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Source: David Quinn to be next BU men’s hockey coach

By Tim Healey/DFP Staff

Boston University is set to announce that David Quinn will succeed Jack Parker as the BU men’s hockey coach, according to a source. The athletic department will make it official at a news conference 11 a.m. Tuesday at a location to be determined.

The news comes just two days after Parker’s 40-year head coaching career at BU ended with a 1-0 loss to the University of Massachusetts-Lowell in the Hockey East championship game. Parker announced March 11 that this season would be his last on the Terrier bench.

Quinn, 46, who was a co-captain for Parker’s 1987-88 team, served as Parker’s associate head coach for five seasons, but left after the 2009 national championship to become the head coach of the Lake Erie Monsters (AHL).

Last June, Quinn joined the Colorado Avalanche as an assistant coach under Joe Sacco, another BU hockey alumnus.

The Cranston, R.I., native is highly regarded as a top-notch recruiter, and was long seen as a likely candidate to replace Parker whenever he decided to retire.

On March 15, athletic director Mike Lynch told The Daily Free Press that a committee, comprised in part by him, BU President Robert Brown and Provost Jean Morrison, would pick the next coach. Lynch indicated he was looking to move quickly.

The hiring of Quinn means associate head coach Mike Bavis, who replaced Quinn starting in the 2009-10 season and said March 11 he felt very qualified for the job, was passed over.

“I’m a little more uniquely positioned to deal with this,” Bavis said that afternoon. “As the last couple of years have shown, this is more than just a hockey job.”

The status of Bavis and assistant coach Buddy Powers moving forward is unclear.

The source also said the school “talked to” New York Rangers assistant coach Mike Sullivan and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (AHL) head coach John Hynes, though how close either was to getting the job is also unclear.

16 Comments

  1. David Quinn is a good man and it is good that BU moved so quickly on this.
    I hope that he offers one of the assistant’s positions to Mike Grier, who has all of the makings of being a great coach.

    Not sure what they will do with Mike Bavis, but Buddy Powers is likely to retire back to Ohio.

    • Agreed on Quinn. Great guy w/ a strong reputation as an elite recruiter and talent developer.

      It’ll be very interesting to see whom Quinn brings on board to complete the staff. I think Grier would be a very intriguing candidate as an assistant and could add a lot of value to the program. I expect Bavis to depart, but I wouldn’t be overly shocked if Bavis does remain in his current capacity given his positive working relationship w/ Quinn.

      I think Geragosian will remain as goaltending coach, although Buddy is almost certain to depart and return to Ohio. Apparently he already closed on a house in Ohio in anticipation of returning there.

      Regardless, I think is is a smart hire by BU and I’m excited for the new era of BU Hockey to begin.

    • From what I’ve been told, Grier is not interested in coaching right now. He is enjoying his retirement. But people do change their mind.

  2. Looks like someone already identified Quinn as a bad coach before this was posted:

    https://www.thebostonhockeyblog.com/2013/03/updated-parkers-career-ends-with-1-0.html#comment-form

  3. Really bad choice in passing over Bavis. Next year’s recruits will no doubt be lookingo for better coaches to play for. It would be a shocker if Nieto or Noonan came back.

    • Disagree. Bavis is a great guy and a decent coach, but is not the right fit for BU at this time. If he wants to be a head coach, I think it’s best for him to develop that career elsewhere without the pressure & expectations of being Parker’s successor.

      Your comment about future recruits looking for other programs to play is way off-base. Frankly I think next year’s recruits will develop better under Quinn and his assistants than if Bavis and Powers had remained on the staff.

      Not sure how this decision influences Nieto and/or Noonan. I think both could use one more year of development and I think Quinn could do wonders with getting them ready for the pros. I hope both come back, but wouldn’t be shocked if either/both leave.

    • Yep. Quinn is a great recruiter. Just look at the 2009 national championship team he put together. Bavis is Bavis. Nice guy, but he is either a D3 head coach or remains assistant.

      Love the selection of Quinn, and happy I renewed my tickets. Looking forward for the next few years.

    • Some guys, no matter how nice or knowledgeable they are, may not have other intangibles to be successful head coaches at elite programs. I think Bavis is one of those guys. Solid lieutenant, but not 5-star general material.

  4. Wait a second – we hired a coach that’s about to be fired for being a poor coach??!!??

    Yeah, that makes sense…NOT!

  5. LOL – I’m buying firedavidquinn.com before someone else does.

  6. It sounds like Sullivan and Hynes turned them down so they had to settle for Quinn. Hope the 3rd choice is good enough to get us to a Beanpot final.

    • That’s an interesting way of spinning it…The 3 leading candidates were more like 1A, 1B and 1C.

      Sullivan and Hynes would’ve been great hires as well, but Quinn is certainly more than capable of leading BU to more successful seasons than they’ve had since winning it all in 2009. It’s NOT just about the Beanpot; it’s more about:

      – developing the talent he inherits
      – recruiting even more talented players than in recent past
      – getting everyone to play consistently hard every shift, every period, every game

      With Quinn’s skills and experience, and the resources he has, he should be able to close the gap between BU and BC over the next few years.

  7. Great choice. Quinn is the man. He put together the ’09,team and I hope he puts two good assist. in place to help him. Bavis does not belong in Div. one Hockey. Nice guy but his recruits are, for the most part, not up to par. I would hope he could get Hynes to come as assist. but money may be a factor. I head Bavis on NESN one night on how he teaches the breakout. I still don’t know what he ws talking about. BU in recent years seems very confused in the O zone as to how to set up. BC seems to always get three people to touch the puck and maybee this is one reason they are such a force. (Hving geat players also helps)

  8. There is absolutely no way Hynes leaves where he is to assist for a guy that has an inferior head coaching resume by any measure. Heck Avalanche fans can’t get him on a plane out of town fast enough. Should have been the other way around. Hynes is next in line for the Pittsburgh Penguins head job, or some other NHL team. BU missed their chance. Lets not forget that Hynes put together the 2005/2006 Wisconsin team that won a national championship and was roomates with Grier for three seasons at BU. I see a lot of people hoping grier would be an assistant. Probably would have for Hynes, highly unlikely with Quinn. Hynes/grier would have been the best route to go.

  9. I don’t know how anyone could be critical of this hire. He was clearly the best person out there. Since he left in 09 the program has been the same. Recruiting classes have gotten progressively worse. BU’s talent level hasn’t even been able to approach BC’s for 2 years now. Quinn assembled arguably the the best single season team in the program’s history.

  10. Bavis won’t be back, John Lilley is rumored to be Quinn’s top assistant. And as for the idiots who don’t like the hire-Quinn will prove them wrong. I know for a fact that Quinn was offered the University of Denver job before their coach resigned. That is why BU moved so quickly….Quinn will succeed like he has at every program he has coached at, JUST LOOK AT THE LAST NATIONAL TITLE-ALL RECRUITS BY QUINN-& SINCE HE LEFT-NOT 1 BEANPOT TITLE, OR ANY TITLE….BAVIS RECRUITS SPEEK FOR THEMSELVES…..