At Kinaxis, we know that success often depends on what happens behind the scenes. Whether it’s managing a global supply chain or making sure a hockey team’s gear is ready for puck drop, it’s planning and teamwork that make performance possible.
Ian Cox is one of the people who make that happen for the Ottawa Senators. He’s an Assistant Equipment Manager and part of a team whose job is to oversee the procurement, maintenance, and logistics for the Sens' gear, from skates and helmets to chewing gum and Gatorade. After 11 years with the team, Ian knows what it takes to keep a professional hockey operation running smoothly. And as partners of the Sens and supply chain nerds, we wanted to know more. We spoke with him about the unseen work that is essential to the game.
Q: Let's start with the basics. What does the equipment team look like and what do you handle day to day?
We’ve got four of us full-time, and then a few part-time staff on game days who help with visiting teams and in our home locker room. The four of us each delegate tasks and take care of different things, like Johnny handles sticks and skates. I take care of apparel and uniforms. Alex looks after dressing room supplies and laundry, different things like that. Then Bram manages the visiting team room. Everyone really has to work together.
Q: What’s something people don’t know about what you do?
A lot of people are like, “Oh, I saw you on tv behind the bench changing steel or passing a guy a stick or towel,” and they think that’s it. If someone comes down for a practice game, they’re either amazed by A) the amount of laundry that gets done or b) the details.
Every player’s equipment is different. Every player has their name on their gloves, has custom spec on their sticks, gets their skates sharpened differently. Things as small as this guy likes a thin sock and this guy likes a thick sock. Or, this coach likes this type of gum and the other coach only chews sugar-free. Some guys want sparkling water on the bench, or there’s probably a half a dozen guys that have a special concoction, like half water, half Gatorade. You can dive pretty deep into the details of what everyone needs.
Q: With so many personal preferences, how do you manage all that?
Everyone comes with a spec that they’ve always used, and we follow that. Occasionally, someone will want to veer off and try new things, like when a rep comes in or a new model is released. Maybe they try another player’s gear and they really like something. Then we’ll order it. But that doesn’t happen frequently. Often guys go back to what I call their baby blanket, what they’re comfortable with.
Q: Fans might not realize how much gear you go through in a season. Can you give us a sense of the numbers? How many jerseys, skates, sticks?
For pucks, we go through about 1,200 practice pucks a year. For games, we’ll have a case of 100 for warmups. They’re personalized for each game, and a lot of them get given away after warmup, and the rest go to the store. So, 100 pucks a game, 41 home games. That’s 4,100 pucks.
The actual game pucks are different because they have trackers in them and come from the league. The officials take about 20 fresh pucks a period because they’re frozen, so they’re fresh and hard. They don’t all get used. I would say 40 to 45 pucks touch the ice in an actual game. They bring back the used ones, and they’ll go to the store.
For sticks, we average out about one new stick a game per player—some guys don’t tape a new stick every game, and a few guys tape more than one a game. But on average, one per player per game, then times that by 82 games plus camp.
Same with jerseys as well. We’ll do two sets of game jerseys in every color for the season. Another set for playoffs, plus any special events, like if we had a jersey retirement or a special warmup jersey. We’re not as bad as some teams with special jerseys. There are teams that do about 20 sets of jerseys a year for promotions, tribute nights, and so on.
4,100
Q: How much coordination happens between other departments like medical staff and operations?
There’s a ton of communication with all departments, for example, medical. When we’re traveling, they might need certain things sent to the hotel and some goes to the rink, or injured players might have different ice times other than regular practice. They might even wear a different color jersey for non-contact. So, communication is key across the board there.
Then there’s the Canadian Tire Center itself. Exhibit A: the Bryan Adams show. That night, we came back late, and all the loading docks were full. The arena staff helped us get in through a different gate in the building, and they gave us a few warm bodies to help bring everything down through the elevators.
Another example is ice times, like we need an extra flood in the middle of practice because they’re working on power play or an injured guy is going in early. So, everyone is involved in the operations in one way, shape, or form.
Q: How does your job change between preseason, regular season, post-season, and off season?
(Laughs) It’s pretty much just hockey or summer. Preseason is busy because you have more people around, upwards of 55 or 60 guys for camp with the same amount of staff. There’s a lot more demand and planning involved. We’re using multiple locker rooms and then multiple ice sessions because you have more guys. The job doesn’t change. It’s just more. You’re also getting back into the swing of things, so you might make mistakes or forget something.
When regular season ramps up, everybody is uber-focused. Maybe to the point where you overthink some things because you don’t want to leave any stone unturned. That kind of progresses as the season goes on.
Then, when the season ends, it’s like someone let the air out of the balloon. You walk away and take a break for a little bit.
Q: What happens to all the equipment in the off-season?
The players take their personal gear home. Everything else we break down, inventory, store, and we might liquidate things that are no longer needed. sometimes liquidating extra items. You never just walk away and lock up the doors because there’s always someone that needs something. It may not be the same sense of urgency, but we’re always on the job. There’s no off-season.
Q: Road games sound like a huge operation. What’s that like for you and your team?
So, road work… I don’t want to say it’s easy, but we’ve done it so many times, it feels easy. We travel with anything we could need. Our goal is to never have to go down the hall to another team and say, “Can we borrow this?”
With the travel, again, there’s a lot of communication. We talk to our plane engineer. We talk to the equipment transfer person on the other side. They’ll pick us up and show us to the venue. Often, there’s another event happening in their building, so we’ll have to place gear in an auxiliary room then come in late the night after or early the next morning to move gear into the locker room.
The part that is easier is the home team takes care of a lot of stuff, like laundry and supplying glove dryers, that type of thing. We can just set up, move in, and carry on. The flip side is when you’re at home, you have to do all the visiting team’s laundry as well as your own.
Q: What about back-to-back games? You might play on Monday in Ottawa and Tuesday in Philadelphia. How do you handle those?
We’re on the road to the airport within 20 to 25 minutes from the buzzer with essentially all the equipment ready except for maybe the wet laundry from the game that night, which one of the guys will stay back and then bring in his own vehicle.
It’s not that different from any other road game because we can pre-plan, have the truck staged, and get a lof of things ready in advance.
Q: Ever had a moment of equipment panic? Or a challenging situation? How did you overcome that?
Yeah, for example, we had Kurtis MacDermid come in this year and he wears a glove that’s an older model that we don’t have in stock. As soon as we made the trade, we talked to the former trainers and they had some gloves from their alternate uniforms last year. They sent those to us, and we took apart another pair of our gloves to add some red. Those kinds of challenges are kind of fun, but when it’s something that happens last minute, it’s a challenge.
Q: Along those lines, what contingency plans do you have? If equipment malfunctions, do you have a backup?
Not necessarily. Every player has a pair of backup skates in their bag, and they have 10 sets of steel that we travel with. We have all models and sizes of helmets and keep two or three backup helmets on the bench, so that if someone loses it on the ice, the play goes on.
There’s a big sewing machine in every visiting room, so we can do repairs on equipment. So, we’re—knock on wood—pretty equipped to handle most curveballs. We’ve been lucky that there hasn’t been anything where we were totally stuck.
Q: How do you track all of that gear and ensure everyone has what they need when they need it? Is there a system or database? Or is it just guys coming up to you and saying, “My gloves are worn out”?
Both. As you have players, you get to know their habits, so for ordering, we can forecast for a lot of guys because we get a good handle on their usage. That changes every year because of turnover and changes to roster. In that case, it’s talking to your colleagues where the new players came from and learning habits.
Beyond that, every week or two, we’re checking inventory. You could have software or something like that, but with so many people involved, it gets complicated.
Q: A lot of people reading this will be rec hockey players. What’s your best piece of professional advice or equipment tips you can give them?
Dry your gear. That’s the big one. And wash it, too. I see a lot of guys throw their gear in a bag, put their skate guards on, and leave it in the truck or the garage. Especially skates, don’t put guards on wet blades. That’s how you get corrosion. I’m as guilty as anyone, but if you spend that extra five minutes, it’s going to save you money.
Kinaxis is a partner of the Ottawa Senators and their AHL affiliate, the Belleville Senators. As two proud Ottawa-based organizations, Kinaxis and the Senators come together to celebrate local talent, foster youth development, and drive meaningful community engagement. You can learn more about our partnership here.
