Jay Back In Assistant's Role After Two-Year Hiatus

He’s back. After a two-season absence, Bobby Jay has renewed his assistant coaching position with the Harvard men’s hockey team. Jay’s return not only brings a familiar face back to Bright, but his homecoming may also restore the Crimson to its glory days.

“We are very exited to have Bobby Jay back,” incoming captain Alex Biega wrote in an email. “He is an unbelievable teacher who has experience both in the collegiate and pro game...He knows what it takes to win and knows how to develop players to their full potential.”

Jay first assisted under head coach Ted Donato ’91 from 2004-2007. During this time, Jay worked closely with the Crimson’s special teams unit. Under his leadership, Harvard’s power play was among the nation’s best, with the 2005-06 and 2006-07 squads killing penalties at 85.2 percent and 80.8 percent, respectively.

“Bobby Jay has a large influence on special teams because he reminds players of the dedication and commitment to special teams that is needed for a team to have success,” former co-captain Jimmy Fraser ’09 wrote in an email. “His knowledge of the game was his main contributor to the penalty kill.”

“When he pulls you aside to tell you something, you listen carefully and do it,” Biega added. “He simplified my game dramatically, and I felt like I improved in every area in my game because of him.”

His expertise, which stems from 10 years playing professional hockey, an assistant coaching position with the Manchester Monarchs, and work as a general manager for the American Hockey League franchise in San Antonio, Texas, also helped the Crimson reach two ECAC championship games, culminating with the league title and a berth in the NCAAs in 2006.

Since Jay’s departure, Harvard has struggled to meet the same level of success. The past two seasons have featured two of the longest winless streaks in Crimson history, and although Harvard has typically been able to bounce back in the spring, its hopes of securing an ECAC title and a pass to the NCAAs have not been achieved since the 2006 championship victory.

The Crimson expects Jay’s experience and personable coaching style to provide a much-needed lift to the incoming squad.

“I think Bobby Jay will bring the feeling of success and confidence back to Harvard hockey,” Fraser wrote. “The past few years, Harvard hockey has gone through a few situations where the player's confidence and morale was down as a result of certain losing streaks. Although the previous years have demonstrated the strong level of resiliency that Harvard hockey endorses, Jay will undoubtedly help with the attitude of confidence in the locker-room.”

Jay replaces former assistant coach Sean McCann ’94, who has recently accepted a head coaching position at St. Sebastian’s School in Needham, Mass.

Staff writer Courtney D. Skinner can be reached at cskinner@fas.harvard.edu.