What’s in a name?
For Soo Greyhounds new equipment manager Nike Simpson, a lot.
His first name—Nike—turned out to be a perfect fit for his chosen profession.
“My dad ran marathons for 20 or 25 years up to when I was born and 10 or 15 years past that,” Simpson said. “He always wore Nike. He thought it was an interesting name and he did the research into it and Nike was the Greek goddess of victory and he liked the idea of that and putting victory on me right from an early age.”
“Nike in the ‘90s was starting to boom and be this massive thing so it just fit,” Simpson added. “He always joked that it was either that or Brooks, the other running shoe company at the time and settled on Nike.”
Good choice.
The Greyhounds hired Simpson earlier this month to take over the equipment manager position, marking another step up the ladder for Simpson.
“It’s exciting,” he said, of getting an OHL opportunity. “It’s somewhere that I’ve wanted to be and I always saw it as the next step to becoming an NHL equipment manager.”
Getting hired in the week leading up to training camp, Simpson said the transition has been smooth.
“It’s been awesome,” Simpson said. “Everybody has been welcoming me with open arms.”
Simpson said his interest in sport, and what led to him wanting to get involved, started young.
“Growing up around arenas, whether it was hockey all winter or lacrosse all summer, it was falling in love with a team environment,” Simpson said. “My first real job was at National Sports sharpening skates. Right off the start, before I even joined a team, I was sharpening skates, doing repairs, rivets, and learning about the products.”
From there, a spot with a local Jr. B team opened up.
“I sent my resume in and at the time I was 19 years old and the same age as the players, but one thing I had going for me was sharpening skates,” Simpson said. “They took a flier on me and here I am sitting in the Sault dressing room.”
After serving as equipment manager with the Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League’s Hamilton Kilty B’s, Simpson eventually joined the Ontario Junior Hockey League’s Trenton Golden Hawks and was Trenton’s equipment manager and facility manager last season before joining the Greyhounds.
