The Niverville Nighthawks are pleased to announce the hires of Kevin Pauls as the team’s new marketing and game day director and Michael Salonius as senior sales associate.
Kevin Pauls has been involved with the Nighthawks from day one as the official voice of the Nighthawks. He starts immediately with his new responsibilities, which will be in addition to his role as Hockey TV commentator.
Born in Winnipeg and raised in Morden, Pauls grew up watching hockey and has spent more than 15 years coaching. He has also served on the Pembina Valley Minor Hockey Association executive. Since getting into broadcasting in 2009, Pauls has called games for Manitoba AAAU18, the South Eastern Manitoba Hockey League, high school hockey, and now the MJHL.
“My kids all played hockey,” says Pauls. “I enjoyed being a part of their hockey careers, and spending time with them at the rink is something I will always cherish.”
Pauls feels that the Nighthawks’ first season was really special from his vantage point. Much of it was spent commentating games alongside his daughter, Dua.
“It was cool to be a fly on the wall for all of the firsts, like the first goal, first win, and all of the fantastic games,” he adds. “Making the playoffs was really cool, and being able to bring the emotion of those events to people on TV and radio was unreal for my daughter and me.”
With a new season coming up and a new role, Pauls is very excited to get things started come the end of summer.
“Being able to contribute in the capacity of Marketing and Game Operations, as well as my broadcasting duties, is such an exciting thing for not only myself but my family as well,” says Pauls. “They know this is something I’ve always wanted to do, so this has all just been so cool. The first season was indeed special, but there are so many great things to come. We are just getting started. I cannot wait for what’s next.”
Also hired this week was Michael Salonious, who has already started in his position as senior sales associate. He was instrumental in lining up corporate sponsorships during the team’s inaugural season, and the club looks forward to him building on that success in an official capacity.
Originally from Toronto, Salonius moved to Niverville in 2014. Although he doesn’t have much history with the sport of hockey, and by his own admission can’t skate, he does proudly boast the achievement of having seen a game in each and every one of Canada’s NHL arenas.
Salonius has more than 20 years of experience in sales in the telecommunications industry. Community was the main reason he wanted to get involved with the Nighthawks.
“Sitting in the arena watching the excitement and smiles of families as they come together to cheer on their team is incredible to see,” says Salonius. “It’s important to help the team thrive so we can have many years of family enjoyment.”
