  “He has been at this nearly 30 years. He came to this community trying to find community. Because he couldn't find it, he created his own. He created the hockey community that we now all benefit from. On a daily basis, I can't think of a bigger contribution that somebody could make to the game of hockey. He does it every day, representing the Seattle Kraken in the best of ways.”