‘It doesn’t feel like work at all’
Paul Mcfarland’s journey from Acadia hockey captain to Florida Panthers coach
Paul Mcfarland, a former Axemen captain and current coach with the Florida Panthers, was a guest speaker at the recent Acadia celebrity hockey dinner.
When he arrived at Acadia in the fall of 2006, coaching in the NHL – or anywhere else, for that matter – wasn’t necessarily on Paul Mcfarland’s radar.
Now that he has been a coach for six seasons – most recently with the Florida Panthers during the 2017-2018 season – Mcfarland realizes coaching “was what I really wanted to do.”
Mcfarland was recently back in Wolfville as a special guest for the 20th anniversary of the hockey Axemen celebrity dinner.
Growing up and playing hockey in Richmond Hill, Ont., he had the same dreams and aspirations as any other Canadian youngster: to one day play in the NHL.
Mcfarland played four seasons of major junior hockey - two full seasons with the Kitchener Rangers, one with the Windsor Spitfires, and one season split between the two teams. Never a great scorer, his talents lay in being an outstanding leader.
In his first season with Kitchener, in 2002-2003, the Rangers won the OHL championship and the Memorial Cup. Mcfarland would go on to play 155 OHL regular-season games with Kitchener and 81 with Windsor.
During his final season in Windsor, he served as team captain. His leadership skills caught the attention of Axemen head coach Darren Burns.
“In December of my last year in Windsor, Darren came to see me. The fact that he came all that way to meet me went a long way to building the relationship we still have today,” he says.
Mcfarland came to Acadia on a recruiting trip.
“And, after one day, I knew
it was the place for me. What makes this place special is that you’re able to build special relationships, in the classroom and in the community,” he says, as well as with the hockey program.
While at Acadia, he played 112 games and didn’t miss a game during his four seasons with the team.
His wife Kelly, who he had met in Windsor, came to Acadia with him, where she finished her degree and studying education as well.
“My passion for teaching and
coaching, for trying to help young players become better players, started here at Acadia, working with players from Acadia Minor Hockey, then serving three years as captain. After you’re away from it, you realize how much you love it, and don’t like being away from it,” says Mcfarland.
While at Acadia, Mcfarland was an Academic All-canadian three times and was Acadia’s Male Citizen Award winner in both 2008 and 2009. The Paul Mcfarland Award was established in his honour, recognizing the combination of athletics, academics and community involvement.
Coaching career
Mcfarland’s coaching career started in 2012, two years after he finished studying at Acadia. He was an assistant coach with the Oshawa Generals for two seasons, then spent three seasons as head coach of the Kingston Frontenacs. His Kingston teams won 111 games, lost 71, and had 22 overtime losses.
In June 2017, the Florida Panthers came calling, naming Mcfarland an assistant to head coach Bob Boughner.
“I’m enjoying working with the staff in Florida,” he says. “It’s a great experience for me to coach at that level.”
Asked what he brings to the table as a coach, Mcfarland says, “a passion and love for the game, and a passion for teaching and helping players develop on the ice. I get a lot of satisfaction seeing people progress and achieve their goals, plus helping them off the ice. It all adds up to coaching being one of the best jobs out there. I’m enjoying coming to work every day, and the ‘day-to-day’ of it. It doesn’t feel like work at all.”
Florida has a good young core of players, and moving from major junior to the NHL “hasn’t been much of an adjustment” for Mcfarland.
“Coaching is the same regardless of the level. The NHL players are better, but the process is the same at all levels. We’re all trying to accomplish the same things. Most of all, you’re there to try and help them get better.”
Florida didn’t make the playoffs this year – the team “missed the playoffs by one point.”
Acadia influence
Now that he has been a coach for six seasons, Mcfarland can see there have been “lots of small successes along the way.”
He is “extremely grateful to a number of people” who have helped him, starting with Darren Burns.
“I still stay in touch with Burnsie and Kris Mcdonald,” his teammate for three of his years at Acadia, as well as some of his former teammates who he lived with, like Blair Jarrett and David Lomas.
He’s thankful to the people who started him on the coaching journey.
“D.J. Smith and Jeff Twohey gave me my first opportunity in Oshawa. Darren Keily and Doug Gilmour gave me a whole new opportunity in Kingston. Dale Tallon hired me in Florida, and Bob Boughner is great to work with.”
In his constant quest to improve as a coach, Mcfarland is enjoying working with Bob Boughner.
“Bob does a great job giving everyone different responsibilities. The great thing for me is that we’re all in it together, striving to get to the same place,” he said.