January 2009 New England Hockey Journal Page 11 COVER STORY 1 Jeremy Jacobs Boston Bruins owner Charlie Jacobs Boston Bruins executive vice president 2 Paul Kelly Executive director, NHL Players Association 3 Brian Burke GM, Toronto Maple Leafs and 2010 U.S. Olympic team Top 4 Lou Lamoriello CEO, president and GM, New Jersey Devils 5 Jerry York Head coach, Boston College men 6 Jack Parker Head coach, Boston University men 7 Bobby Orr Principal, Orr Hockey Group 8 Kevin Paul Dupont Hockey writer and columnist, Boston Globe 9 Lyman Bullard Managing owner and chairman, Portland Pirates; and Partner, Choate, Hall and Stewart 10 Larue Renfroe Owner, Providence Bruins and New England Sports Center 11 Claude Julien Head coach, Boston Bruins 12 Peter Chiarelli General manager, Boston Bruins 13 Dave Andrews President and CEO, American Hockey League 50 Our inaugural ranking 14 Ted Leonsis Owner, Washington Capitals 15 Zdeno Chara Defenseman and captain, Boston Bruins of New England hockey 16 Garth Snow General manager, New York Islanders 17 Matt Keator Agent, Sports Consulting Group movers and shakers 18 Joe Bertagna Commissioner, Hockey East; and Executive director, American Hockey Coaches Association 19 Patrice Bergeron Center, Boston Bruins By Bill Keefe 20 Kent Hughes Agent, MFive Sports 21 Ron DeGregorio President, USA Hockey hen the publisher and 22 Dick Umile Head coach, University of New Hampshire men editors at New England (league executives, agents, officials, etc.) 23 Keith Tkachuk Left wing/center, St. Louis Blues Hockey Journal first dis- 24 Bill Guerin Right wing and captain, New York Islanders Other cussed evaluating and ■ 25 Ron Wilson Head coach, Toronto Maple Leafs ranking the most impor- 26 Jeremy Roenick Center, Phoenix Coyotes tant people in New Eng- 27 Ted Donato Head coach, Harvard University men Wland hockey, they were thinking of a top 25. 28 Bob Murray Principal, Pro-Athletes Management 29 Dave Poile General manager, Nashville Predators But so many worthy names were rattled off Active players ■ 30 Chris Drury Center and captain, New York Rangers by so many knowledgeable people so quick- 31 Brian Lawton General manager, Tampa Bay Lightning ly, it was decided to expand the project to 50. 32 Milan Lucic Left wing, Boston Bruins With all the participants in, and contribu- 33 Katey Stone Head coach, Harvard University women tors to, the game in the region, we could have 34 Dean Lombardi President and general manager, Los Angeles Kings done 100 easy, probably 200. But we had to 35 Mike Eruzione Partner, Omaha Lancers; Director of development, Boston University Current coaches ■ 36 Rick DiPietro Goalie, New York Islanders draw a line somewhere — lest this issue be as 37 Greg Cronin Head coach, Northeastern University men thick as a phone book — so 50 it was. 38 Mike Milbury Analyst, NESN, NBC, Hockey Night in Canada We had a couple of ground rules. We 39 Bruce Landon General manager, Springfield Falcons wanted this to be tied to hockey, more so 40 Bill Beaney Head coach, Middlebury College men than the business of hockey, so we ex- 41 Dan Esdale President, Eastern Junior Hockey League; and (owners, GMs, etc.) Chairman, USA Hockey junior council cluded people who were solely equipment 42 Carl Gray Founder and director, Assabet Valley girls hockey manufacturers or retailers, rink owners or 43 Jay Fee Founder and CEO, Jay Fee Sports Group camp owners. We gave weight to overall 44 Sean Tremblay GM, head coach, New Hampshire Jr. Monarchs importance in hockey but also gave con- Chris/Peter Masters Principals, GM, coaches, Boston Jr. Bruins sideration to their impact on New England, executives Team 45 John Hynes Head coach, U.S. National Team Development Program ■ 46 Bill Hanson Head coach, Catholic Memorial High School boys specifically. 47 John Gardner Head coach, Avon Old Farms boys We consulted experts from the NHL, 48 Frank Cole National coordinator, NCAA men’s officials other professional ranks, colleges, juniors, Bob Quinn National coordinator, NCAA women’s officials high schools and the media. And now, here 49 Andy Brickley Analyst, NESN it is: the inaugural New England Hockey COLOR-CODED KEY: COLOR-CODED KEY: 50 Gary Eggleston New England scout, NHL Central Scouting Service Journal Top 50. ➡ Pages 12-17 Photo/Steve Babineau/NHLI via Getty Images Page 14 New England Hockey Journal January 2009 NEHJ TOP 50: Nos. 6 – 10 Jack Parker Lyman Bullard NHL draft picks on its roster, including first- Managing owner and chairman, Portland Head coach, Boston University men rounders in 2008 (Colin Wilson) and 2007 Pirates; Partner, Choate Hall and Stewart 6 Somerville, Mass. (Kevin Shattenkirk). 9 He has also had great success finding dia- Needham, Mass. & Prouts Neck, Maine The other half of the coaching dynamic duo, monds in the rough like walk-ons-turned-All- Parker — like BC’s Jerry York — was a stand- Americans John Curry and Matt Gilroy. The Bullard had an inauspicious start in hockey. He out when he played for the Terriers. He won list of players who have gone on to make an was a soccer and tennis player at Harvard in the three Beanpots, played in two Frozen Fours impact in the NHL is endless: Keith Tkachuk, ‘70s and played JV hockey in between. before they were called that and cap- Tony Amonte, Shawn McEachern, As a senior in 1977, Harvard coach Bill Cleary tained the team as a senior. And, like Chris Drury, Shawn Bates, Tom Poti (Newton, Mass.) called Bullard up to the varsity York, he will be remembered as one of and Rick DiPietro, among others. for the Beanpot. He was on the the greatest college coaches the game Parker’s legacy is tangible as any- ice with 29 seconds left in the has seen. one who has been to Agganis Arena first-round game against Boston Parker should join York this season can attest. He had as much to do with College and assisted on George and make it three members of the 800- it being built as anyone, even ensuring Hughes’ (Westwood, Mass.) win club. He began the season with that the stands were made steeper to game-winner. Harvard went on to win the 781 wins, the most of any coach at Parker create a more intimate atmosphere. It’s theParker same college. He has led the Ter- no surprise the rink has his name on it. Beanpot and Bullard’s room- riers to two national titles and dominance of “If my son was playing college hockey, I’d mate, goalie Brian Petrovek (Yar- Bullard the Beanpot. He has won more Beanpots than want him to play for Jack Parker,” Fairweather mouth, Maine), was named MVP. anyone with 23, coaching BU to 20 of its 28, and said. “The way he has always been there for The pair are still together, as Petrovek is CEO and a taking three as a player. Travis Roy, he’s not just a coach, he’s obviously managing owner of the Pirates. Parker also is showing no signs of slow- a father figure to a lot of these kids. The way Bullard is best known not for his work around ing down, as BU has held the top spot in his players feel about him, there’s something the rink, but for his work in building and buying the national rankings this year and has 13 special about him.” rinks, stadiums and professional sports teams. Bul- lard maintains one of the top sports law practices in the country, specializing in commercial financing, sports lending and mergers and acquisitions. Bobby Orr “It’s a shame that he doesn’t own the Bruins. He was instrumental in the development of the TD There’s nobody in town that’s more affiliated with Banknorth Garden, building a coalition of bankers Principal, Orr Hockey Group the team than him. I think it would be a dream come and businessmen to negotiate a $120 million line of Charlestown, Mass. 7 true for all fans in this area.” credit needed for its construction. He played a similar role in assembling financing for a new stadium for the First, he’s Bobby Orr, arguably the most influen- Kevin Paul Dupont Philadelphia Eagles and a ballpark for the Philadel- phia Phillies. He has done business in all four major tial person hockey has ever seen and certainly the Hockey writer/columnist, Boston Globe most influential New England hockey has ever seen. sports, NASCAR and the AHL, among others. Concord, Mass. Second, he has one of the top player agent busi- 8 nesses in hockey. Larue Renfroe “Bobby Orr remains a singular The Globe’s Dupont has been the writer of record for Owner, Providence Bruins and entity in Boston sports,” Megliola all things hockey for more than two decades. Nobody New England Sports Center said. ”Along with Larry Bird, can shape, or stir up, public puck opinion like Dupont. 10 maybe the only Boston athlete to In the spirit of full disclosure, Dupont is a regular Carlisle, Mass. avoid the ‘We’re going to build columnist for New England Hockey Journal and you up, tear you down, and build co-host of its Saturday morning You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to be involved you back up again’ cycle that has radio show. However, if he is in hockey, but Renfroe has proved it doesn’t hurt. In Orr plagued so many of our other good enough for the Hockey Hall his non-hockey life, he is president of Assurance Tech- sports stars. of Fame, which honored him in nology Corporation, which develops communication “Just as impressive, Bobby actually does business 2002, that certainly trumps any systems and power supplies for space satellites.