The Ties that Bind

Perhaps even more important than coordinating special teams, McCann and Reilly have worked to establish strong relationships with the Harvard players, something their popular predecessors did in spades.

“We miss them, certainly,” said assistant captain Tyler Kolarik of Leaman and Rolston. “It has been an adjustment for us, and it’s been an adjustment for Coach Reilly and Coach McCann.

“We have to keep working on our relationships with them. They’re great guys and great coaches. We’re blessed to have them.”

Reilly and Leaman worked together at the University of Maine before Leaman came to Harvard before the 1999-2000 season.

“Coach Leaman learned a lot from Coach Reilly, so there are a lot of similarities between the two, and that’s made the adjustment a little easier,” captain Kenny Smith said. “Coach Reilly brings a lot of things to the team that we haven’t seen before, so the team takes a new shape, too.”

Aside from hockey duties, one of an assistant coach’s biggest roles is to act as a buffer between the head coach and players on the variety of off-ice issues that arise during the long season.

That involves trust, which comes with familiarity—something McCann developed in his first year and into this season.

“We’re at the point now where we can talk to Coach McCann,” Smith said. “He played here, too, so he knows what we’re feeling and thinking.”

Reilly has had an especially short amount of time to get to know the players, since he was named an assistant late in the summer and has been on the road recruiting for long stretches of the season. With the spots of nine graduating seniors to fill, Reilly has missed several Harvard games while pounding the pavement across the U.S. and Canada.

“With Coach Reilly, it’s a feeling-out process, but the guys are starting to feel more comfortable with him, too,” Smith said. “In his interactions with us in the locker room and on the ice, we’re starting to build a good relationship.”

Harvard hurting

The first half of Harvard’s season was plagued with injuries—and the second half is starting much the same way.

The most recent subject for trainer Dick Emerson has been junior forward Andrew Lederman, who injured his shoulder Christmas night. He should return after exams.

Meanwhile, defensemen David McCulloch (high ankle sprain) and Dylan Reese (pinched nerve) did not travel with the team to the weekend’s games and are out indefinitely. Senior wing Kenny Turano is due to get the cast off his broken foot later in the month and will begin rehabilitation after that.