Calgary Flames minor league defenseman Josh Healey has developed a new app that allows hockey players to anonymously rate and review their agents and coaches. The platform also gives agents, coaches, and scouts the ability to track the playing careers of young recruits in one streamlined hub.
Healey’s new product, TheSportsAux, was submitted to the Apple store last week. In an interview with The Athletic, he explained the genesis of the project was a poor experience with his first agents and the realization that there’s no good objective way for clients to screen agents to hire.
“It’s been my experience that to find an agent, or find a new agent, it’s all word of mouth,” Healey told The Athletic. “That’s the only way you find an agent. Someone knows some guy, who has an agent and he sets you up with them. If you like them, you go with them and if not, you keep looking.”
Players can request verification that will allow them to log into and edit their profile. TheSportsAux will also load statistics and other biographical information.
Healey, an Edmonton native, currently plays for the AHL’s Stockton Heat after signing with the Flames following a four-year career at Ohio State. He is currently represented by agent Jeff Helperl, who works for Thunder Creek Professional Player Management in Saskatoon.
The NHLPA, which certifies all agents, declined to comment on TheSportsAux.
SportTechie Takeaway
Websites and apps such as Yelp, TripAdviser, and Uber have all institutionalized online reviews and, in many cases, normalized anonymous feedback. Healey’s plan to leverage that idea into the hockey coach and agent marketplace could be a helpful resource for players navigating an industry with very little objective information. Such a feature will, of course, be susceptible to the same pitfalls of all unnamed critiques, but hopefully that is minimized in the smaller fraternity of professional hockey players. If this catches on, the idea surely will be extended to other pro sports. And while the reviews will garner all the headlines, the dashboards created for scouts and agents could also make their jobs more efficient.