CALGARY -- Bob Nicholsons advice to his successor at Hockey Canada is be as comfortable having a beer with a minor hockey coach in Kindersley, Sask. Wholesale Saints Jerseys ., as you are in the New York office of NHL commissioner Gary Bettman. From the 3,500 minor hockey associations across the country to the highest halls of hockey power, Nicholsons ability to establish, build and maintain connections turned Hockey Canada into a powerful sports organization. After 16 years as president and chief executive officer, Nicholsons last day on the job was spent presiding over the organizations annual general meeting in Calgary. "There are so many partnerships you have to work on," Nicholson said Saturday. "Thats how you grow the business side of the game and how you grow the game itself." His successor will be chosen by Hockey Canadas board of directors. Its a job of many moving parts that includes player, coach and official development programs, national teams, corporate sales and marketing, licensing, insurance, regulations and building consensus among 13 provincial branches. Nicholsons parting instructions also included tapping into Canadas multicultural population. "We need to figure out how to deal with new Canadians," he explained. "We need to be more flexible. We cant just register kids from September to April. We should have two or three hockey seasons. "The families are changing. We cant continue to do things we did in the 70s, 80s and 90s. There has to be change." There was a lot of that during Nicholsons tenure. The 60-year-old from Penticton, B.C., started with B.C. Hockey before joining Hockey Canada as vice-president in 1990. Hockey Canada and the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association merged in 1994 and Nicholson became president in 1998. "The reason there was a merger was both organizations were bankrupt," Nicholson recalled. The non-profit organization is now an operation of approximately $45 million annually due in large part to marketing and packaging of Canadas passion, as well as turning the organization into a brand. "The easiest way to describe that was when I started as president we had 20 staff and we have 127 staff today. Our budgets were $5 million total," Nicholson said. "We just really took the mark and built partnerships." A prime example is the world mens under-20 hockey championship that is a major contributor to the coffers. Hockey Canada parlayed the annual tournaments growing popularity into lucrative sponsorships and a large television contract with TSN. The money goes not only to Hockey Canada, but to the Canadian Hockey League that supplies a large number of players to the tournament as well as minor hockey associations who develop them. Nicholson struck a deal with the International Ice Hockey Federation to bring the tournament to Canada every two years starting in 2015. Its also been held in Canada three of the last five years. "The world juniors and the womens worlds, those are a real staple in this country and theyre a big part of the tradition and also the financial side of it," Nicholson said. Canada has won both mens and womens Olympic hockey gold in back-to-back Winter Games. The 2002 mens hockey team, assembled by Wayne Gretzky, won gold to end a 50-year drought at the Winter Olympics. Canadian teams have won 44 gold at world championships, Olympics and World Cups on Nicholsons watch. "Look at the people hes brought into our organization, whether its high-end professional staff or people like Wayne Gretzky and Steve Yzerman," Hockey Canada chairman Jim Hornell said. "His capacity to bring people into our organization is huge and that will live on." Registration rose from 519,000 in 1998 when Nicholson took over to 634,892 this past season. Much of that growth has come in the female game with an increase from 29,000 to almost 90,000 today. Nicholson has also been front and centre on thorny issues. In the wake of revelations that junior hockey coach Graham James sexually abused players, a Speak Out program was established in 1997 to help prevent abuse and bullying in sport. When to introduce bodychecking in minor hockey has been a source of continual and fractious debate. Concussions in hockey are problematic for the long-term health of players. Nicholson emphasized safety in his final address at the AGM. "Everything you do, do it for the player," he said. "Its not about the turf youre representing or the area of the country you live in. Do whats best for the player. Player safety, those terms are all changing. We have to change with the time. "I really believe when I look back 10 years from now, this organization is going to go to a whole other level. As long as you continue to focus on the players, making sure players play this game safe, Canada will always be the country that carries this game worldwide." Establishing an initiation program to introduce children age five and six to hockey is part of Nicholsons legacy. He also oversaw the move of Hockey Canadas headquarters from Father David Bauer Arena at the University of Calgary to the WinSport at Canada Olympic Park. His first day off the job Sunday was to be spent golfing in Penticton. Nicholson will continue as a IIHF vice-president. Speculation is the NHL will come calling. "I dont know," Nicholson said. "In fairness Ive got a lot of options on my table. I told everyone I wasnt going to speak until June 1. Im going to have to deal with some things and see where it goes." New Orleans Saints Store .A. Dickey earned an American League Gold Glove on Tuesday to become the first Toronto Blue Jays pitcher to win the award. Stitched Saints Jerseys . -- Phil Mickelson will be watching the final two rounds of the Masters from home for the first time in 17 years. https://www.saintsjerseyssale.com/ . -- Peyton Manning is the only player in this Super Bowl who has won the big game.Every night of the Stanley Cup playoffs, TSN hockey analyst and former NHL goaltender Jamie McLennan breaks down each goalies performance. Jamies number grades given are out of five, with five being the best mark. Marc-Andre Fleury, Pittsburgh (3) - He made a huge glove save on Ryan Murray with 63 seconds left. He was looking for a response (mentally) after he was down 3-1 and made two big saves - one on Ryan Johansen and one on Mark Letestu. All eyes were on him to see if he could hold up and he passed his first test. Sergei Bobrovsky, Columbus (2) - Brandon Sutters game-winning goal wasnt great. Also, Matt Niskanens power play goal went through the legs. He was not at the top of his expected game and has more to give. Carey Price, Montreal (3) - Price made three huge saves in overtime (on Alex Killorn, Teddy Purcell and Nikita Kucherov), on a night where he faced few sshots and had a few goals that - by his standards - he would stop on a regular night. New Orleans Saints Gear. Anders Lindback, Tampa Bay (3) - Lindback gave them a chance to win, as the Habs had most of the shots and chances in Game 1. The goals by Lars Eller and Thomas Vanek goals were not his best work, but he made more than enough stops to keep them in the game. Frederik Andersen, Anaheim (3) - He made two big saves early in the game on Jamie Benn and Alex Chiasson. Not much could be done on two of the three goals he allowed, as Chiasson was a screen. But he was very good in tight on Wednesday night using his feet and post protection. Kari Lehtonen, Dallas (2) - Lehtonen did not get much help or chances on three of the four goals he allowed. He had rebound issues all night, looked unsettled at times on perimeter shots and was deep on screen shots where hes usually more aggressive. ' ' '