Avon Old Farms doesn’t call itself the “best hockey prep school in Connecticut” for nothing.
Just take a look at what the all-boys program has done over the past 30 years and you’ll see why.
At the head of one of the premier programs in all of America, let alone Connecticut, John Gardner leads the charge, just as he has for the past 45 years, to the tune of nearly 800 career wins, eight New England Division 1 championships and an alumni list that most schools only dream about.
Since taking over the head coaching job in 1975-76, Gardner, 67, has been the most influential figure in shaping Avon into the perennial contender and nationally recognized power it is today.
He’s done so with high standards and caring just as much about the details off the ice as on it.
“I want the kids to develop a good work ethic, I want them to be good teammates and I want to teach them some values,” Gardner said. “I want them to be good citizens and I want them to be honest. Tell it like it is, be straightforward, work hard and good things will happen.”
As the winningest coach in prep hockey history, Gardner has made his mark at Avon and then some, winning nine Founders League championships to go along with the eight New England crowns, all since 1989.
So, what keeps the longtime bench boss going after all these years?
“The key word is fun,” Gardner said. “I enjoy interacting with the kids. If I didn’t feel like going to the rink I would stop, but I like working with kids. I think I have a pretty good rapport with them. I think I understand them pretty well and I think get my message across. And that’s fun.
“A lot of people say, ‘Wow, you’ve seen it all, haven’t you?’ And I go, ‘Nope, I haven’t.’ Every time you think you’ve seen it all you see something you haven’t seen. That’s just the way things are — and kids are unpredictable. The one thing about teenage boys is that they usually wear their hearts on their sleeves and they’re tough to fool. They can spot a phony right away — they’re good at that. I think if you’re genuine and honest and open with them, they appreciate that.”
The feeling is mutual for those who suit up in the Avon crimson and lace up under Gardner.
Each year, the cream of the crop of budding prospects look to play under the legendary coach, who has overseen numerous future NHL and Olympic players throughout his illustrious career.
Most notably, Gardner has mentored a pair of Conn Smythe (and Stanley Cup) winners: Brian Leetch ’86 (Boston College, Hockey Hall of Fame); and Jonathan Quick ’05 (UMass, Los Angeles Kings). Leetch was named the playoff MVP in 1994, while Quick won it in 2012.
The 45-year veteran also has coached several other NHL veterans while at Avon, including two-time All-Star Cam Atkinson ’08 (Boston College, Columbus Blue Jackets); Nick Bonino ’07 (Boston University, Nashville Predators); and Chris Higgins ’01 (Yale University, retired).
A look back: Scarring shortcomings
Days before the U.S. began to shut down due to COVID-19, Avon’s season ended in heartbreak.
Tied three-all in overtime of the Elite 8 semifinals, Salisbury’s Matthew DeBoer delivered the fatal blow to end the Winged Beavers’ season, capping off what was a remarkable 24-3-0 run.
“I’m still scarred by it,” Gardner said. “I am emotionally scarred by it. I’ll be honest with you, I can’t watch the tape.”
The loss hit especially hard for the title-oriented squad after a red-hot regular season, as well as the fact that several Avon skaters were in the West Hartford hospital on IVs the night before.
“They were so dehydrated from being sick, it was bad, but it was a great game,” Gardner said. “I felt we should have won it, but it was tough. Then the next day you see Salisbury take out Dexter.”
Aside from the recent defeat, the only loss in Gardner’s career that stings more is the 1986 final.
“Probably the worst loss we ever had goes back to when I had Brian Leetch,” he said.
After going 24-0 and knocking off Kent in triple overtime of the semifinal the night before, Avon was dealt its first loss of the season in that 1986 championship, 6-4, at the hands of Jeremy Roenick and Tony Amonte’s lethal Thayer Academy team, just missing the perfect season.
In two seasons at Avon, Leetch set nearly every program scoring record while the team went on a remarkable 40-3 run but was never able to win a New England championship.
Leetch went on to be drafted in the first round by the New York Rangers, and the rest is history.
But still, 30 years later, the loss stings just as it did that on that storybook night in spring 1986.
“It was a really fun year and just the heartbreak of losing,” Gardner said. “We didn’t deserve to win, it’s not like we got cheated, but that was probably the toughest one I ever had in my life.”
A look ahead: Turnover for 2020-21 on the blue line
Coming off last season’s semifinal loss, Avon almost certainly will return with a vengeance in 2020-21, aiming to return to the Elite 8 to pursue its first Division 1 championship since 2010.
The main factor standing in AOF’s way is maneuvering substantial turnover on the blue line.
Heading into the offseason, it was already expected the Winged Beavers would be losing ’04 defenseman Charlie Leddy (Boston College commit, Fairfield, Conn.) to the U.S. national team.
Less expected, however, were the recent departures of ’03 Drew Tsakounis (Penn State commit, Arlington, Va.) and ’02 Jason Marsella (Yale University commit, Greenwich, Conn.) to the USHL and BCHL, respectively.
“If we had those kids coming back, I’d go, ‘Wow, odds are that we’re in really good shape,’ ” Gardner said. “But we’ve replaced them. We’ve got some good defensemen coming in, we’ve got a couple of good forwards coming in and a good group coming back, so we’re in good shape.”
While somewhat thin on the back end, Avon is returning a strong cast of playmakers up front.
Most importantly, the top line of J.P. Turner (’21, University of New Hampshire commit), Paul Davey (’21, Boston College commit) and Brendan Williams (’21, San Juan Capistrano, Calif.) that caught fire at the end of last season will be back in 2020-21 looking to pick up where it left off.
“That’s an interesting group of kids and I think they just found a lot of chemistry,” Gardner said. “Hopefully they can rediscover that chemistry, because they were scary at the end of the year. They’re talented kids that have worked hard at developing, so I’m looking forward to working with them.”
Between the pipes, starting goaltender Conor Callaghan (’21, Upper Saddle River, N.J.) is slated to return for another season in Avon.
In 26 appearances, the ’03 netminder amassed a .929 save percentage and a 1.66 goals-against average last season, attracting attention from NCAA recruiters. He remains uncommitted.
“(Callaghan) had a great year last year,” Gardner said. “A lot of people are looking at him, and the other guy who really emerged last year was Chase Ramsey (’21, D, Granite Springs, N.Y.).
“I’m pretty excited about the kids that are coming back and our new kids. I’m looking forward to working with them. We’ve got a pretty good group of guys who developed a great team chemistry last year and there’s a lot of those guys back, so I’m anxious to see them. It’s been a long time.”
Liam Flaherty can be reached at lflaherty24@gmail.com and on Twitter @_LiamFlaherty.
