from Lance Lysowski of the Buffalo News,

The Buffalo News spoke with Okposo about the hire, including Walsh’s ties to Delaware North chairman and Boston Bruins owner Jeremy Jacobs, following the Sabres’ practice Friday in San Jose:

Q: What qualities did the search committee want in a new executive director?

A: Honestly, it morphed, a lot. I think, when we all set out on the process, we had a rough draft of what we had in mind. Being a good leader was at the forefront, and to have leadership qualities that were natural, that was a big one. That's one that really never wavered. And then, some of the other things, like experience and background. We interviewed a ton of different people from a lot of different backgrounds, and had a lot of different experiences in a lot of different industries. But leadership was definitely paramount.

Somebody who can bring our union together and bring our sport together, along with the NHL. It's going to be a collaborative effort to bring this game – I think this game has so much potential to go in a different stratosphere than it is now. We wanted somebody who had experiences leading unions, working with both sides, working with businessmen, working with people. That process, once we found Marty, it was a pretty easy decision.

Q: How did Marty Walsh separate himself from other candidates through the interview process?

A: I think it was just a knowledge and a presence and an experience that he had. Talking to him for 20 minutes, for me, I didn't really have much else to ask him. I had a bunch of questions prepared, and you feel like he covered a lot. It was very direct and very blunt. He had a confidence about him, because he's done it before, because he's led a union before. He's been a mayor. He's worked in politics. He knows how to work with both sides. He knows how to bring people together. Everything that we had been talking about for the last close to 10 months, he just nailed it. And it wasn't like he was giving an interview. It was just, "This is what I think, and this is what I will do," and that was it. So, it was just very natural and a ton of fun, to be honest.

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