Jerry York is the best NCAA hockey coach of the last 30 years, maybe of all-time

[lewylew]

Re: Jerry York is the best NCAA hockey coach of the last 30 years, maybe of all-time

Yea maybe. Unfortunately we'll never know and I'm reclined to the fact that Maine will probably be a mid-tier team in Hockey East looking up at BC for the next ten years. I've never disliked Whitehead, but as the seasons go by, it's pretty apparent that he doesn't have what it takes to compete with a guy like York and with Notre Dame coming to Hockey East it makes it that much tougher.

[UncleRay]

Re: Jerry York is the best NCAA hockey coach of the last 30 years, maybe of all-time

York definitely deserves to be in the discussion, but "best ever" is always a debate. I am biased, but I wonder how successful York would still be if Shawn Walsh were still around. Walsh could recruit and "X and O" with the best of them, especially against York and BC.

He's been at BC for 18 seasons. In the past 15 his team has made the NCAA's 13 times. They have made the Frozen Four 10 times. They have played in the last game of the season 8 times, winning it 4 times. Never below 500 during that time. Only twice below 600. 69.4% for those 15 years.

Shawn's last 15 years: 11 NCAA's, 7 FF's, 3 championship games, 2 titles. Once below 500, 4 times below 600. 68.9% over his last 15 years. I bleed blue, too, but with the exception of overall win percentage, Shawn's stats don't measure up to Jerry's. If Shawn were still coaching would that have affected Jerry's stats? Undoubtedly. If..... would Shawn have been in the greatest coach discussion? Possibly, he was definitely on that trajectory. But Shawn's style would have definitely cost him votes in a contest that didn't rely exclusively on stats.

And nobody has made a serious case for any other coach as best ever.

I've got to go wash my mouth out again.

[Boston22]

Re: Jerry York is the best NCAA hockey coach of the last 30 years, maybe of all-time

My argument against this thought is this:

The best thing Jerry York did in his career was leave Boston. Throughout the 80's and 90's BU and BC always competed for the best "local" kid. Jerry arrived mid to late 90's with experience of the hockey talent nationwide. He landed a New York native recruit Marty Reasoner. Soon, see 2001 roster, players from throughout the country started commiting to BC. Jerry and staff went beyond the Massachusetts border and started recruiting the best North American talent. The counter point to your statement above is Jerry created the culture to get the best North American talent to choose BC. He made that platter and he and his staff load it up each year.

They, the non-local recruits, weren't being handed to BC before Jerry arrived, that's for sure.

He went out and got the kids, created a winning culture, and has successfully repeated this blue print year after year.

Totally agree with you on this.

[mookie1995]

Re: Jerry York is the best NCAA hockey coach of the last 30 years, maybe of all-time

Dudes. The old ****er won at bowling green!! Put that in yer pipe and smoke it!

[J.D.]

Re: Jerry York is the best NCAA hockey coach of the last 30 years, maybe of all-time

maybe it was 96 or 97 then. dane county coliseum, and BC was there along with RPI and CC IIRC

Prior to 1998, BC's last tourney appearance was 1991

Well, for the most part they still need to develop physically before they can play in the NHL: the guys at that level are just as talented, and 25-35 years old. That's not Jerry York magic, it's biology. Again, I am not trying to make the argument that York isn't the best college coach at present, or of his generation. But winning with young players isn't such a big feat when those players as a group are just flat-out better hockey players than 90% of the teams they face. And he doesn't have to do anything special to keep an 18-year-old kid from jumping to the NHL. Also, his ability to land all these great players is helped immensely by the facilities and huge budgets he has to work with. Other people with the facilities, TV exposure, and recruiting budget of BC could do extremely well. Maybe not as well as York (and he's been successful at other schools without those advantages), but let's face it: he is in a situation tailor-made for developing perennial contenders.

Valid points, but, you have to take into consideration that the same school with the same budget/facilities only had one national title prior to York's arrival.

[The Rube]

Re: Jerry York is the best NCAA hockey coach of the last 30 years, maybe of all-time

Jerry York deserves all the credit that is given. Period. He's a great coach.

[quiddlet]

Re: Jerry York is the best NCAA hockey coach of the last 30 years, maybe of all-time

Maybe of all time?
Are you insane?
Of all time, absolutely.

[Terrierbyassociation]

Re: Jerry York is the best NCAA hockey coach of the last 30 years, maybe of all-time

Maybe of all time?
Are you insane?
Of all time, absolutely.

Haha, I agree with this 1000%

[lewylew]

Re: Jerry York is the best NCAA hockey coach of the last 30 years, maybe of all-time

Shawn's last 15 years: 11 NCAA's, 7 FF's, 3 championship games, 2 titles. Once below 500, 4 times below 600. 68.9% over his last 15 years. I bleed blue, too, but with the exception of overall win percentage, Shawn's stats don't measure up to Jerry's. If Shawn were still coaching would that have affected Jerry's stats? Undoubtedly. If..... would Shawn have been in the greatest coach discussion? Possibly, he was definitely on that trajectory. But Shawn's style would have definitely cost him votes in a contest that didn't rely exclusively on stats.

And nobody has made a serious case for any other coach as best ever.

I've got to go wash my mouth out again.

I agree and wasn't making a case for Walsh as one of the greatest ever. I was only suggesting that if Walsh was alive and still coaching, he and York would undoubtedly gone head to head in some big games. That's all.

[Onion Man]

Re: Jerry York is the best NCAA hockey coach of the last 30 years, maybe of all-time

Your ability to discuss this is so clouded that you can't even understand basic pronoun agreement. I think most people can see that I am calling York the greatest of the era. Perhaps you saw "Michigan" and your rose-colored glasses turned black.

As for Red's place with other coaches, he has not been significantly outperformed by any coach of this era, other than York.

Lucia is arguably better as is Gwozdecky (both have as many titles). I have no hate for Michigan, but Berenson is overrated without a doubt.

[TimU]

Re: Jerry York is the best NCAA hockey coach of the last 30 years, maybe of all-time

Prior to 1998, BC's last tourney appearance was 1991



Valid points, but, you have to take into consideration that the same school with the same budget/facilities only had one national title prior to York's arrival.

Very true.

Like I said, I'm not trying to refute the idea that he's one of the best coaches ever. I just don't think it's valid to say he's great because he wins with 18-year-olds or because he gets those same kids to stay in school where others wouldn't. I also think that there are lots of coaches who could be extremely successful at BC. But even discounting all the factors that give him such an advantage over most of his peers, he's still the best, and he's proven it over and over. He's great because he's won wherever he's gone, and he's great because even when he competes against other similarly-situated coaches, he wins more than anyone else.

[steakbomb]

Re: Jerry York is the best NCAA hockey coach of the last 30 years, maybe of all-time

Jerry York is absolutely the best college hockey coach of all time. A class act.

[joecct]

Prior to 1998, BC's last tourney appearance was 1991
.

And how did that one go? IIRC that was it for Coach Ceglarski.

[theprofromdover]

Re: Jerry York is the best NCAA hockey coach of the last 30 years, maybe of all-time

dudes. The old ****er won at bowling green!! Put that in yer pipe and smoke it!

lol!

[SJHovey]

Re: Jerry York is the best NCAA hockey coach of the last 30 years, maybe of all-time

Murray "The Chief" Armstrong, University of Denver, and Jerry York, BC and Bowling Green, have 5 NCAA Championship rings.
Armstrong and York are the only 2 coaches to win 3 titles in 5 years.

Didn't Vic Heyliger win a zillion at Michigan, including 3 in a row?