REUNITED, AND IT FEELS SO GOOD

THE NEW BOSS
It seemed only a matter of time before Dan Bylsma landed his first professional head coaching job. After spending four years as an assistant coach at both the AHL and NHL levels, the former Stanley Cup competitor was primed to take over a team after helping the Penguins to the Calder Cup finals this past spring.

Little did he know that opportunity would come right here in Wilkes-Barre.

Bylsma joined the Penguins as Todd Richards’ assistant two years ago, and when Richards accepted a position with the San Jose Sharks over the summer, he was the obvious choice to take over the coaching reigns in Northeast Pennsylvania.

“I’ve tried to get numerous jobs in the American Hockey League. Put my name in with resumes and really didn’t feel like I got my foot in the door like I had hoped to get in the door,” said Bylsma, 38. “Even though I believed I was prepared and ready, believed I had done a good job as an assistant coach where I was at., the past two years have been my interview. And if I couldn’t convince [the Penguins front office] that I was prepared to be a head coach with the past two years, then an interview wouldn’t do that.

“I know the players, know the organization, know Pittsburgh’s philosophy, know the philosophy that the staff here in Wilkes-Barre has.”

So it was with great relief and excitement that Bylsma was named the fifth head coach in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton history less than two weeks after Richards’ departure. It was then Bylsma’s first order of business to look for a new second in command for the team.

There was no shortage of interest. Former players, unemployed coaches and even those who currently had jobs filled Bylsma’s voicemail with inquiries. But there was one person who had a leg up on all of the other candidates.

A ROCKY START
Bylsma first met Todd Reirden in the fall of 1990. Then a junior forward on the Bowling Green hockey team, Bylsma was charged with helping the freshman walk-on adjust to life in the college ranks. That initial encounter didn’t exactly go smoothly.

“Freshmen come in, usually there’s a feeling out process for those young kids. They were the star where they played, they were the main guy on the team. And when they come to college that’s usually not the case.,” said Bylsma. “You have to fit in, you have to become a part of the team and you have to become a part of the family. Sometimes there’s ego issues, sometimes there’s priority issues in terms of my stats versus the team stats. Todd was a guy who was trying to come in and make the team, and he was battling, he was a walk on. And I was the veteran assigned to Todd to assimilate him into Bowling Green hockey, into college hockey. Some of it was tough love, some of it was adjusting an attitude.”

“It was Dan’s belief that the older players within the organization were a little firmer on the younger guys. And in my particular case I guess I needed a little bit more structure, more direction than I had at the time,” admitted Reirden. “So Dan and I started with a little bit of tough love, but things have clearly gone in a different direction since.”

The early friction subsided over the years, and Bylsma and Reirden eventually grew to become great friends, sharing common experiences as they progressed through the professional ranks, with both eventually ending up in the NHL; Bylsma played parts of nine years with the Los Angeles Kings and Anaheim Ducks, while Reirden suited up with the Edmonton Oilers, St. Louis Blues, Phoenix Coyotes and Atlanta Thrashers during his career.

“Obviously our paths went in quite different directions, playing in different cities,” said Reirden. “The trials and tribulations of minor league hockey and a National Hockey League schedule takes quite a bit of time. But Dan managed to be a sounding board for me quite often. His path to the National Hockey League and his success in hockey ended up being very similar to my own, with the difference being about 300 more NHL games for him.”

COMMON EXPERIENCES
Their post-playing careers have mirrored each other as well, with both joining the coaching ranks immediately upon retiring. Bylsma jumped behind the bench with the Cincinnati Mighty Ducks in 2004, while Reirden returned to his alma mater at Bowling Green prior to last season.

Then, following the completion of the college season, Reirden was asked by the Richards, Bylsma and Pittsburgh Penguins assistant general manager Chuck Fletcher if he would be willing to come and work with the extra players on the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton roster during the Calder Cup playoffs.

“Last year, in his first year as a coach, he was going through an adjustment, how to deal with certain situations. We talked a lot last year, probably more than we had in the past,” stated Bylsma. “And then, when we were looking for a guy to come in and volunteer and help us out, just having experience with Todd, knowing what he was doing at Bowling Green, I mentioned his name to Todd and Chuck Fletcher, and certainly wanted him to come in here.”

It was an opportunity Reirden didn’t think twice about.

“What I was hoping to gain from the whole thing was the experience that I could take back to Bowling Green,” said Reirden. “The deal that we had was I would come in here and work with the young players and help to develop them, and in turn all the experiences I could gain from Todd Richards and Dan Bylsma, I could take back to Bowling Green and share with my players there and help my overall portfolio on experience as a coach.”

But the two month stay with the AHL club turned out to be much more than a learning experience – it ended up being an audition for the assistant coaching position.

TOGETHER AGAIN
“At the time…I really had no intention of trying to be an American Hockey League coach,” said Reirden, who spent nearly two months with the AHL Penguins as they advanced to the Calder Cup Finals. “I came in with the intention of trying to help out Coach Richards and coach Bylsma as much as I could, and help develop young players. I just came to work every day with those thoughts, and tried to take the whole experience in. Looking back on it now, it was almost an interview for those two months, and I didn’t even realize it. “

Reirden was one of the first people to inquire about the assistant coaching vacancy when Bylsma was promoted to head coach, and quickly joined a group of five finalists for the position. A few rounds of phone calls, some late night deliberating and the words of the Penguins Reirden had mentored at the end of the season helped Bylsma reach his final decision.

“The players we had last year, both the players that played and the players that didn’t play, really had a good feel that Todd was a guy they liked having around, taught them something, helped them out, and really was there for them, trying to help them,” said Bylsma. “Whether it was teaching them the game or preparing them to go out and play a playoff game, almost every player to a tee said ‘Hey, I really enjoyed having Todd around, and he really was able to help us.’ And that was the deciding factor for me in proving what Todd could do here at the American League level.”

So Bylsma is once again helping Reirden adjust to a new role and new position, 18 years down the line. But this time around, there shouldn’t be too much head butting between the two.

“Dan and I are going through learning experiences on a daily basis, working with each other, but obviously there’s an unbelievable amount of respect that I have for him, not only as a hockey coach, but as a person,” stated the 37-year old Reirden. “It’s something that I’m extremely honored and excited, to be a part of his coaching staff here. “