Penguins

November 1, 2009

A long-running hockey love story

WBS aide’s granddad coached big Pens to 1st NHL title

By Tom Venesky tvenesky@timesleader.com
Sports Reporter
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When longtime hockey fans hear the saying “It’s a great day for hockey,” their thoughts turn to the Pittsburgh Penguins’ first Stanley Cup victory in 1991.

But for Scott McConnell, the phrase brings a tear to his eye.

McConnell, who is the video coach for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, is the grandson of the person who made the saying famous – former Pittsburgh coach Bob Johnson.

After coaching the Calgary Flames from 1982 to 1987, Johnson took over the head coaching job in Pittsburgh for one season in 1990-91.

It turned out to be a pretty special season – one that immortalized Johnson in the hockey world.

That season Johnson led a Pittsburgh team that featured Mario Lemieux, Paul Coffey and a young Jaromir Jagr to its first Stanley Cup championship when the Penguins defeated the Minnesota North Stars, four games to two.

Unfortunately, Johnson passed away from brain cancer months after he led the Penguins to the Stanley Cup, leaving a legacy in the hockey world.

Before his one memorable season in Pittsburgh, Johnson coached the Calgary Flames to a Stanley Cup appearance in 1986, was the coach of the 1976 U.S. Olympic team and led three U.S. teams in the Canada Cup (1981, 1984 and 1987).

Johnson touched many people during his career with his wit, passion and unmatched love of the game.

McConnell is one of them.

“I’m still part of the game because of him,” McConnell said. “I caught some of his passion and I’ve carried it with me for a long time.”

Like his grandfather, McConnell, 30, has dedicated his life to hockey. He spent three years playing junior hockey before joining the University of Denver team as a walk-on in 2000. After college he served as an assistant coach for three years in the U.S. Hockey League before joining the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins as their new video coach this year.

McConnell, who was 12 when his grandfather coached Pittsburgh to its 1991 Stanley Cup, remembers going to the Mellon Arena – called the Igloo back then, to watch the Penguins in Games 1 and 2 of the finals.

Being the grandson of the head coach held some perks, McConnell said, such as skating on the ice during pregame sessions with the children of former Penguin Joe Mullen and shooting pucks on backup goaltender Frank Pietrangelo.

“I remember one day we came off the ice and there was Jagr sitting on a couch playing our video games,” McConnell said. “I think he was cursing in Czech.”

McConnell also remembers the way his grandfather treated his players – “like people” he says, and how he approached coaching a team full of stars.

“He had a genuine love for teaching and the game. It was a genuine passion,” McConnell said. “That team had a lot of different personalities, and he made it so they all enjoyed coming to the rink. They all felt special.

“He had a gift of making whoever he was talking to feel like they were the only ones in the room. Coach (Dan) Bylsma has a lot of the same attributes.”

Those memories are 18 years old, but in September McConnell had a chance to relive them once again when he went with the team to Pittsburgh for training camp.

Walking into the same locker room, offices and player’s lounge where his grandfather once stood and made Penguins history was a surreal experience, McConnell said.

And when he saw his grandfather’s famous saying, “It’s a great day for hockey,” inscribed on the locker room wall the experience was overwhelming.

“To see the amount of love they still have for someone who was only there a short time a long time ago…it was like something out of a movie,” McConnell said. “A couple of times when I was there I caught myself staring.

“I always kept my grandpa on a certain pedestal in my life. As time passes, sometimes people lose touch. To see that the organization still holds him in the highest regard, it was like a dream.”

Although McConnell’s hopes of playing professional hockey have faded, his interest has shifted toward coaching. Like his grandfather, McConnell loves to teach and he loves the game. Still, he realizes it will take some time to gain experience in the professional game.

The same passion that Bob Johnson had for hockey is apparent in McConnell. Last Sunday night he came out to the new ice rink at Coal Street to help Penguins assistant coach John Hynes conduct an on-ice session for teenage players.

“When you love doing something you just do it. It’s just enjoyable,” McConnell said. “Todd Reirden and John Hynes have given me a chance to come here and continue living my dream. They are great teachers to learn from.”

When asked what he enjoys more, coaching or playing, McConnell displays some of his grandfather’s wit.

“Coaching by far. Your golf game gets better and you’re not sore when you get up in the morning,” he said.

In the summer McConnell’s passion persists when he helps carry on a Johnson family tradition by coaching the Bob Johnson Hockey School in Colorado.

The school was started by McConnell’s grandfather in 1965, and McConnell believes it is the oldest hockey school in the United States.

After Johnson passed away in 1991, McConnell and his relatives decided immediately to take over and keep the school going.

“We persevered and it’s become a family reunion every year. It keeps the Johnson clan together,” he said. “I don’t know if my grandfather planned it to do that, but the school has literally kept his entire family together.”

Just like Johnson’s famous saying still rings true inside the Pittsburgh Penguins locker room.

“That saying is so simple, yet it’s been such a big part of all our lives in the Johnson family,” McConnell said. “It’s what I live my life by. Every day you can hear it and it never gets old.”

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