By Neal E. Boudette
Last August, BU assistant coach Scott Young (photo) hopped on a trans-Atlantic flight out of Boston, awoke the
following morning in Europe, sat bleary-eyed through a layover and then caught
another flight to his destination: Bratislava, capital of Slovakia.
He was there to attend the Hlinka Memorial Tournament, an annual
competition of some of the best 18-and-under players from the world’s top
hockey-playing nations. But the highlight of the trip came when he arrived at
his hotel.
There in the lounge were three former Terriers -- John Lilley,
Jeff Kealty and Steve Greeley, all NHL scouts who were also there for the
tournament as well.
“Long flight, jet lag, and I end up having a few beers with those
guys, talking hockey, ” Young recalled. “It was great. You travel halfway
around the world and you’re there with three other BU guys. I’ll never forget
it.”
It’s a common occurrence. More than 20 former Terriers are
currently working in NHL front offices in coaching, scouting or management
positions – far more than any other college hockey program.
Mike Sullivan and John Hynes get the most attention because they
are head coaches, of the defending Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins and
New Jersey Devils, respectively.
But the list of others is long. Lilley, a Terrier in 1991-92, is
an amateur scout with the Toronto Maple Leafs. Kealty, who played on the 1995 national championship team, is chief amateur scout for the Nashville Predators, whose
assistant general manager is Paul Fenton, who played four years at BU from 1978
to 1982.
Rangers’ assistant director, player personnel, Greeley, who played
for Jack Parker from 2000 to 2004, was an assistant to Dave Quinn from 2013 to
2015; now, he works for Terrier legend Chris Drury, the Rangers’ assistant
general manager. Among Drury’s and Kealty’s teammates on the ’95 national
championship team: Mike Grier, Chris Kelleher and Chris O’Sullivan (scouts for
Chicago, Minnesota and the New York Islanders). They also played with Jay
Pandolfo, a Bruins assistant.
Working with Pandolfo on
the Bruins bench is Joe Sacco, a Terrier from 1987 through 1990. Sacco played with Mike Sullivan on a team that reached the 1990 Frozen Four by upsetting No. 1-ranked Michigan State on the road in a thrilling three-game series (video 1, video 2)..
A year after that, BU was in the Frozen Four again, with a team featuring Keith Tkachuk, a St. Louis scout, Scott Lachance, a New Jersey Scout and Peter Ahola, the recently named European scout for the new Las Vegas franchise. Their Terrier squad reached the 1991 NCAA title game, losing a heart-breaker in triple overtime to Northern Michigan.
A year after that, BU was in the Frozen Four again, with a team featuring Keith Tkachuk, a St. Louis scout, Scott Lachance, a New Jersey Scout and Peter Ahola, the recently named European scout for the new Las Vegas franchise. Their Terrier squad reached the 1991 NCAA title game, losing a heart-breaker in triple overtime to Northern Michigan.
“It’s a pretty tight bond
that the BU guys have,” Tkachuk said. “It’s probably the passion, the
experiences we had at BU. Maybe it’s because we played under a great coach and
got ourselves ready for the next level, not just in hockey but all other areas.
It’s awesome. I run into Scott Lachance quite a bit. It’s great. Lills, Greels
– it’s fun seeing those guys. Anybody who went to BU has good stories about
playing at BU.”
A pro scout for the Kings' 2014 Stanley Cup champs, Greeley said he feels a connection to anyone who played at BU, not
just the guys he skated with during his four years on Comm Ave.
“It definitely starts with Jack Parker and the influence he had on
us,” he said. “It’s a Boston University thing. It feels we all have a
connection. We all came from the same place. The BU fraternity is a pretty
tight circle. If you look around college hockey or the NHL, it’s flooded with
Boston University grads. Once you make the move to work in hockey, as a BU
grad, you’ve got that network.”
The most senior former Terrier in an NHL front office is Bob Crocker, still an amateur scout for the Los Angeles Kings at the age of
89. He played at BU from1953 to 1955, and later was an assistant coach who
helped recruit the talent for Jack Kelley’s great Terrier teams of the late
‘60s and early ‘70s, and the winners of back-to-back national championships in 1971 and 1972.
Also on the Kings’ staff is 1965 All-American goalie Jack Ferriera, former
GM of three NHL franchises and now a special assistant to L.A.’s general
manager. Mark Mullen, a 2004 classmate of Greeley’s and captain of the 2003-04 Terriers, was Kings' scout for many years before joining the Red Wings scouting staff at Scotty Bowman's invitation.
Buddy Powers, a player on two Frozen Four teams in the ‘70s and an assistant in
Parker’s final years as bench boss, now works as an amateur scout for the
Dallas Stars. Ron Anderson (photo), a Terrier on those ’71 and ’72 national title teams,
had a long hockey career, coaching Merrimack College for 17 seasons in the ‘80s
and ‘90s. He’s now the Blackhawks’ director of player recruitment.
Greeley said he thinks so many former Terriers excel in hockey
even after hanging up their skates because of the life lessons learned at BU.
“You get an opportunity to get a great education at BU. You don’t just play
hockey, so a lot of guys are really prepared for when their playing days are
over,” he said.
And the connection to BU gives them a network to be part of after
leaving school. “Jack Parker created an environment that alums want to remain a
part of, and Quinnie has continued it,” Greeley said.
"I didn't play with Kealty or Tkachuk at BU," he added.
"But I guarantee, if I’m at a game, that’s usually who I’m standing with.”
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