Photo Courtesy WHL

By Joel Mendelson

Western Hockey League

WHL announces Dan Near as incoming commissioner

Nov 30, 2023 | 5:20 PM

LETHBRIDGE, AB – The Western Hockey League (WHL) and its Board of Governors have appointed Dan Near as the new commissioner of the league.

He will begin working with the league office on January 1, 2024, but will only take on the full responsibilities of the role on February 15, 2024. Near will replace outgoing commissioner Ron Robison, who will transition to an advisory role.

Near said, “It’s a tremendous honour to have been selected as the next commissioner of the Western Hockey League.”

He continued, “I look forward to engaging with our clubs, players, alumni, business partners and our fans to ensure we’re building an ecosystem that’s best-in-class and gives players and their families the confidence to choose the WHL for their hockey development journey.”

Near earned a Bachelor of Administrative and Commercial Studies – Finance and Administration from the University of Western Ontario. He completed his Masters of Business Administration (MBA) at the Richard T. Farmer School of Business at Miami University (Ohio).

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Near has worked as the global head of Adidas Hockey since 2016. Before his Adidas tenure, Near worked at the National Hockey League’s head office, specializing in marketing, retail development and consumer product licensing from 2006 until 2016.

Bruce Hamilton, Chairman of the WHL’s Board of Governors said, “We set out to find an individual with a great business mind, someone forward thinking who has the ability to help grow the Western Hockey League brand and build upon the existing foundation.”

He continued, “As we worked through the process, it became clear that Dan stood above the rest. We believe Dan’s experience with Adidas Hockey and the National Hockey League makes him the perfect fit to build a strategy which will generate more growth for the WHL while we continue to be the world’s finest development league for junior-age players.”

In 2016, Near was recognized at Canada’s Sports Business Awards as a ‘Five to Watch’.

In 2021 and 2023, he was named to The Hockey News’ list of ‘100 People of Power and Influence’.