Hockey's Critical Behind-The-Scenes Teammates Head To Florida For PHATS/SPHEM Summit

The Stanley Cup final is capturing the attention of the hockey world, but an important event is coming up for unsung heroes on every team's staff.

Equipment managers, trainers, conditioning coaches and medical staff will head to Marco Island, Fla., for the beginning of the PHATS/SPHEM Hockey Summit on June 16.

The six-day long event is an opportunity for professional hockey, NCAA and CHL equipment managers, athletic trainers and medical staff to get together.

Dave Williams, head equipment manager of the Buffalo Sabres, spoke to TheHockeyNews.com about the event, describing what it is, why it happens and who participates.

"It's all of us together in a non-work environment," Williams said. "It allows us just to get on the same page with the group again. It allows us to learn and connect with the society of hockey and just get better at our profession."

According to PHATS/SPHEM, led by PHATS president and head athletic trainer of the Tampa Bay Lightning, Tom Mulligan, there are more than 700 registered members, including members of the Society of Professional Hockey Equipment Managers (SPHEM), the Professional Hockey Athletic Trainers Society (PHATS) and the Professional Hockey Performance Organization.

Two years ago, the NHL began to make the summit mandatory for one equipment manager from every staff and at least two from the medical group and all the physicians. The league even sends out a memo now to the 32 GMs, asking them to name which members of staff will be attending the PHATS/SPHEM Hockey Summit.

"That made our event even more critical, and the NHL recognizes what we're doing," Williams said. "This made our event even more concrete. That's a great thing."

All these members participate in sessions and activities, which include meeting with the many vendors that will be in attendance. 

At this year's summit, there will be 185 vendors, including True Hockey (owned by The Hockey News owner W. Graeme Roustan), taking up 211 booths, which is the most that have ever participated at the summit. These vendors inform and have educational sessions with equipment staff members.

"We can all get together and see what's new out in the marketplace, what's changing in our industry," Williams said. "For the equipment staff, we offer education sessions where we try to learn from the vendors as well. They present to us what's up and coming, what might be changing in their company, etcetera."

It's also a busy week for the medical staff members, as they use the six days to get their credits and keep up to date with their certifications and licenses.

"If this meeting wasn't available for them, they would have to go out on their own, which is very difficult during the hockey season to find the time to take some of these courses," Williams said. "So, really like a cram session, final exam week for them."

Williams mentioned the event was a little more loose in the past, with the first event he attended in 1995. But while it's still a "stress-free" environment, and these groups can still enjoy a night at the bar watching the Stanley Cup final or a scheduled golf day in previous years, members of the NHL regularly attend and keep things in order, including deputy commissioner Bill Daly.

"The old days, it used to be a fraternity party, but it's a lot more than that nowadays," Williams said.

He added that the NHL talks to the equipment managers about cut-resistant products and the research they've done on concussions and other ways to prevent injuries.

"It's so important to the NHL that they send deputy commissioner Bill Daly, and the general council and the NHLPA is there, it's serious," he said. "They talk to the players, and they expect us to know what's going on as well. It's a big business, too, now; it's not just what it once was, where a bunch of guys in hotel rooms just kind of figuring out what they're going to order for next year."

Williams pointed out how far this event has grown over the years in terms of attendance and support. Members of the league began attending the event annually about a decade ago, he said.

"The league is very in-tune with injury prevention," he said. "I know the NHL is definitely trying to stay ahead, and focus on injury prevention and making sure player safety is a very important part of their daily routine."

In addition to deputy commissioner Daly, NHLPA assistant executive director Ron Hainsey and the NHL's senior vice-president of player safety, George Parros, have also attended the PHATS/SPHEM event. 

Williams said they go to the summit mostly for that reason, enforcing the importance of player safety and injury prevention. But they also look for feedback from the equipment managers and trainers.

"They speak to us on standardization, they get our feedback… even as basic as the size of a stall, an equipment stall in the dressing room," he said.

All in all, it's an event that evokes pride.

"It's a great event – we're super proud of how far it's come," Williams said.

See more of The Hockey News on Google and save us as a preferred source. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com or creating your own post in our community forum.