Owner Profile: The Milwaukee Monarchs - Derek Heilmann

Derek Heilmann, runs the Milwaukee Monarchs as a labor of love. While serving as the Commissioner of the Icehouse Hockey League, Derek also owns and operates "Knight Industry Brewing", the oldest brewery in Milwaukee. An amateur inventor, he created the Knight Industries Thirst Technology brewing machine. KITT is not only revolutionary in its design, but also in its versatility. Knight Industries Brewing is not only able to use KITT in the brewing process for beer, but to make sports drinks as well. This has allowed Knight Industries to create superior beverages at a fraction of the cost of the competition. This has led directly to Knight Industries becoming not only the official beer of the IHHL with Hof'brau (pictured right), but also the league's official sports drink, LifeGaurd. 

As Commissioner, Derek has overseen the expansion of the IHHL from  eight teams to 10,  the  ushering in of new ownership, and a series of outlandish, and sometimes tragic promotional stunts.

Promotion of the sport and the league has been at the core of his stewardship of the IHHL. During his brief time as the commissioner, Derek has worked closely with league resources to execute the launch of the IHHL Web site, the inaugural game of the IHHL Winter Classic, and designating Game Misconduct as the IHHL's official news source.

Somehow, while dealing with the pressures or running a multimillion dollar business and serving as the IHHL's commissioner, Derek manages to find time to serve as the Monarchs' coach and general manager as well. He feels that serving in these roles is vital to him getting the most out of his team. He believes that this gives him a strong sense of how each player is going to react and helps to create a strong team ethos that reaches from the locker room to the owner's box.