Catching up with … Don Waddell, Thrashers president

By Chris Vivlamore

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

There are budgets to pore over, marketing plans to approve. There are season-ticket holders and sponsors to woo, plus NHL meetings to attend.

With all that going on, Thrashers president Don Waddell still finds time to watch a little hockey. It’s in his blood after all.

Waddell moved full-time into the duties of team president in April after serving as the franchise’s general manager since its inception. While it’s been a busy offseason, , Waddell recently traveled to Lake Placid to watch three of the team’s prospects compete in evaluation camps for the 2011 World Junior Championships.

“I’m not going to lose that,” Waddell said. “I’m going to go out and watch games. You are going to see me take team trips.”

Waddell’s biggest challenge this summer, he said, has been trying to capitalize on the excitement generated by the team’s busy offseason. Rick Dudley was promoted to general manager, a new coaching staff is in place and there have been significant roster changes through trades and free-agent moves.

“Right now, we have a good awareness in the city with the Thrashers,” Waddell said. “ ... Everything has been real positive so we want to make sure we capitalize on this buzz right now on the Thrashers side. We are seeing it. Our season tickets are up over last year at this point. Our renewals are way up over last year. You have to try to capitalize whenever you have these opportunities.”

The duties as president are not new to Waddell. He has been involved in many of the business aspects of the club for the past several years. “I was spread pretty thin there for awhile. I’m dug in now,” he said.

These days, however, he finds himself going over every line of every Atlanta Spirit budget company-wide. He’s more likely to be on the phone with a potential season-ticket holder or sponsor than another general manager. In fact, he points out, he sold a couple season tickets himself the other day.

In addition to budget work, there are marking plans to go over, game operations to discuss and speaking engagements.

“I’ve always enjoyed the business side of the sport,” Waddell said. “I’ve done it for years. I ran minor-league teams. I’ve had my hand in here from day one. I want to be proud of our team every year. I also want to be proud that we dropped our [financial] losses. If we can cut our losses in half, that’s a huge challenge that I want to be able to overcome at the end of the year.”

Waddell is still involved in the team's day-to-day operations and roster moves. He said he works with Dudley and assistant general manager Larry Simmons, with all three bringing their individual strengths to the process.

“Rick ... is the best at player development. That’s why I hired him two years ago," Waddell said. "My strengths compliment Rick’s strengths. Rick and I are side-by-side as we are making decisions. Rick doesn’t have to worry about the business side, the contracts, the budgets ... because he knows I’ll handle it. When a decision has to be made, he and I sit down and make decisions that we feel are best for the long term of this franchise.”

Simmons has taken on a bigger role in the area of strategic planning.

Waddell’s role with Team USA will likely be reduced with his new responsibilities. He said he may remain in an advisory role, but his day-to-day involvement ended with the 2010 Winter Olympics.