SPRINGFIELD, Mass. … The American Hockey League honored Ben Adams, senior vice president and chief marketing officer of the Cleveland Monsters, and Ariel Padilla, director of ticket sales and marketing for the Ontario Reign, with league awards at the 2025 AHL Team Business Meetings in Indianapolis today.
Adams has been named the winner of the league’s Ken McKenzie Award for the 2024-25 season, and Padilla has been selected as the recipient of the Frank Torres Memorial Award.
Recognizing the important role played by team management in building a successful franchise, the Ken McKenzie Award is presented annually to an AHL team executive who most successfully promotes his or her own club.
In his 10 years with the Monsters and Rock Entertainment Group, Adams has transformed the organization’s presence through bold vision and first-rate execution. He is an inventive strategist who has overseen campaigns that have resulted in tremendous surges in fan engagement, media attention and brand awareness, making the Monsters one of the most recognized teams in the AHL. Adams, whose responsibilities also extend to marketing for the NBA’s Cleveland Cavaliers and the NBA G League’s Cleveland Charge, leads the Monsters’ retail merchandise team in addition to their multi-faceted content and marketing efforts, helping the club reach new heights in attendance, revenue and standing within the community.
The AHL’s Ken McKenzie Award, first presented in 1978, honors Ken McKenzie, the founder and long-time publisher of The Hockey News and a 1997 media honoree by the Hockey Hall of Fame as the Elmer Ferguson Memorial Award winner. McKenzie was also the NHL’s first publicity director and creator of its first media guide.
The Frank Torres Memorial Award is presented to an individual in recognition of outstanding leadership in business development or sales while exemplifying creativity, support and integrity.
Padilla began her AHL career in 2017 as an inside sales representative with Ontario and is now responsible for overseeing the organization’s ticket sales and marketing departments. A leader by example and a trusted mentor, Padilla has been vital to the Reign’s success and accomplishments, developing a strong culture of creativity, trust and support within her departments.
The Frank Torres Memorial Award was established last season to honor Frank Torres, the vice president of business operations for the San Jose Barracuda who passed away in January 2024.
In operation since 1936, the AHL serves as the top development league for all 32 National Hockey League teams. Nearly 90 percent of today’s NHL players are American Hockey League graduates, and more than 100 honored members of the Hockey Hall of Fame spent time in the AHL in their careers.
