When the United States tries to capture its first international best-on-best title since 1996 in Thursday night’s 4 Nations Face-Off final at TD Garden, there will be four coaches behind the bench. Three of them – head coach Mike Sullivan and assistants John Hynes and David Quinn – went to Boston University, where they shared a common mentor in legendary Terriers coach Jack Parker.
It was only fitting, then, that Parker joined Team USA on Wednesday for their final tune-up before Thursday’s marquee showdown. He accompanied Sullivan, who played for Parker from 1986-90, to his post-practice press conference. And while Parker was content to sit off to the side out of the spotlight, Sullivan made a point to open his media session with a thank you to Parker.
“I just want to acknowledge my college coach, Coach Parker, that’s here for our practice,” Sullivan said. “It means an awful lot to me. A lot of the philosophies that I’ve applied to my job today I owe to this guy over here. So, thanks Coach.”
Sullivan has been head coach of the Pittsburgh Penguins since 2015, helping them win back-to-back Stanley Cups in 2016 and 2017.
Quinn, who played at BU from 1984-87, is currently one of Sullivan’s assistants in Pittsburgh as well as with Team USA. He was associate head coach at BU under Parker from 2004-09 and then took over as BU’s head coach when Parker retired in 2013, leading the Terriers to two Hockey East titles in his five years there and a national championship game appearance in 2015.
Hynes, who is in his second year as head coach of the Minnesota Wild, played for Parker from 1994-97. When Hynes’ playing career ended due to a neck injury he suffered during his senior year, Parker immediately gave him his start in coaching with a job as a graduate assistant.
In typical Parker fashion, he doesn’t take much credit for the coaching success of his former players, but he does take pride in it.
“They had a bigger impact on my career,” Parker told WEEI.com Wednesday. “They were such good players. But I have a lot of pride in the fact that they've done so well, and they all do it the right way.”
Parker was also quick to point out that there are Terriers on Team USA’s management level, too, with assistant general manager Chris Drury and director of player personnel Chris Kelleher (both BU class of ’98).
“It’s fabulous seeing these guys be as successful as they are at this level, and now coaching and running USA Hockey for this tournament,” Parker said. “…Whether you played in the 90s or the 80s or the 70s, they all know each other, and they've all taken a lot of pride in being a BU hockey player. And when they graduated, they followed the team afterwards and got to know all the other players that come along. So, that in and of itself is a little bit of a bond.
“But I think more than anything else, Mike Sullivan is involved with these guys because he knows they're real good coaches. He wants Quinny around. He wants Hynesy around. Drury and Kelleher, they're working with Billy Guerin because they know what they're doing when they get in this situation. I'm proud of those guys getting into the management aspect of it. I’ve got a lot of guys, former players that are in the management aspect as well. So, they're all making a living. That's nice. And they're all enjoying what they're doing, and that's even better.”
BU hockey alums have long credited Parker with helping to create that “bond” that stretches across decades. For 40 years, he was the constant. And while Parker is no longer the one coaching the Terriers of today, his proteges are.
There are four Terriers on this U.S. 4 Nations team: Jack Eichel, Brady Tkachuk, Jake Oettinger and Charlie McAvoy (who is now out of the tournament due to injury). Parker did not coach any of them (although he did recruit Eichel to BU, and he did coach Brady’s father Keith). Quinn coached all four at BU, though, and that reunion these last two weeks has meant something to them, just like Sullivan reuniting with Parker at Wednesday’s practice meant something to him.
“It’s been great,” Eichel told WEEI.com of playing under Quinn again. “Obviously, Quinny and I have an awesome relationship. I’ve known him for quite some time, got a chance to play for him in college. And just to be in an environment like this, it’s really cool. Getting to share it with people you have personal, special relationships with is what makes it even that much more special. So, it’s been awesome to do it with Quinny and be on the ice with him and just go through the whole experience.”
Having four Terriers on the roster has been a lucky number for USA Hockey in the past. The 1980 Miracle on Ice team had four: Mike Eruzione, Jim Craig, Jack O’Callahan and Dave Silk. The 1996 World Cup of Hockey team, the only U.S. team to ever win a best-on-best international tournament, had four as well: Keith Tkachuk, Tony Amonte, Shawn McEachern and Scott Young.
Now BU and Parker’s paw prints aren’t just on the roster, though. They’re behind the bench and in the front office, too.