I'm not shocked by this news. Surprised, yes, but not shocked. Why? Because I think Teddy saw the handwriting on the wall. College athletics has undergone a significant change since 2004 when he took over the program. The transfer portal and NIL have reshaped how teams build their rosters year over year. It was always difficult to recruit against Hockey East. Now it is becoming difficult within the conference. He knows it. And he's at the point in his life, with a new grandchild, where he can settle back and enjoy his family. Good for him and I wish him nothing but the best.
Now for what's to come. In order for Harvard to attract a top flight coach, two things need to change. We have to get an NIL program in place and we must use the transfer portal, as odious as that may seem to admissions. We also need to up our recruiting game with the Canadian Juniors.
Here are three possible scenarios for finding a new coach:
1. Poach a head coach from an established program. My first thought was Nate Leaman down the road in Providence. Nate got his start at Harvard as an assistant on Mark Mazzoleni's staff. He might be interested in coming back if Harvard made it financially attractive for him and got their act together with respect to NIL and the portal. It's a long shot but why not drop a dime and find out? It's not like Harvard hasn't tried this before - they went after both Tim Taylor and Joe Marsh when Ronn Tommasoni stepped down.
2. The Reid Cashman route. Poach a highly thought of and up and coming assistant coach from a successful program that is a strong recruiter and knows how to work the portal and the Juniors. Someone who can run a system that will
3. Former Harvard player. This is the most unlikely route. Teddy happened to be retiring as a player just when the whole Mazzoleni firestorm was at its peak. So the timing was right. Not sure it will work again but if I were to reach out to a former player, it would be Dominic Moore. He had a very good NHL career, is a high character individual and he might relish the opportunity to get us back on the national stage. I sat with Dom and his brother Mark at Bright Landry one night and to hear them talk hockey was special.
The elephant in the room is what happens to the current roster and the incoming freshman class. Some of the first years may decommit and go elsewhere as coaches look to poach. I had a friend from Dartmouth text me yesterday when the news broke - he thought Teddy made this decision now because the transfer portal is closed, thereby keeping the roster intact. At least for next season. Reid Cashman needed a couple of seasons to get the Green turned around. We need to give the new coach the same latitude to establish his program.
The times, they are a changin'
