A native of Dorchester, Mass., and a former defenseman for Boston College, Mark Dennehy skippered the Merrimack College hockey program for 13 seasons before being fired in March in a move that was highly unpopular in Eastern college hockey circles. When Dennehy arrived in North Andover, Mass., in 2005, the Warriors had not seen a winning season since they had joined Hockey East in 1989.
In 2010, he guided the team to the Hockey East quarterfinals and won the Bob Kullen Coach of the Year Award. Merrimack won 25 games in 2010-11 but was ousted in the NCAA regionals and failed to reach the NCAA dance since. But insiders appreciated one of the good guys in the game and understood the recruiting challenges Dennehy faced in a powerhouse conference with larger arenas and storied traditions.
Billy Jaffe: You went through an experience in coaching that people understand is part of the job, but do you ever really understand it until you go through it?
Dennehy: No, not at all. Listen, I read the news differently, when they talk about Bill Belichick or Brad Stevens, Claude Julien, Bruce Cassidy. It’s really easy to take out the emotion and the human entity of it. For a long time — I’ve been a head coach for 13 years — when you’re reading that stuff, you realize you’re talking about a human and they’ve got family. … People have been outstanding. My favorite call so far is from Matt Thomas, out at Alaska-Anchorage. He left me a voicemail. He said he heard through a coaching friend of his that "you are never truly a coach until you’ve been fired. Congratulations!" I got a good chuckle out of that — and I needed a chuckle. But that’s the reality. If you want to be a coach, you’ve got to practice what you preach, and it’s, "When you get knocked down, you have to get up again."
Jaffe: What was your first thought after the news?
Dennehy: So much flashes through your head. I remember thinking, "Wow, this is happening." … For me, I was still dealing with the loss of a series to Boston College, our season ending and also, my seniors’ careers ending. That’s really where my head was. You go into protection mode for them. That’s where my head was at the time. That comes before what I’m dealing with.
Jaffe: What is on the immediate future, and is it safe to assume you want to foray right back into college coaching?
Dennehy: I got a call from a former college coach who encouraged me to get right back into it. There’s been a lot of positivity that has come from it, a lot of positive feedback. I think people appreciated the job that I did. I want to coach. I think I have something to give. If I’m lucky enough, and the right opportunity presents itself, thats what I plan to do, get right back in it. I’ve got a couple things already on the slate. I have been asked to do a USA Hockey event, which I’m really excited about. A couple of them, actually, One in Dallas, then one with the Five Nations team. I think I’m also going to take part in the Penguins development camp. Scott Young and I have talked, and I’m pretty sure that Mike Sullivan, who was a classmate of mine, had something to do it with it as well — and Bill Guerin, who was a teammate of mine. So I have some really exciting things on the front burner, and then we’ll see where it leads from there.
Jaffe: What was the best part of coaching at Merrimack for 13 years?
Dennehy: Without a doubt the people, the young men who I will forever be in their debt for believing in my staff and me, whether it’s Karl Stollery, who played on the Canadian Olympic team this past Olympics, Stéphane Da Costa, Joe Cannata, Adam Ross, I could go on and on and on about the guys that came — Brett Seney, Jared Kolquist — they know the type of relationship that we have. That’s really what it’s all about. I know you are a proud Michigan grad, as well you should be. It’s not the buildings that you miss. It’s going to see Coach (Red) Berenson or (Billy) Powers or (Mel) Pearson. Those are the things that you treasure the most — the people. That’s what I’ll come away with.
Jaffe: I know that you’ve had some opinions and involvement in youth hockey before. I touch on this with everyone I talk with. What’s your opinion on the state of youth hockey in Massachusetts right now, Mark?
Dennehy: I’m going to try to be positive. I believe that the job of youth sports in general — whatever sport you coach or volunteer your time with — is to create an environment in which all the players can fall in love with the sport. Let’s be honest — you’re not making it to the highest level without both passion and genetics. If you’re missing one of those two, it’s not happening. So if you create an environment in which kids fall in love with the sport, you’re going to get more kids to play it, which means you’ve got a better chance of attracting elite layers. Then you instill that passion in them … I think we can do a better job on that front. I hear "watered down" a lot when I talk to youth hockey people. I don’t think there are enough kids playing. I don’t think it’s watered down. I think the better players tend to consolidate at too young an age. I’d like to see the talent more spread out, because that means the better players are affecting more players.
There are some good things going on, too. I know Mass. Hockey is really pushing the ADM model, and I think that’s really had a positive impact. We’ve been very lucky in Andover (Mass.). The girls program in Andover is one of the largest girls programs in New England. I have three daughters, and they’ve benefited greatly from it. That’s really what I look for — create an environment that kids can fall in love with it, get more kids playing. It’s the best sport there is, as far as I’m concerned.
Jaffe: Do people understand how hard it is to make Division 1 college?
Dennehy: No, I don’t think parents realize how hard it is. I would recommend a book by Simon Sinek called "Start With Why." The gist of it is, anything you want to do, you start with why you want to do it, then it will give you some guidance. If you’re putting your child into sports to make a high school team, make a college team or make the NHL, you’ve automatically flawed the process because there are so many things that can come into play. If you think about it, the goal is, maybe you want your son just to play high school. But what if your son or daughter doesn’t like the sport? What if your son or daughter gets hurt and can’t play at that level? You’ve set them up for failure. There are so many things that come into play. My mother put me in hockey to keep me off the street, to make friends and to learn some life lessons. And if you put your child into sports for that, sports can be incredibly powerful. And then if you are genetically lucky enough and you have a passion, hey, the world’s your oyster. Who knows how far you can go? I’m not deterring anyone from chasing their dreams. But why you do something plays a big role into whether or not you reach your end game.
