Fresh from helping to guide the Washington Capitals through HBO's production of the acclaimed 24/7 series leading to the NHL Winter Classic, Nate Ewell, the current VP of Communications for the Capitals, has accepted an offer to become the new Director of Communications for Newton-based College Hockey, Inc., the educational and promotional arm of NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey.

Ewell takes on this new role after spending six years in various media and community relations positions with one of the NHL's premier franchises, during which time he established a reputation as one of the top communications professionals in the NHL. Among his many noteworthy accomplishments is the creation of a comprehensive media strategy for Alex Ovechkin, and developing a ground-breaking program for accreditation of bloggers that became a model for other sports franchises.

A 1996 graduate of Princeton University, where he was the Sports Editor of the campus newspaper, Ewell went on to become the Assistant Sports Information Director at Michigan State University. He served as the principal media contact for the men's hockey program while at Michigan State.

In 2002 Ewell co-founded "Inside College Hockey," the popular and successful website focused on showcasing the personalities, issues and events of NCAA college hockey. He has continued to serve as President of the company since its inception.

An experienced writer and researcher, Ewell worked for NBC Sports during its coverage of the Olympic hockey tournament at the Winter Games in Salt Lake City (2002) and Torino (2006). He has also served for the past two years as an Adjunct Professor at Georgetown University teaching a class on sports communications and public relations.

College Hockey, Inc. was founded by the Hockey Commissioners' Association late last year and is headed by former NHLPA Executive Director Paul Kelly.