Podcast: Greg Brown on taking over for Jerry York, forging a future for Boston College

Greg Brown is in his first season as the men's head coach at Boston College. (Richard T Gagnon/Getty Images)

Jerry York is a coaching legend. The Watertown, Mass., native coached 50 years at the Division 1 level, including 28 unforgettable seasons at Boston College. Despite his longevity, there was always going to come a time when York would have to retire.

That time came back in April when the longtime bench boss announced he would retire.

Picking his successor would be no small task given the gigantic shoes York would be leaving behind to fill.

That’s where Greg Brown, the current head men’s hockey coach at Boston College, comes in.

He joined host Stephanie Wood in the studio on the latest RinkWise podcast to discuss his playing career, working as an assistant at BC and what prepared him for his current job.

On the impact of grad transfers in college hockey: 

Brown: “We have three of them — they’re such a big addition to the team. They’ve played so much college hockey, they don’t need introduction, a slow introduction like the freshmen do. They can immediately change your team and they can help in culture. They can help in just playing sound, winning hockey. I feel like other teams, or all the teams in the league can add that to their roster. College hockey is old right now, and it’s experienced so you don’t see as many crazy mistakes as you would when the league is younger and the kids are just trying to figure it out.”

On the differences between a York-coached BC and a Brown-coached BC: 

Brown: “I think a big part of the reason I did last 14 years [as an assistant at BC] was coach York and I see the game very similarly so it’s not an adjustment. The game evolves every year, every few years than it did the years before so there will be some differences mostly in style of play but hopefully the culture and feeling of the program will stay very much the same.”