Silvertips’ coaches have a history of success

Published 9:00 pm Thursday, October 2, 2003

EVERETT — They did it before, they can do it again.

The coaching troika of Kevin Constantine, John Becanic and Jay Varady needed just two years to build a league champion from scratch with the Pittsburgh Forge of the North American Hockey League. Now they’re hoping to repeat that success in the Western Hockey League with the Everett Silvertips.

"The players here bug me all the time about turning the page because I refer to the Forge so often," Becanic said. "But what we did there was something special and will always be close to my heart."

Constantine, Everett’s head coach, and assistants Becanic and Varady, came together with Pittsburgh during the 2001-02 season. Prior to that, none of the three had even met, let alone coached together.

Constantine, who had just been fired by the NHL’s New Jersey Devils, met Becanic at a coach’s symposium in Salt Lake City. The pair found they had similar coaching styles and ideas, so Constantine brought Becanic with him to Pittsburgh to be an assistant on the team he was forming. Midway through the season they met Varady, who was teaching hockey school in Pittsburgh, and Varady soon joined the staff.

From there it was magic. The Forge compiled a 37-15-4 record in their inaugural season, becoming the first expansion team to reach the NAHL championships. The next season, with Constantine limiting himself to front-office duties and Becanic taking over the head spot, Pittsburgh went 43-9-4 and won the NAHL championship.

"It all came down to hard work by the staff and the players," Becanic said. "The players bought in to the work ethic and we put in a lot of long hours as a team and a staff establishing new things, just like we are here."

And it was good experience for Becanic and Varady.

"Last year John and I spent a lot of time together and learned a lot about the game of hockey from a coach’s perspective," Varady said. "It taught me a lot about the personal approach to the game and how to handle different situations."

So as Constantine attempts to repeat that success with the Silvertips, he knows he has a pair of secret weapons in Becanic and Varady.

"I don’t think we see ourselves as head coach and assistant coaches," Constantine said. "I think we see ourselves as three coaches. Last year when we won, those guys did all the coaching. I taught some classes and ran a few drills, but they did almost all the coaching, so I feel this team could go on whether I’m out there or not."

There are two main reasons why the trio has been so effective. The first is the ability to get along, so much so that the three coaches are sharing a house in Stanwood during the season.

"We all had opportunities and options elsewhere," Becanic said. "But the chance to work with guys that you not only respect and enjoy working with, but are also your friends, that doesn’t happen a whole lot."

The second is each coach complements the other two, bringing his own personal strengths to the equation.

"John’s got endless experience with kids at this level," said Constantine, who’s considered the teacher in the group. "He’s worked about 10 years at this level, so he understands their thought process and what they’re thinking. Jay’s got endless energy and enthusiasm and work ethic and he’s very bright, so he really knows the game."

The coaches aren’t expecting to have the same type of immediate success in Everett as they had at Pittsburgh, given the nature of the expansion draft and the higher caliber of play.

"It’s been a great experience so far," Varady said. "These guys have been absolute sponges to the material we’ve presented and we’re going to continue to grow as a group."