Tim Whitehead
Coach | Kimball Union Academy
The year was 2001, and Tim Whitehead was about set to try his hand at scouting.
His coaching career was in limbo after 10 years at UMass-Lowell, the last five as head coach, where he felt he’d earned a longer contract extension than the administration wanted to offer.
But he didn’t stay out of coaching long. Shawn Walsh, his old boss who’d built Maine into a national power, was ill and asked Whitehead to join him at Maine shortly before the 2001-02 season. When Walsh lost his battle against kidney cancer, Whitehead was a head coach again.
His first Maine team came within a minute of winning a national championship, losing to Minnesota, 4-3, in overtime, in St. Paul, Minn. The Black Bears also reached the Frozen Four in three of the next five years, never missing the NCAA tournament in that span.
Though the second half of his 12-year tenure in Orono wasn’t as successful, leading to his firing in 2013, the New Jersey native proved he could coach with the best. He finished with a 250-171-54 record, including 10-7 in the NCAA tournament.
In four years under his successor, Red Gendron, the Black Bears are 49-71-17 and have not reached the NCAAs.
These past four seasons, Whitehead has presided over one of New England’s top prep school programs at Kimball Union. He’s guided the Wildcats to a New England tournament in each of his four seasons, including the Stuart/Corkery (elite) tournament the past three years, winning the championship this past March, the program’s first elite title in 35 years.
Along the way, he’s coached pro prospects like J.D. Dudek (Boston College), AJ Greer, Patrick Shea (Maine) and Ben Finkelstein (St. Lawrence).
— MIKE ZHE
Bill Belisle
Coach | Mount St. Charles
When hockey fans think of Rhode Island, odds are this legendary head coach from Mount Saint Charles Academy comes to mind. A member of the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame, Belisle guided the Mounties to 26 consecutive state titles from 1978-2003 and 1,000 wins. He’s also coached two first overall NHL draft picks in Brian Lawton and Bryan Berard.
John Messuri
Coach | Arlington (Mass.) High School
As Arlington High’s head coach, Messuri reminded the Massachusetts hockey world that public schools still have clout, guiding the Spy Ponders to the 2017 Super 8 title. It was a notable achievement for Messuri during a day and age where top stars routinely spur their local high school for prep and junior programs.
Dan Donato
Coach | Dexter Southfield School
Don’t mistake him as "the other Donato" — Dan (Dedham, Mass.) has his left his own mark on New England’s hockey world. The head coach at Dexter, he’s helped along recent top prospects in Ryan Donato (Harvard), Luke McInnis (Boston College) and Jack Rathbone (Harvard)
Tony Amonte
Coach | Thayer Academy
Most people know Amonte (Hingham, Mass.) for his playing career: Nearly 1,200 NHL games, silver medalist at the 2002 Olympics and five-time NHL All-Star. But his days are now spent shaping Thayer Academy’s boys hockey program, the place where he’s passing his knowledge of the game onto the stars of tomorrow.
John Gardner
Coach | Avon Old Farms
A legend in the prep school hockey world, Gardner’s team — Avon Old Farms — is perpetually among the region’s best. He’s won eight New England Prep Division 1 championships, molding elite players like Nick Bonino, Cam Atkinson, Brian Leetch and Jonathan Quick along the way.
