CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. — When he had the floor at a Tuesday press conference honoring retiring Boston College head coach Jerry York for his 50-year career behind a Division 1 college bench, athletic director Pat Kraft felt there was no more appropriate way to honor the legend than to rattle off just a few of his many, many accomplishments.
York, a member of both the Hockey Hall of Fame and U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame, is the winningest coach in college hockey history with 1,123 victories.
“They say records are meant to be broken. That one will never be broken,” Kraft said.
Five national championships at two different schools, a record 41 NCAA tournament victories, nine Hockey East championships, 17 NHL first-round picks coached ... the list goes on and on and on.
But there is so much more to York that will leave a gaping hole on the Heights.
“As an AD you never want to lose the greatest coach of all time, but more importantly is the person that everybody knows who he is,” Kraft said. “He is the standard bearer. I argue he is one of the greatest ambassadors BC has. He is the standard we all live up to. He is a great hockey coach. He is a better person.”
Since BC’s season ended with a Hockey East playoff loss at Northeastern early last month, York came to the realization that it was time to hand the program over to a new face. His retirement became official last Wednesday.
In a Boston TV interview, York pointed to former New England Patriots head coach Bill Parcells who always reflected on his career decisions in the weeks following a season. That’s what he’s done in recent years.
York’s final season was a challenging one as the Eagles weathered the ups and downs of a long mid-winter’s winless streak, injuries and losing key players to the Olympic Games.
After the likes of now-Bruins forward Marc McLaughlin (North Billerica, Mass.), his Eagles linemate Jack McBain — who was also injured for several games before joining Team Canada in Beijing — and U.S. defenseman Drew Helleson returned to form a complete roster for the first time in months, York’s club won four of its last six regular-season games. The highlight was a home-and-home sweep of UMass.
Despite finishing below .500 for only the second time (also 2018-19) since York’s third year of his 28 at BC, his last team wasn’t dissimilar to so many others in the way that it competed.
“They battled hard,” York said. “We could never quite get over the hump of the four undergraduates that turned pro early, the sophomore class that was just starting to blossom. Jack, Marc and Patrick Giles, they had incredible years. Just wish Jack was healthy.”
Of course, York has seen it all through such a long career. He and a key group of leaders kept the ship steered to help the Eagles play their best at season’s end.
“Obviously, we had some great wins and tough losses, but we really stayed maintained,” rising senior defenseman Marshall Warren said. “The biggest thing (York did) was every single day emphasizing that we still have the team to win. He was just a positive light to the team.”
A positive light is exactly what York was for 50 years in coaching. He brought out the best in his players right through the end.
“He’s such a personable person and came to the rink every day with a smile on his face,” Warren said. “My favorite memory was when we swept BU during my freshman year and you could just see the joy on his face. … (Hearing he was retiring) was kind of shocking, definitely a sad moment. But, he explained he loved BC and how appreciative he was to all the players who got to play with him this last year.”
There was another message in that final talk, too. Classic Jerry.
“I just wished them the best of luck," York said. "Pat Kraft will hire a terrific coach, and they’ll be well-coached and have a great experience.”
Several logical coaching candidates have strong ties to York and/or the Eagles. BC alum and current USHL head coach Greg Brown (Hartford, Conn.) and current UConn head coach Mike Cavanaugh (North Andover, Mass.) have assisted York at BC.
Mark Dennehy (Dorchester, Mass.), who revitalized the Merrimack program during a 13-year career and now works in the New Jersey Devils organization, is also a BC grad.
No matter who follows York behind the bench, Warren knows what he and his teammates want in their next coach.
They don’t want to change much of what worked for York.
“I think it’s just someone who loves BC and represents the brand well,” Warren said. “We’re all excited for the next chapter no matter who the coach is, but I think the players just want to keep the culture and the legacy that coach York made here. The biggest thing about BC is that once someone’s gone, you really see the legacy come through and the impact that a person made.”
What York will miss most? It’s not what you might think.
For every win, there’s a close, heartbreaking loss. Those stand out.
“You’re going to think right away of the trophies and championships, but I think just the number of times we came really close to winning,” York said, pointing specifically to an overtime loss to Michigan in 1998. That was the first of four straight Frozen Fours for Brian Gionta’s Eagle teams.
But York will miss the people the most.
“One of the things I enjoy most about BC is not power plays and penalty killing, and certainly not traveling back from the West Coast on the red eye from recruiting,” York added. “I had a chance to go pro a number of times, but I said this is where I belong.
“I wake up every day, four miles and I’m at BC (from Watertown) and just say hello to the custodians and … economics professors or softball coaches, lacrosse coaches and football coaches. … I’ll miss hockey, but more importantly, I’ll miss the relationships.”
