College connections aplenty with U.S. Olympic hockey team assistant coaches for 2022 games

From left, John Hynes, David Quinn, Todd Reirden and Ryan Miller (photos: USA Hockey).

The four assistant coaches for the 2022 men’s hockey Olympic team all come with NCAA connections.

John Hynes, David Quinn, Todd Reirden and Ryan Miller will serve as assistant coaches to head coach Mike Sullivan.

“We’ve got a great coaching staff in place,” said Stan Bowman, general manager of the 2022 U.S. Olympic hockey team, in a statement. “It’s a group that knows what it takes to be successful, and through their unique and varied backgrounds will help put our team in the best position to win the gold medal.”

Hynes, head coach of the NHL’s Nashville Predators, also spent time coaching at the college level, serving as an assistant coach at UMass Lowell in 2000-01 and at Wisconsin in 2002-03 after beginning his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Boston University.

As a player, Hynes played four seasons (1993-97) at BU where he competed in four straight NCAA Frozen Fours, winning the NCAA title in 1995.

Quinn served as the head coach for his alma mater, Boston University, from 2013 to 2018 and guided the Terriers to four NCAA tournament appearances, two Hockey East regular-season titles and two Hockey East tournament championships.

He also spent five seasons (2004-09) as the associate head coach at BU, where he helped the Terriers to the NCAA national title in 2009. Quinn’s other collegiate coaching positions have been at Northeastern (1995-96) and Omaha (1996-2002).

Quinn was an All-Hockey East and All-New England defenseman at Boston University and served as co-captain during his senior year in 1987-88.

Reirden, currently an assistant coach with the NHL’s Pittsburgh Penguins, was an assistant coach in 2007-08 for his alma mater, Bowling Green, where he played from 1990 to 1994.

Miller retired from a distinguished 18-year NHL career in 2021, one that included stops with four teams (Buffalo, St. Louis, Vancouver, Anaheim) and 391 regular-season wins, the most for a U.S.-born netminder in NHL history.

Miller, who earned the NHL’s Vezina Trophy in 2010, recorded a career 391-289-88 regular-season record with a 2.64 GAA and .914 save percentage. He also competed in 57 playoff games with a 2.52 goals against average and .913 save percentage.

His international career was highlighted by leading the U.S. to the gold-medal game of the 2010 Olympic Winter Games, and ultimately a silver-medal finish after an overtime loss to Canada in the final game of the Olympic tournament. Miller, who recorded a 1.35 GAA and .946 save percentage, earned MVP honors at the games.

He also had a notable collegiate career at Michigan State where he won the Hobey Baker Memorial Award in 2001. Miller today still holds the NCAA record for career shutouts with 26.

Sullivan, the current head coach in Pittsburgh, played at BU from 1986 to 1990.