An Unusual Intersection of Ice, Beats, and Bureaucracy
In the spring of 2016, Snoop Dogg was appointed as the Director of Hockey Operations for a Swedish youth hockey league. This was not a metaphor. It was not part of a music video. It was an actual organizational role within the Sodertalje Junior Hockey Association.
The appointment was the result of a campaign led by the association’s management, who were committed to increasing diversity and international interest in their league. The team cited Snoop Dogg’s longstanding and publicly documented love of hockey—evidenced by previous appearances on NHL broadcasts, his own animated breakdowns of games, and his 1994 hit “Gin and Juice” being inexplicably used during intermissions at minor hockey events across North America.
Snoop Dogg, who has no known experience coaching or administering hockey at any level, accepted the position without hesitation. He issued a press release which included the line, “Y’all know I love the kids. Hockey ain’t ready.”
During his brief tenure, he hosted a virtual skills workshop where he demonstrated how to properly tuck in your jersey while maintaining an optimal level of swagger. He also suggested that all team uniforms be redesigned to incorporate faux fur and gold embroidery, an initiative that, according to insiders, was politely declined by the league’s governing board.
Although his tenure did not result in any major policy shifts or rule changes, it did lead to a measurable uptick in global web traffic to Sodertalje’s website, a 300% increase in merchandise sales, and one oddly successful TikTok trend featuring slapshot choreography to G-funk instrumentals.
As of today, Snoop Dogg remains the only person to have simultaneously collaborated with Dr. Dre and held an executive-level position in European youth sports management. This particular achievement has yet to be matched, and possibly never will be.
Sources close to the rapper suggest that while he is no longer officially involved with the league, he keeps a signed Swedish hockey puck on his desk, next to a miniature Zamboni replica, and refers to the entire experience as “ice cold history.”