"Life is good" for business grad

Enjoying it? – Absolutely. I don’t call it work. You can’t tell me its work if I go to a hockey rink 365 days a year

That’s David Sattler. He’s the General Manager of True North Sports + Entertainment’s hockey for all centre in Winnipeg, and he’s a graduate of Assiniboine’s Business Administration program.

After graduating from the college in 2010, he began working with MNP in Neepawa and then moved to the firm’s Winnipeg office. From there he worked as an accounting clerk with the Portage Regional Recreation Authority while also obtaining his CGA designation. Shortly after Stride Place recreation facility opened in Portage, he was hired to set up its accounting systems and eventually became the general manager of the organization, overseeing a team of 20 fulltime staff, 60 parttime staff, two arenas, two pools, an assortment of athletic fields and summer camp programming.

“Being in Portage for eight or nine years, there were very few roles that I would’ve considered elsewhere.” An opportunity to work solely in hockey with True North arose, as they had an opening for their general manager role at the (formerly named) Bell MTS Iceplex. “I applied and I’ve been here ever since. I really enjoy the work we are doing. I’ve been given a great opportunity here, working at True North,” said Sattler.

As general manager of the hockey for all Centre, David runs a unique facility that is in constant motion.

“We’re the practice facility for the Winnipeg Jets and the Manitoba Moose that sees over 800,000 visitors a year,” he said. “We operate four rinks, a dedicated goalie training centre, a 440-seat full-service restaurant, and a high-performance training centre. Additionally, the organization offers more than 2,000 hours of dedicated hockey training annually to players of all ages and abilities. Being able to lean into my experience playing hockey at Assiniboine and put it to work with the skills I learnt in the classroom is a dream come true.

There’s one particular initiative he is especially proud of.

“We’ve been doing some work with the NHL’s Industry Growth Fund. That’s been a big part of my role for the last three or four years. The fund is set up to grow hockey. One of the big things we’ve done over the past couple of years is we’ve worked with community ambassadors from different backgrounds, South Asian, Filipino, Asian, Black, and Ukrainian communities and we’ve provided 500 kids the opportunity to play hockey that would have never played without it.”

“The program has been a labour of love, I would say.”

Looking back on his career path and where it has led him, he knows this wouldn’t be possible without his beginnings at Assiniboine, “None of it happens without Assiniboine. It provided me the basics of financial understanding – and the ability to believe that anything is possible if you dedicate your effort and time. It gave me that foundation to be able to complete my degree and obtain my CGA designation.”

The structure of Assiniboine, including the hands-on approach to learning and small class sizes, provided the perfect opportunity to learn how to work together, similar to how an organization functions in order to obtain success. Whether you’re the top scorer or the fourth line checker, a successful team needs all of the pieces to succeed. A lesson cemented during the 2010 men’s hockey season at Assiniboine that culminated in winning the last men’s hockey championship to be played at the college.

“Life is good. I have a fantastic wife, two beautiful daughters, and a career that I love.”