Lamont Buford

Buford rose through the hockey ranks. He began in production with Hershey of the American Hockey League, worked seven seasons with the St. Louis Blues and five seasons with the Arizona Coyotes, where he was senior director for game presentation. Then a new franchise in Seattle came calling. Buford is currently the VP, Entertainment Experience for the Kraken, and is one of the few people of color in the NHL at an executive level.

"We're the ones who try to create memories that are outside the [...] ice," Buford said. "For us, it's what we want people to experience and how we want them to feel. We kind of layer it from there, from the lights, cameras, the music, the smoke or fire. We're thinking about the big splash moment and the opportunities that we have to make those moments."