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Canfield’s Russo EHL Coach of Year
By Tom Williams
Canfield High School graduate Rocky Russo says leaving the Mahoning Valley to join the coaching staff of the NAHL’s St. Louis Bandits six years ago was the best decision he could have made professionally.
Personally?
“It was the most difficult decision I ever made,” said Russo, now the head coach of the Philadelphia Little Flyers, a Tier Three junior team. “My whole family was in Youngstown, nobody had ever left.”
His career has been a whirlwind. Two years ago, Russo was an assistant coach for the Amarillo Bulls, winners of the NAHL’s Robertson Cup. The NAHL was the league the Mahoning Valley Phantoms played in before folding in 2009 when the USHL Youngstown Phantoms were created.
“It was a great decision,” said Russo, who recently was named one of the Eastern Hockey League’s Coach of the Year. “I’ve been involved with successful organizations and fortunate to be part of a national champion.”
Russo downplayed his award.
“It’s really a team award,” Russo said. “If you have good players, owners and staff, you get that recognition.
“We were fortunate enough to win the President’s Cup for the regular-season title,” Russo said. “We set records for wins and goals. We had the goaltender of the year and defenseman of the year.”
The EHL is a Tier Three junior league with teams in New England and the mid-Atlantic states. By comparison, the Youngstown Phantoms are a Tier One league that stretches from Ohio to North Dakota.
Like the Phantoms, the Little Flyers are high school students seeking college opportunities.
“We have two purposes for our players: get them an opportunity to go on to a NCAA program or a [higher-tiered] team like the Phantoms,” Russo said.
Russo’s Little Flyers went 37-3-2-2 to win the South Division. With 206 goals, the Little Flyers scored the most goals (206) and allowed the fewest (75).
Not bad for a coach who never had the opportunity to play varsity hockey in high school. Russo, a 2000 graduate, played for Canfield when the team was still a club team. After he graduated, the Cardinals became the Valley’s only varsity program.
“It’s great to see how the game of hockey has grown,” Russo said.
In college, Russo played four seasons with Kent State University’s club team that advanced to national tournaments. One of his teammates was Curtis Carr, the Youngstown Phantoms head coach from 2010-11. Carr also was Russo’s head coach during his final season at Kent State.
He graduated with a business management degree and the coaching bug bit. Russo started with Youngstown State’s club team, guiding the Penguins to the CHA championship in 2006. A year later, the Penguins did well enough to be ranked 16th in national polls.
At that time, Russo was reunited with Carr on Bob Mainhardt’s Mahoning Valley Phantoms’ staff.
Russo spent the 2009-10 season in St. Louis, then was an assistant coach with the Amarillo Bulls for three seasons.
Two years ago, the Bulls won the NAHL’s Robertson Cup. It was the eighth season Russo had been with a team that had made the NAHL playoffs.
“To finally be able to put my hands on the Robertson Cup was special,” Russo said.
Russo then was offered the head coaching position with the Little Flyers.
Russo said the EHL has a 44-game schedule. The longest road trip takes about seven hours, a breeze compared to the 18 hours the Bulls would travel from Texas to Blaine, Minn., for the NAHL Showcase.
The Little Flyers are based in Aston, Pa., about 20 minutes from downtown Philadelphia. Russo said what he’s most proud of during his second season is how his players’ grades improved.
“Academics is our No. 1 focus because they are student-athletes,” Russo said. “If not, we’re wasting time.”