Spotlight on Hockey

Julien BriseBois, EMBA 07, vice-president and general manager, Tampa Bay Lightning

BriseBois was named the Tampa Bay Lightning's eighth general manager in 2018. In 2020, he became the team's second general manager to win a Stanley Cup and became the first to ever win back-to-back cups when the Lightning won again in 2021. The Lightning were only the second team since 2000 to win the cup back-to-back.

BriseBois was a finalist for the 2020 Jim Gregory Award, presented annually to the top NHL general manager of the Year. Prior to being promoted to general manager, BriseBois spent eight seasons as assistant general manager under Steve Yzerman.

Before coming to Tampa Bay, BriseBois, spent nine seasons with the Montreal Canadiens after joining the organization in 2001 as director of legal affairs. In 2003, he added director of hockey operations to his duties and then vice president of hockey operations in 2006.

He is a member of the Quebec Bar, the American Bar Association and the Sports Lawyers Association.

Julie Chu, head coach, Stingers women's hockey team

Head coach of the Concordia Stingers women’s hockey program, Chu is a four-time Olympic Medallist on the USA ice hockey team. With three silver and one bronze medals, she is tied as the second-most decorated U.S. female athlete in Olympic Winter Games history. She was chosen as the U.S. Olympic Team flag bearer by fellow Team USA members to lead the 2014 U.S. Olympic Team into the Sochi Closing Ceremony.  

Chu was also an assistant coach for University of Minnesota Duluth and helped the Bulldogs women's ice hockey team win their fourth NCAA Division I national championship in 2008.  She also spent three years coaching at Union College from 2010–2013.  

She was a guest instructor at the Tampa Bay Lightning prospect camp in 2021. 

Mark Weightman, BComm 96, president and CEO of the Trois-Rivières Lions

Weighman is the first president and CEO of the Lions de Trois-Rivières, the new ECHL expansion franchise and Montreal Canadiens affiliate. Weightman is responsible for the management of the hockey club and its business operations, as well as overseeing the development of the event promotion division and arena food and beverage operations.

Prior to joining the Lions, Weightman held the position of vice president of Development and Operations with the Montreal Canadiens from 2018 to 2020, where he was responsible for the Place Bell arena and the AHL’s Laval Rocket. This was preceded by a 21-year career with the Montreal Alouettes, including five seasons as the Club’s President & CEO/COO. He also spent one year in Scandinavia as senior marketing consultant with the Linköping Hockey Team of the Swedish Elite League.

Mark Weightman holds a bachelor degree in commerce with a major in marketing from Concordia University and an MBA from Université du Québec à Montréal.

Salim Valji, BA 17, journalist at Sportscentre and writer at TSN.ca

Valji joined TSN in November 2020 and covers the Calgary Flames and Stampeders, as well as other sports stories from the Calgary area and western Canada.

A native of Edmonton, Valji studied multiplatform journalism at Concordia where he did broadcasting for the Concordia Stingers and wrote for the Concordia University Magazine. He then worked as a public relations associate with the New York Rangers, an associate producer for TSN’s regional Montreal Canadiens regional broadcasts and a contributor for the New York Times, The Canadian Press, The Montreal Gazette, CBC, CTV, The Sporting News and ESPN.