A trial is scheduled for Tuesday in Colorado to resolve a prolonged dispute involving the state’s amateur hockey association, which has been mired in allegations of misconduct between its current and former leadership.
The case was initiated by the current leadership of the Colorado Amateur Hockey Association (CAHA) against its former president, Randy Kanai, who is accused of misappropriating or failing to account for hundreds of thousands of dollars in the organization’s funds over several years at the helm. The missing money includes funds CAHA raised through a 50/50 raffle in partnership with the NHL’s Colorado Avalanche.
Potential witnesses in the three-day trial include: Peter Schaffer, a Denver-based sports agent who previously served as CAHA’s “volunteer” general counsel; Jason Schofield, a former Avalanche staffer who held a non-voting board position with CAHA under Kanai; USA Hockey‘s general counsel, Casey Jorgensen; and Kelly Mahncke, who serves as the national governing body’s assistant executive director of finances. CAHA has also indicated its plans to present testimony from a representative of Kroenke Sports and Entertainment, the Avs’ parent company.
Sportico has previously reported on CAHA’s recent troubles and Schaffer’s contentious role within the organization.
In May 2023, in an election monitored by USA Hockey, CAHA members rejected Kanai in favor of the association’s new president, Brian Smith, who promptly terminated Schaffer. But the controversy continued. In August 2023, Schaffer sued the organization and Smith, individually, claiming he was owed tens of thousands of dollars in unpaid legal fees and accusing the new board of defamation. Two months later, CAHA sued Kanai who, in turn, filed cross claims against Smith over comments he purportedly made about his predecessor in a private executive committee meeting.
Kanai currently faces allegations of embezzling at least $42,990 in hotel room rebate checks intended for CAHA; transferring $107,738 from CAHA to businesses he owned or controlled, for work lacking formal agreements and involving undisclosed conflicts of interest; charging CAHA $110,632 for Avalanche season tickets used for personal purposes; and failing to maintain proper accounting records for various transactions, including the 50/50 raffle with the Avs.
In December, CAHA’s insurance provider, National Union Fire Insurance Company of Pittsburgh, filed a separate lawsuit against Kanai and his companies, citing several of the same allegations. The company sought a declaratory judgment asserting that the defendants should be held liable for reimbursing any claims paid out to CAHA related to the matter.
The lawsuit asserts state-based claims of civil theft, conversion, breach of fiduciary duty and unjust enrichment, and is seeking treble damages. The echoes similar allegations of self-dealing involving the Texas Amateur Hockey Association, that state’s USA Hockey affiliate, which were reported last week by USA Today.
A USA Hockey spokesperson did not respond to an email seeking comment.
Kanai, who has denied the allegations in court filings, also did not respond to an email request for comment. Smith likewise did not reply.
Schaffer dropped his defamation claims against Smith last May, after he filed for dismissal under Colorado’s anti-SLAPP statute, which entitles defendants, if they prevail, to recoup their attorneys fees from the plaintiffs. Last May, Schaffer and CAHA moved to have that case dismissed after agreeing to a confidential settlement. Schaffer, who is not named as a defendant in CAHA’s suit, is set to be called as a defense witness. The agent—who has represented a number of NFL players and other pro athletes—was accused in court filings of secretly providing defense work to Kanai at a time when he was purporting to represent himself pro se.
According to a motion filed by CAHA, when Kanai served document subpoenas on Jorgensen, the metadata within the subpoenas’ PDF revealed that it was created by either Schaffer or his college-age son. CAHA further claims that Schaffer’s son was listed as the author in the metadata of Kanai’s answer and counterclaim filed in the action.
CAHA asserts that if Schaffer was indeed assisting Kanai, he could be in violation of the Colorado Bar Association’s rules of professional conduct, which prohibit attorneys from representing parties in matters against former clients. Schaffer did not respond to an email seeking comment.
Schofield, in a telephone interview, defended Kanai’s leadership.
“I believe Randy did an outstanding job leading CAHA for two decades,” Schofield said. “During his tenure, there were no lawsuits. As far as I know, there have been five lawsuits in the last two years alone.”
Schofield went on to explain: “I attended USA Hockey and NHL meetings, where I heard about all the issues other states were facing. I felt fortunate because CAHA had had a bunch of representatives that were able to work together. Randy and the board at the time were major parts of that.”
Now, Schofield said, Colorado is a “small hockey state facing big hockey problems.”
Having spent 17 years with the Colorado Avalanche, most recently as the team’s director of amateur hockey, Schofield was terminated in 2022, just after the team’s Stanley Cup victory. He said his ouster had nothing to do with CAHA. Noting that he signed a separation agreement, Schofield said, “I wish I could say more, but I don’t want to lose my Stanley Cup ring.”
In CAHA’s most recent board elections in May 2024, Schofield sought the presidency, but was deemed ineligible for consideration. Afterward, Schofield and three others whose board candidacies were barred sued the association, claiming that its current leadership was preventing competition based on an “arbitrary and selective misinterpretation or misapplication of CAHA’s bylaws.” The lawsuit, which sought injunctive relief, was dismissed by the court in December.
(This has been updated in the second paragraph to clarify that the lawsuit is claiming hundreds of thousands of dollars are at issue.)
