(October 2, 2017) When the Wichita Falls Wildcats folded after last season season, Alex von Keudell didn’t know where his next hockey broadcasting opportunity might be. Fortunately, he had a friend who was eager to help. Now, von Keudell is the Director of Broadcasting & Media Relations for the Corpus Christi IceRays.
Von Keudell follows fellow STAA member Collin Schuck with the NAHL hockey team. Schuck recently left Corpus for the Lincoln Stars of the USHL. Before Schuck left, he helped line-up his friend to be his replacement.
“Collin and I were both up for the Lincoln Stars job,” says von Keudell. “He knew he was a frontrunner and promptly called me to ask if I’d be interested in the Corpus Christi job if he were to leave. We worked together in the South Division for two years, and I was flattered that he trusted me to be his successor.”
When Schuck was hired in Lincoln, he recommended von Keudell to IceRays GM Pat Dunn. A couple days later, von Keudell was offered the job.
A 2015 graduate of Bradley University, von Keudell spent two seasons with Wichita Falls. Prior to that, he was the voice of the Peoria Mustangs. He has mixed emotions about the Wildcats shuttering their organization.
“It was bittersweet,” he says. “All of us could see it coming, so it didn’t come as a surprise. On the one hand, I knew I’d be losing my job. On the other, I knew the next job I’d get would be better, and that I’d get the chance to spend some time with family during the offseason.”
Von Keudell has been an STAA member since 2015. “The sports broadcasting field is extremely competitive and the job search is not very rewarding to people who don’t have help. STAA has given me an edge in receiving job leads, it’s helped improve my cover letters, and it’s helped me to make connections which could come in handy at the most opportune times.”
One of von Keudell’s most important connections is his friendship with Schuck. “I worked in the NAHL South for two years,” von Keudell says. “I already knew some of the staff, I knew the league and the division very well. And I managed to earn Collin Schuck’s respect, which is what ultimately led to me landing the job more than anything else.”