The CEO of a Top 40 distributor is hoping to bring the National Hockey League (NHL) to Seattle.

Jay Deutsch, CEO of Woodinville, WA-based BDA (asi/137616), is now a member of the Seattle Hockey Partners Group, which has as its goal the expansion of an NHL franchise into Seattle. Each of the seven members will own an as-yet undisclosed minority stake in the new franchise.

Jay Deutsch

The group is fronted by billionaire managing partner David Bonderman and Hollywood producer Jerry Bruckheimer. In October, Bonderman, a minority owner of the Boston Celtics, as well as Bruckheimer, NHL Seattle CEO Tod Leiweke and Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan will make a presentation in front of the NHL’s executive committee in favor of bringing an NHL team to Seattle.

If the October presentation is approved, the NHL board of governors will vote in December to award Seattle a $650 million expansion franchise and a home rink at remodeled KeyArena at the Seattle Center, adjacent to Seattle’s Space Needle.

For Deutsch, a native of Seattle and a huge sports fan, there was little question about his joining the group when he got an invitational call. "My dear friend Tod Leiweke said, 'I want you to be part of this,'" Deutsch told Counselor. "I had to say yes. Tod is one of the best leaders I've ever met, and knowing he's all-in to make Seattle NHL a winner both on and off the ice solidified my commitment."

Joining Deutsch in the Seattle Hockey Partners Group are David Wright, the lead representative for the group whose family owns the Space Needle, and whose father was an original Seahawks and Sounders owner; his brother Jeff Wright, managing partner at Chihuly Garden and Glass; Seattle Sounders FC owner Adrian Hanauer; Chris and Ted Ackerley, the sons of a former Sonics owner; and Andy Jassy, CEO of Amazon Web Services. The group was officially introduced at a press conference last week.

The Emerald City is eager to add a new professional sports franchise, especially after the Seattle SuperSonics left town. “We had enough relationships here where we understood how everyone felt about losing a team,” Leiweke said at the press conference, about the NBA team leaving for Oklahoma City. “[W]hen you ask Mr. Bonderman why we brought in these partners, that’s why... It’s not going to happen again with this team. It gives us a huge core of additional local owners and partners to help us with the other challenges.”

Deutsch says his participation in the Seattle Hockey Partners Group could potentially open doors for BDA, though it was first and foremost a personal choice. "We've been a leader in sports activation and promotions across all professional leagues, teams and sponsors for over three decades," he says. "While joining the Group was not a BDA initiative, I expect it will provide yet another lens for BDA to better support all of our sports clients."

As for his hometown, Deutsch is confident the NHL will successfully expand into Seattle and enjoy support from its loyal sports fans. "We have a very caring and experienced group, a dynamic mayor who's incredibly supportive and true hockey fans ready to support our new team," he says. "Seattle is a great sports town. My prediction is that professional hockey will thrive here, and my wish is to raise the Stanley Cup and take it home for a day."