Music: {allcanada} KONOPKA: LOCKOUT 'TERRIBLE FOR BUSINESS'

Friday, December 28, 2012

{allcanada} KONOPKA: LOCKOUT 'TERRIBLE FOR BUSINESS'

The Ottawa Sun posits that as both a player and an entrepreneur, Minnesota Wild forward Zenon Konopka knows the lockout is "terrible for business."

"I don't agree with the owners, but I understand some of their views," he said. "The reality of the matter is these 30 NHL owners are successful in business before getting involved with us, or they wouldn't have the bankroll to buy a team. These guys are obviously very highly intelligent businesspeople that know what they're doing. So it's something that eventually, hopefully, common sense will come to the forefront."

Unlike other locked-out NHLers, boredom is never an issue for Zenon Konopka.

Since becoming a teenaged bar owner while captain of the 67's, he has maintained his many business interests. Konopka's current ventures include his own wine label (ZK28), a wine aerator (Vin-Aire) and different supplement lines.

Pure press Grapeseed Oil, as of the last month or so, is available in your local grocery store. Yes, the farm boy from Niagara-on-the-Lake has gone Farm Boy.

"It's big for me because I have tremendous respect for that company," Konopka, who is also doing some consulting work, said while shooting a commercial for a vitamin product Thursday in Toronto. "When I was in Ottawa, I shopped there; I realized that they care about quality and they care about the consumer. So it was kind of first on our list of (stores) we wanted to go after because they have such a reputable name."

Meanwhile, the 31-year-old centre is also not ready to throw himself head-on into an after-hockey career either. So like other NHLers, he is casting an eye towards opportunities overseas.

"We've been talking with a KHL team the last week or so," he said. "As of right now I'm getting closer and closer to signing that deal."