Wanna blog? Start your own hockey blog with My HockeyBuzz. Register for free today!
 

Bruins hire Jay Leach as P-Bruins head coach

August 2, 2017, 3:54 PM ET [7 Comments]
Ty Anderson
Boston Bruins Blogger •Bruins Feature Columnist • RSSArchiveCONTACT
Be sure to 'like' Hockeybuzz on Facebook!

For the third season in a row, with Kevin Dean following Bruce Cassidy’s path and joining the Bruins as an assistant coach this season for Cassidy’s first full season behind the Boston bench, the Providence Bruins will have a different voice as the head coach behind their bench. That voice belongs to former Bruins defenseman Jay Leach, who was hired by B’s general manager Don Sweeney on Monday.

“We came to a real consensus that Jay covered a lot of the bases that we were describing in being able to communicate and teach,” Sweeney said. “He had worked over in Europe; worked under Geoff Ward who we have a familiarity with his coaching style. Worked with Mike Sullivan who we have a tremendous amount of respect for as a former coach here in Boston and Providence and the success he had. He came in and worked with Kevin Dean. Seamlessly transitioned into working with him.

“[Leach] had a very successful year overall,” Sweeney continued. “[He] came up in our development camp and was really the on-ice leader there. We just watched him really emerge as the top candidate both in the interview process, but sort of as an on-the-job interview as well.”

But Leach’s rise to this position certainly came in rather quick fashion, too.

“I’m not sure I envisioned it,” the 37-year-old Leach, who served as an assistant coach (along with Trent Whitfield) for Dean’s P-Bruins this past season, said when asked of his road to becoming a head coach. “It’s more of something I’ve always kind of been drawn to. I was a player -- I think Ferg and Donny, all those guys that watched me would say -- I wasn’t a player that had the greatest amount of skill. But, I was able to figure myself out eventually and get to a level that I was going for. In order to do that, I had to kind of think the game a different way. So naturally, I kind of drifted towards the coaching profession and at the same time, as I got into it more and more.”

Assigned to the job after just one season in the Bruins organization, and after just two seasons of coaching in the AHL as a whole (Leach was an assistant for Pittsburgh’s AHL affiliate and even coached three games as the club’s head coach when Mike Sullivan was promoted to the NHL club), it’s the knowledge that Leach has picked up along the way that’s put him on such an express route.

“I became a bit more comfortable as an assistant and I had a great experience last year in Wilkes-Barre where I had a bit more responsibility and really started to believe that I could one day handle the head coaching job. Did it happen quickly? I mean, some could say that, yes. I think my best – I should say the fortune that I’ve had here the last three years has just been the guys that I’ve worked with,” Leach acknowledged. “I’ve worked with (former Bruins assistant coach) Geoff [Ward], as Donny said, over in Germany, whose extensive background really at all levels, both as a head coach and as an assistant coach really helped me along. Last year, I worked for two guys.

“I worked for Mike Sullivan in [Pittsburgh] and obviously Clark Donatelli. Both guys are a bit different, but really offered me a wide array of experience there. And obviously, last year with Kevin [Dean]. The three years might seem to be a bit quick. But, I’d like to think that through my experiences with those four guys the last three years has really prepared me for the upcoming challenge ahead.”

A player’s coach that’s familiar with the system, the latter was clearly a point of emphasis for Sweeney, especially as the organization begins to bring in some of the prospects that Sweeney has loved to the point of refusing to trade for any of the various proven targets that have presented themselves on the market over the last few seasons. That stability seems paramount to the B’s.

“I think there is a continuity of working with people and getting to know them on a personal level and then what their professional acumen becomes,” Sweeney said of Leach’s familiarity with the team.. “Several of these players and people have gone off to other organizations and certainly gathered new information that they brought back. But, their personalities and their work ethic that we had been accustomed to getting to know were still in place. Their growth is further along and they have worked well with our group. I think we have had some success as a result and we want to continue that success as we watch our players and our staff continue to grow.

“I think it is a healthy atmosphere," Sweeney concluded.

The P-Bruins advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time in eight years this past season.

Ty Anderson is the Boston Bruins beat writer for WEEI.com, and has been covering the National Hockey League for HockeyBuzz.com since 2010. He can be heard on the Saturday Skate program on 93.7 WEEI (Boston), and has been part of the Boston Chapter of the PHWA since 2013. Contact him on Twitter or send him an email at Ty.AndersonHB[at]gmail.com.
Join the Discussion: » 7 Comments » Post New Comment
More from Ty Anderson
» Bruins' leaders answer Montgomery's challenge
» B's issued reality check; Duran turns pro
» Bruins' mistakes doom them in loss to Rangers
» Bruins refuse to make it easy for themselves
» Bruins sign Notre Dame D-man; A Maroon setback?