A longtime, well respected former marketing executive with the North Bay Centennials, is returning to the OHL.
John McLellan is joining the North Bay Battalion as senior manager, marketing and business development, and will start Monday, March 26, the Ontario Hockey League club announced Wednesday.
"I never thought I would be back into hockey when I left the Centennials, it really kind of pulled my heart out," McLellan told BayToday.ca.
"When the team left North Bay it kind of pulled the heart out as well of the community, and I think when the North Bay Battalion came to North Bay, it was really a good move. I am really excited about the opportunity that Mr. Abbott, Mr. Griffin, and the organization are giving me. I am passionate about hockey and I am passionate about marketing and I am excited about what the North Bay Battalion offer our community."
North Bay embraced the Battalion in the first three seasons, but in the past two, the attendance has dropped.
For the past two seasons North Bay has finished last in league attendance.
See 2017-18 Hockey DB Attendance graph HERE
McLellan hopes that changes this off-season.
“I think we really have to get back to where the fans were the 7th man in the stands and I think that is something we have got to get back that we had the first few years which has kind of gone away the last little while,” said McLellan, who has been area manager for M&M Food Market – Northern Ontario the past three years.
“We really want to boost the attendance, get the season tickets up to where they used to be a couple of years ago and really have a great in-game experience for the fans all the time.”
McLellan hopes to find a way to capture the energy the world is seeing at the Gardens this week.
“We have to get the passion back from the community and when you see what is happening with the Ford Worlds right now, the whole city is excited about North Bay, excited about our city and we have proven that we can host a major event like that,” he said.
“It is the same thing with the North Bay Battalion in our home games, we have to make it an event and it is something where the fans want to be there and they want to see the game in person and in the stands and they not only want to be entertained on the ice but they want to be entertained off the ice as well and that is something we are going to look forward to doing next season.”
Born in Pembroke, Ont., and reared in North Bay, McLellan joined the North Bay Centennials, then the city’s OHL club, in 1987 and spent 14 years as director of marketing and public relations, followed by 14 years with Tim Hortons as regional marketing manager – Northern Ontario.
A graduate of Chippewa Secondary School, McLellan obtained a broadcasting diploma from Canadore College and a sports administration diploma from Durham College, where he completed the program with an internship with the OHL.
He and his wife, Pam, reside in North Bay with their sons, Matt and Carter.
