Make way for dean of college hockey
York a mentor for NHL stars
Jerry York’s name isn’t etched on the Stanley Cup, but eight of his former players’ names sure are.
And be prepared to scroll down a very long time on the computer for the exhaustive list of York’s NHL grads: from first-round picks, trophy winners and NCAA stars to the rawnk and file or those who transitioned to management or coaching. Many more people you’ll never hear about who passed through Boston College, Bowling Green and Clarkson went on to make an impact in hockey or as family men.
With his induction to the Hockey Hall of Fame builders wing, the most successful coach in U.S. college history will be the big man on campus himself. But typically, he didn’t see the honour coming when the hall’s selection committee called in June.
When the 416 area code from Toronto kept displaying on his cellphone, he thought it was a robocall and ignored it. When hall chairman John Davidson finally reached him, York feared it was in the capacity of Davidson’s day job as New York Rangers president and that he had traded a draft pick from Boston College.
The only hall advocating York did was for one of his first recruits, Dave Taylor, who amassed more than a 1,000 games and points in the NHL and had the coach in his corner.
“Never once did I think that I’d go into any category whatsoever,” York said.
But the texts and accolades quickly flooded Beantown, starting with one of his recent grads, Johnny Gaudreau of the Calgary Flames, a 2014 Hobey Baker Award winner.
“He was a great coach who got me acclimated for another level of my game,” Gaudreau told Postmedia. “It’s hard to find a player he didn’t help.”
York was born in Watertown, Mass., as the eighth of 10 children as the Second World War was ending.
“My father was certainly not a helicopter parent, he just kind of let us play,” York said. “I wanted to be shortstop for the Red Sox, that was my dream, but I liked all sports, that’s for sure.”
York gravitated toward hockey, growing up a long-suffering Bruins fan. But just as the all-American player graduated from Boston College among its greatest players, Bobby Orr arrived and changed the New England hockey culture. York would often say the Bruins’ success would help schools lure top players to the Boston area for years after.
“My very first recruit when I started in the early ’70s at Clarkson was Taylor. With Bowling Green, there was George McPhee and Rob Blake. Recently at BC, we’ve had Brian Gionta, Brooks Orpik, Marty Reasoner, Gaudreau ... a host of them. They seem to make you a better coach when you have those players.”