“Mazzoleni really delegates a lot of the work to his assistants,” McCann said. “He oversees everything, but he really expects a lot of input, too. He really trusts what we have to say.”

Mazzoleni has delegated even more responsibility to his assistants this year, hiring Bruce Irving as a volunteer assistant coach. Irving, a former Cornell goaltender, will coordinate strength and conditioning and serve as the goaltender coach. That task used to be handled by Mazzoleni, who played goalie at Michigan State.

“I wanted the goalies to have someone that could give them everything he had,” Mazzoleni said. “With Bruce we have someone our goalies are going to really take to and who will be in a position to help them on a daily basis.”

But nowhere is Mazzoleni’s trust in his assistants more evident than in recruiting. While Mazzoleni will always see a recruit personally before making a final decision, he leaves most of the legwork and scouting to Leaman and McCann.

“Coach [Mazzoleni] has four children, so it’s tough for him to get away from his house,” Leaman said. “Ninety-five percent of the recruiting is up to Sean and me. That’s a ton of responsibility.”

Often, assistants will take recruiting trips during the season. Leaman, for example, missed five games last year for recruiting reasons.

“There’s times that we’re gone for weeks at a time out recruiting,” Leaman said. “In those situations, the other assistant has to pick up a great deal of the workload. But you’ve got to take care of the recruiting end. Otherwise, the head coach doesn’t have any players.”

The results thus far vindicate Mazzoleni’s faith in his assistants. Two of the staff’s first three recruiting classes were ranked near the top five nationally, and early returns indicate that next year’s class could be just as strong.

McCann-Do Attitude

The success of the Harvard coaching staff has certainly not been surprising.

Last year’s staff was one of the most decorated in the country. Rolston won two national titles as an assistant at Lake Superior State, while Leaman served as a volunteer coach on Maine’s 1999 national championship team.

So when Rolston left for BC in May, many thought that Mazzoleni would look for another experienced assistant with a track record of success.

From that standpoint, Mazzoleni’s choice of McCann might be surprising.

Although armed with seven years of pro hockey experience, McCann has never coached before on any level. Before joining the Harvard staff, McCann worked in project management for Disney.

But don’t tell Mazzoleni that McCann’s lack of experience is an issue.