A discussion about the best programs in the history of college hockey would likely produce varied results, but there is no arguing with statistics when it comes to who is the best coach the game has ever seen:
Boston College’s Jerry York.
By far the college game’s winningest coach with 1,078 and counting, the Watertown, Mass., native has led the Eagles to nine Hockey East championships, 10 league regular-season titles, 12 Frozen Fours and four national crowns. He has coached 22 teams to 25 wins or more and won more NCAA tournament games than any coach in history.
The list of accomplishments over a 48-year career goes on and on, and it grew just a bit longer last month with his induction into the Hockey Hall of Fame.Â
No coach before York had ever received such that prestigious honor in Toronto solely for his work in the college game. Thus, it was an honor celebrated not only on The Heights of Chestnut Hill, Mass., but across college hockey. Some of those who know him best -- current and former players and coaches -- spoke to us about what he has meant to the game and their own careers:
Why do you believe Jerry York has been so successful for so long?
Kevin Sneddon, former Harvard defenseman and current University of Vermont coach: I heard somebody say at one point that a lot of times when he gets off the bus he's got the most talent, but talent alone doesn't win hockey games. Talent alone doesn't shape your culture. I think the fact he's been able to take a lot of elite players and get them to play for the name on the front of the jersey is quite impressive. Those are first-round NHL picks and guys that would easily be able to focus only on themselves, but he's been able to get them to buy in not only at BC, but Clarkson and Bowling Green as well.
David Cotton, current Boston College captain: He recruits the right kind of players. He's always going to recruit the guy who is the best fit for the culture he's established here. I think that's been the recipe for success for him -- getting the right personnel to buy in -- and it's been consistent for the last 20, 30 years. They have always been a top team. That along with his coaching staff and the hockey knowledge that he has, it's just a recipe for success.
Paul Carey (Weymouth, Mass.), former Boston College Eagle and NHL center: He's such a passionate guy when it comes to hockey. It's something that he's had for so long that you can just see it and feel it when you're around him. When you're a part of that program, it's so much fun showing up to the rink every day and being around Coach York, learning from him, trying to become a better man through some of the things he's trying to teach you, whether it's on or off the ice. There certainly have been a lot of lessons that I have learned. I'm sure every player who came before me or anyone who he's been around everywhere he's been can say the same thing. He's a good coach, he's a good mentor but he's an even better person and everyone feeds off of him.
So many people talk about his ability to teach life lessons outside of the game. What is the most valuable one you’ve taken away?
Cotton: He doesn't like to teach hockey. He likes to teach people how to live. He's one of the best character people I've ever met. One thing that he talks about is just doing the next right thing. He always tells us to have that on the mind, no matter what we're doing. You could be studying for a test, getting ready for practice or eating a meal, he wants us to do what's right.
Carey: Yeah, I think the biggest lessons he has taught are more so off the ice than they are on the ice. For him, it was making sure that every one of his players was held to a certain standard and he wouldn't accept anything less than good people on his team. When he would recruit or bring kids in, he wanted to make sure that they were good people, first and foremost. He takes good kids and makes them even better, but when you're around that culture and environment where it's everyone striving for the same goal, you usually have success. But he'd teach us those off-ice lessons every day. Whether it's bringing in coaches from around the league or ex-players, he'd try to teach us ways to handle ourselves off the ice, treat people around campus with respect, like teachers and our fellow students. As I move from job to job or team to team, I'm going to try to bring that same passion and energy that he brought and just try to be a good person to help out with any culture that I'm going to be a part of.Â
Mike Cavanaugh (North Andover, Mass.), BC assistant for 18 years and current University of Connecticut coach: Family is very important to Jerry. On that Monday night up at the Hall of Fame, there were so many of his family members there. A lot of people will say how important family are, but then you look around and see coaches that are constantly away from their family. I've heard stories from other assistant coaches like, 'Oh my gosh, there's no way I could leave the office during the summertime for a week.' Jerry was unbelievable about that. He was a big believer in recharging your batteries and spending time with your family in the offseason. You could come into the office if you need to get something done. But he was really, really good about supporting that. I think a lot of people talk about it; he lived it and believed it.Â
What is the most valuable lesson he has taught you about hockey?
Cotton: He has really just guided me to play the right way right from when I was a freshman, a young, inexperienced player coming into college hockey. He likes to take players and teach them how to play the right way and get the small details under control.
Carey: I learned so much from him about the game. I hate saying that he teaches you so much more off the ice because it kind of makes it seem like he doesn't teach you a lot on the ice, but he's certainly an amazing coach. I wasn't the most skilled guy or best player in college, but he taught us all that the harder we worked on the ice and if we stick with our craft every day and put the man hours in, then eventually you can make something out of it. That certainly helped me and a lot of my teammates out, former players and players to come. If you work hard and do the right things, you can be successful and make a career out of this game.
Cavanaugh: He demands respect and he instills discipline, but when it comes to being a hockey player, he doesn't pigeon-hole hockey players. There is a lot of discipline off the ice in how you act and how you behave, but on the ice you just get to be a hockey player. He doesn't structure them to the point where they're robots. He really believes in letting players play to their strengths, and I think that's why you've seen so many of his players move onto the NHL. As long as I was with him, you were never going to left-wing lock, you're never going to trap under Jerry York. In the defensive zone, was there a man-to-man or a zone-type defense? Sure, there were some different structures. But in the offensive zone, though, he just encouraged guys to go out and make plays.
How does Jerry York influence your life in hockey today?
Sneddon: We're all not as successful as he is, but we're all trying to do the same thing, and it's a lot harder in today's world where kids are so focused on so many other things. Getting them to focus on the task at hand, play for each other, play for the institution, I think he does a really good job of making the student-athletes proud of their work and proud of their school, not just the hockey program.
Cotton: I feel like it's one of those things that will set in more once I leave Boston College because I'm around him every day for a few hours a day. At times I might even take it for granted. I know all the guys that graduated and have moved on, they all reach out they always ask how he is. They always talk about how much they miss how genuine of a guy he is and all the things they're able to carry into their own personal lives.Â
Carey: I try to instill everything that he's taught me and other things I've learned along the way -- all the ways to carry myself around the rink, showing up in a 'high-quality way' as he would call it, just giving an honest effort. I try to do everything like that each and every day that I show up to the rink.
Cavanaugh: One thing, without a doubt, is patience. He has a lot of patience with players, coaches, his staff, just people in the athletic department. He just doesn't fly off the handle, so to be even-keeled a lot, I think, is an unbelievable quality. The other quality that he has that not a lot of people see, and you see it from the inside, he's a very non-confrontational guy. How many times do you see him arguing with a referee? Sometimes you see coaches get upset with each other. You don't ever see Jerry in those situations. He doesn't want that, but whenever there was a decision to be made for the program or a decision to be made about a player, he was as decisive as could be. He always clearly thought about it, made his decision, he didn't waver and then he moved on. Now that I'm a head coach -- and when you're a head coach, you have to make a lot of decisions on different things -- it's a quality that I really appreciate in him.
@JoshuaKummins
