Kupaks blazing trail for women as GM in CHL
By Tal Pinchevsky - NHL.com Staff Writer


It's a conversation Nicole Kupaks finds herself having every so often. It starts with people asking what she does for a living. Her response sometimes leads to even more questions. After all, people aren't used to meeting the only female president/general manager in hockey. That's something she's trying to change.

"It's not easy for a female, especially in this role, even if it's in the minors. There's not many of us out here. Hopefully I've proven a lot in my work ethic and the quality of product that I put out there," said Kupaks, who was named GM of the CHL's Laredo Bucks in 2011 before the team was moved to St. Charles, Mo., last summer and she inherited the additional title of team president. "[People ask,] 'Do you coach your son's team?' No, I run the minor pro team that we just brought into town.

"They kind of do a triple take and ask, 'You?'"

Yes, her. And no, her dad doesn't own the team.
Nicole Kupaks is believed to be the only female general manager in pro hockey. (Courtesy: St. Charles Chill)

She's just a determined woman from Austin, Texas who fell so deeply in love with hockey that she attended a 2004 Central Hockey League jobs fair in Dallas. After being offered seven jobs, Kupaks left a lucrative position with Dell Computers to become the Bucks' director of public relations. Her first day in Laredo, the team won the 2004 CHL title with a Game 7 victory over the Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs.

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