Now that David Quinn is off to the New York Rangers, Boston University Director of Athletics Drew Marrochello will be tasked with finding a replacement to guide the Terriers' hockey program into the future.
One advantage Marrochello and the search committee will have is the plethora of candidates with ties to the BU hockey program. One constant that has come up in just about every conversation regarding the potential new coach is the desire to keep it in the "BU family." Another issue is several people believe Marrochello will be looking for a coach who isn't as likely to bolt for the NHL.
In addition to Quinn, there are plenty of BU alums who are in the pro hockey coaching fraternity. That includes Pittsburgh Penguins coach Mike Sullivan, New Jersey Devils head coach John Hynes and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins head coach Clark Donatelli. Two assistant coaches with the Boston Bruins are former BU players, Jay Pandolfo and Joe Sacco. The latter was a head coach in the NHL.
Two recent former assistants, Steve Greeley and Scott Young, hold front office positions with the Buffalo Sabres and Pittsburgh Penguins, respectively. Rangers Assistant GM Chris Drury won a Hobey Baker at BU, but hasn't ever been in coaching. Several other BU alums have prominent roles in scouting, including Jeff Kealty, John Liley, Mark Mullen, Ron Anderson and Chris O'Sullivan.
Former assistant Mike Bavis is another alum who could be considered. After serving as an assistant under Jack Parker, he’s worked with Babson and the aHL’s Springfield Falcons. Another BU alum, Jon Coleman, is an assistant at Babson.
Another potential candidate is prep school coach and former BU and NHL great Shawn McEachern, who was an assistant with Northeastern and UMass Lowell prior to his current stint as the bench boss of Rivers School. A few more prep school coaches, Carl Corazzini (St. Mark's), Mike Grier (St. Sebastian's) and Tony Amonte (Thayer), are alums, but lack college coaching experience.
On the current BU staff is associate head coach Albie O'Connell, widely regarded as one of the top recruiters in college hockey. Joe Pereira is another alum, who is an assistant coach at UConn. Several more alums have prominent roles as scouts in the NHL, but with limited coaching background.
While there is certainly a desire of keeping it in the family, any search committee looking for a head coach in college hockey would be foolish to not at least consider Providence College's Nate Leaman and Union College's Rick Bennett. It might be sacriledge to even mention a BC alum, but Mark Dennehy, who was fired by Merrimack in March, could be more successful given greater resources at BU.
Occupying the top office at Agganis Arena is one of the top jobs in college hockey. So, who will be the next head coach of the Terriers? Smart money is on Sacco or O'Connell.
Joe Sacco
The Medford, Mass., native just finished his fourth season as an assistant caoch with the Boston Bruins. He spent four seasons as the head coach of the Colorado Avalanche from 2009 to 2013, missing the playoffs three times. He played for the Terriers from 1987-1990 before embarking on a pro hockey career that included 738 NHL games. Sacco only played three seasons with the Terriers so it's unclear if he has a degree and his NHL pedigree would make him a flight risk to head back to the big time.
Jay Pandolfo
Pandolfo starred for the Terries from 1992 to 1996, one of the highest points in program history that included the 1995 NCAA Championship. Pandalfo played 899 NHL games and has been an assistant with the Bruins for the past two seasons and had served in a player development role prior to that. The Burlington, Mass., native would seem to be a good fit, but he has less coaching experience than many candidates.
Albie O'Connell
O'Connell has been an ace recruiter for several college programs, including the Terriers the past four years. Prior to that he was an assistant at Harvard, Northeastern, Merrimack, Niagara, Holy Cross and Colby. The Watertown, Mass., native played for BU from 1995 through 1999, including captaining the Terriers as a senior. He has the unfortunate burden of being labeled a "recruiter," but he'd be a great hire to help with continuity and continue the pipeline of terrific talent heading to Agganis Arena.
Clark Donatelli
The Providence, R.I., native spent three seasons playing for Parker's Terriers from 1984 to 1987 before spending the 1987-88 season preparing for the Olympics. He played a few seasons of pro hockey has been a head coach in the Penguins' organization for the Wheeling Nailers (ECHL) and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (AHL) since 2011-12. Donatelli has also served as a coach for the U.S. at the Ivan Hlinka and other youth tournaments in the summer.
Steve Greeley
The Scituate, Mass., native is destined to be a NHL general manager so this is unlikely, but it would be wrong to not include him as a candidate. The Buffalo Sabres Assistant GM left his role as an assistant coach at BU following the 2014-15 season to join the New York Rangers in a player personnel role. Prior to his stint as an assistant at BU, the 2004 Terrier alum had been a pro scout with the Los Angeles Kings.
Scott Young
The Clinton, Mass., native and former first round pick played in 1,322 NHL games after playing two seasons with the Terriers from 1985-1987. Young has been a head coach at the prep level with St. Mark's and was an assistant at BU from 2014-2017. He spent the past season as an assistant with the U.S. Olympic team and as the Director of Player Development with the Penguins.
Shawn McEachern
The Waltham, Mass., native played over 1,000 NHL games and played in the Olympics after a standout three-year career with the Terriers. He spent two seasons at each Northeastern and UMass Lowell as an assistant before being the head coach at Rivers the past eight years.
