One of few Black assistant coaches in NHL ‘loved coaching,’ dies at 57
Paul Jerrard, one of the few Black assistant coaches in the NHL during his three stints in the league over the past two decades, has died, the University of Nebraska-Omaha announced Thursday. He was 57.
An athletic department spokesperson said Mr. Jerrard’s wife informed the school he died Wednesday at a hospital in Omaha. Mr. Jerrard spent the past five seasons on Omaha coach Mike Gabinet’s staff.
Mr. Jerrard spent two seasons as an assistant with the NHL’s Calgary Flames from 2016-18 and the Dallas Stars from 2011-13 and one with the Colorado Avalanche in 2002-03. During his time with the Flames, Mr. Jerrard was the only Black assistant coach in the league.
There are currently only two Black assistants in the NHL: Tampa Bay Lightning goaltending coach Frantz Jean and video coach Nigel Kirwan.
Flames general manager Brad Treliving, who crossed paths with Jerrard when they were playing in the minors and hired him to coach under Glen Gulutzan in 2016, called the Winnipeg, Manitoba, native a genuine person and a great listener whose attention to cultivating personal relationships showed through in his work.
“He was compassionate; he was firm when he needed to be,” Treliving said by phone Thursday. “(Gulutzan) talked about his ability to teach, his ability to connect with players. Players trusted him, and you could see it.”
In between his NHL jobs, Mr. Jerrard was an assistant for Hershey, Iowa, Texas and Utica in the American Hockey League.
Travis Green, who hired Jerrard with Utica in 2013, said he only did one interview for the position before realizing he was the perfect fit.
“If you were looking for someone to model a person after, Paul Jerrard would be at the top of a lot of people’s lists,” Green said by phone. “He did love the sport. He loved coaching — it was his passion. Getting to be with him day in, day out, I knew that. He really embraced it.”
Drafted in the ninth round by the New York Rangers in 1983, Mr. Jerrard spent most of his playing career as a defenseman in the minors. He played in five NHL games with the Minnesota North Stars during the 1988-89 season and immediately went into coaching after hanging up his skates.