RinkWise podcast: Jay Pandolfo on finding the right fit in recruiting

Jay Pandolfo has led BU to the Frozen Four in each of his two seasons as head coach. (Kyle Prudhomme)

Jay Pandolfo (Burlington, Mass.) is a winner.

After a prolific career at Burlington High School, Pandolfo jumped right to Boston University, where he won a national championship in 1995, reached four Frozen Fours, won three conference titles and won two Beanpots.

A second-round pick (32nd overall) of the New Jersey Devils in 1993, Pandolfo played 15 seasons in the NHL, including 13 with the Devils. He won the Stanley Cup with New Jersey in 2000 and 2003.

After his playing career, he was a player development coach with the Boston Bruins from 2014 to 2016. He served as an assistant coach under Bruce Cassidy from 2016 to 2021 when he took the job as an associate head coach at BU. In 2022, Pandolfo became the head coach of the Terriers, who have reached the Frozen Four in each of his two seasons at the helm.

Pandolfo joined New England Hockey Journal editor Evan Marinofsky and writer Patrick Donnelly on the latest RinkWise podcast episode. They discussed recruiting, the state of college hockey and more.

How can recruits know what the right fit for them is?

Pandolfo: “I think with these kids, the high end guys are going to have some great options and great opportunities. After doing their visits meeting the staff, kind of everything that goes into it, I think they can get a pretty good feel for where they think they fit in after meeting some of the players that are there. … Depending on where you live, is that important to you? Do you want to play in front of your family and friends? All of these factors go into it for sure. Being from the Boston area, there’s a lot of great options. Do you want to play in the Beanpot? All these things make a difference. … Also are you the type of kid who wants to go somewhere where there’s really good players, and you have to compete to earn a spot and earn your ice time? I think that’s really important for guys. I think they should want that. So, all those things go into it. Do they 100 percent know at 15, at 16? I’m not exactly sure, but I think they can get a pretty good feel.”

Are players too eager to leave college now?

Pandolfo: “I think at times, no question I do. The thing that doesn’t help is — I understand it from the NHL team’s perspective — they don’t want to lose guys either. If they go back for their fourth year, there’s potential that guys can walk and be free agents. So I think sometimes teams will take the guy out a little earlier than maybe they want to because they don’t want to lose their rights. I think that’s part of it. Then the player, you’re getting offered a financial contract. It’s not easy to turn down. For us, we try to have honest conversations with our players when it comes to that point on where we think they’re at. Hopefully, they take our advice. Sometimes they do. Sometimes they don’t. We understand that part of it. But I do think a lot of players are a little bit too much in a rush to try to get to the next level. The college path is a great development path to get to the National Hockey League. You see more and more guys go on that road. … I don’t think I’ve seen a guy stay too long. I’ll put it that way.”

The RinkWise podcast can be streamed here and on major platforms, such as Apple Podcasts and Spotify.