Television Broadcast Host receives O-1B visa for the role of Hockey Analyst

We are extremely proud to announce that we successfully petitioned for an O-1 visa for distinguished Television Broadcast Host, Mr. Shane Michael Hnidy. He is a former hockey player who has gone to make a name for himself in television broadcasting. He is highly sought after for his sports broadcasting skills. 

Managing Member of the firm, Sherrod Seward successfully presented the petition proving eligibility for the O-1 visa as a World Class Hockey Analyst to USCIS. He provided as many documents as possible for each of the criteria satisfied by Mr. Hnidy. 

The Beneficiary O-1B Sports Analyst 

Mr. Hnidy’s extraordinary career in Hockey is marked by his exceptional skill and achievements which have garnered national and international acclaim. Mr. Hnidy has risen to the very top of his field, achieving almost unparalleled success, as well as wide-spread respect among fellow industry professionals across the globe. In addition, he is an expert in compiling, studying, and presenting live Hockey coverage, and has rich experience in television broadcasting.

The O-1B Petition for former Hockey Player

We demonstrated that SDS Sports Agency, the petitioner, would like to extend the O-1B status upon Mr. Shane Hnidy, whom they consider to be an exceptionally talented Hockey Analyst. He will draw upon his in-depth knowledge and expertise in professional hockey in the television broadcast industry for the agency’s involvement in popular hockey events, players, and trends. He will serve as an Analyst of Hockey talent and business industry with the petitioner during the entire NHL season and off season.

In the petition, we presented evidence of Mr. Hnidy’s exceptional past career as a Hockey player. We further demonstrated his expertise in television broadcasting. 

Performances in a lead role for organizations and establishments that have a distinguished reputation

Mr. Hnidy is a retired Professional Ice Hockey Defenseman who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Ottawa Senators, Nashville Predators, Atlanta Thrashers, Anaheim Ducks, Boston Bruins, and Minnesota Wild between 2000 and 2011. As a defenseman, he played in 550 NHL games during his career, registering 16 goals and 55 assists for a total of 71 points and 633 penalty minutes. 

Subsequent to his retirement, Mr. Hnidy performed the following lead roles in distinguished organizations: 

• Leading role of Broadcaster for the Winnipeg Jets on TSN’s Radio 1290 show and TSN3 channel. TSN (The Sports Network) is a prominent Canadian English language sports specialty service and was established in 1984 as Canada's first national television network devoted exclusively to sports. Mr. Hnidy went on to serve as the Jets’ full-time Television Analyst in 2014 for TSN’s television programming, partnering with renowned play-by-play announcer Mr. Dennier Beyak. He also provided in-studio pregame and game recaps for TSN. 

• Television Play-by-Play Commentator alongside Mr. Dave Goucher on AT&T SportsNet for the Vegas Golden Knights. The Vegas Golden Knights are a professional ice hockey team based in the Las Vegas metropolitan area that began play in the 2017-18 NHL season. They are a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League. AT&T SportsNet is the collective name for a group of regional sports networks in the United States that are primarily owned and operated by AT&T Sports Networks, LLC, a division of AT&T Inc. AT&T SportsNet is one of the nation's premier regional sports networks providing unique and special experiences for local sports fans, sponsors, team and media partners.

We thus demonstrated Mr. Hnidy’s professional excellence by providing sufficient proof for the above roles.

Significant national or international awards or prizes in the field

Mr. Hnidy and his team were awarded the prestigious Stanley Cup award in 2011 when he was a professional Hockey Player for the Boston Bruins. The petition included documentation to support this win. 

The Stanley Cup is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League playoff winner and is the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise. The International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) considers it to be one of the most important championships in the sport of hockey. 

Performed services as a lead or starring participant in productions or events which have a distinguished reputation

Due to his extraordinary abilities in the sports broadcast industry, Mr. Hnidy has performed in the past, and will perform in the future, a leading role in productions with distinguished reputations. We presented evidence of his past roles and his future commitments: 

• Been selected to perform as a Lead Participant of NHL broadcasts for our distinguished NBC Universal network

• Served as an Analyst for Golden Knights broadcasts on AT&T SportsNet. As stated by Golden Knights president Kerry Bubolz in the attached article from Knights on Ice, Mr. Shane “brings a wealth of hockey experience, and will be an integral party of making Golden Knights broadcasts enjoyable and insightful.” 

• Was the Lead Participant of the Winnipeg Jets radio and television broadcasts on TSN 1290 and TSN3 since the franchise relocated from Atlanta, Georgia for the start of the 2011-2012 NHL season. He then went on to perform services as a starring participant as the Jets’ full-time Television Analyst in 2014. 

We demonstrated that Mr. Hnidy is known by name throughout the sports broadcast industry for being one of the best in the field, as an incredibly talented presenter in the field of hockey.

Publications in lead or starring participant in productions or events which have a distinguished reputation

Mr. Hnidy has received significant recognition from prestigious organizations and publications, including The Hockey News, CBC, Winnipeg Free Press, NHL, TSN, and Knights on Ice. 

We provided evidence of these honors, while delineating the reputation of the various organizations, which include:

• The Hockey News (THN) has been providing the most comprehensive coverage of the world of hockey since 1947. THN is published 18 times a year, including 14 regular issues and four special issues - such as Future Watch, Draft Preview, Yearbook, the #1 selling hockey annually in North America. 

• The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, branded as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian federal Crown corporation that serves as the national public radio and television broadcaster. 

• The Winnipeg Free Press is a daily newspaper publication in Winnipeg, Manitoba (Canada) that provides coverage of local, provincial, national, international, sports, business, and entertainment news. Founded in 1872, it is the oldest newspaper in western Canada and has the largest readership of any newspaper in the province and is regarded as the newspaper of record for Winnipeg and Manitoba. 

• NHL.com is the official web site of the National Hockey League. The Sports Network (TSN) is a Canadian English language sports specialty service and is Canada's sports leader and #1 specialty network with a broad portfolio of multimedia sports assets. 

• Knights on Ice is SB Nation’s NHL blog that covers news, analysis and opinion regarding the Vega Golden Knights. SB Nation is the largest independent sports media brand, consisting of SBNation.com, MMAFighting.com and over 300 fan-centric team sites.

We thus provided ample evidence that Mr. Hnidy meets and exceeds the criteria for the O-1B visa. On the basis of this clear, independent, and persuasive evidence of his extraordinary abilities, we successfully petitioned for Mr. Hnidy’s O-1B visa.

For more information on how we help support professional athletes and coaches with O-1 and P-1 visas, please contact our offices at 310-209-8545.