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Papa Bear Promotion
Scott Gordon finds himself as new leader of the P-Bruins.

By Dan Hickling
MinorLeagueNews.com

PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- If you think you want to be a hockey coach, you better be prepared for the unexpected.

Just ask Scott Gordon.

Gordon woke up on March 19, as he had each day for the better part of the last three years, as the assistant coach of the Providence Bruins.

But by the middle of the day, he found that he had moved up a notch, one of
many ripple effects felt when Boston Bruins coach Robbie Ftorek was axed.

Gordon was anointed as interim head coach of the P-Bruins to succeed Mike Sullivan, who was elevated to the post of assistant coach in Boston.

Surprised? So was everybody else.

"I found out about it after I woke up from my pre-game nap," said
Providence sniper Andy Hilbert, who may have thought he was dreaming.

Gordon said he found out about the changes shortly before the 2 p.m.
press conference held by the big club.

While there were many who thought that Gordon, a 40-year-old Easton,
Mass. native, would someday end up as the head man in Providence; even he admitted the timing, which came with 10 games left in the P-Bruins' season, was a shock.

"I think the only thing that wasn't a surprise was that what was being said
in the papers (about deposed Boston coach Robbie Ftorek)," said Gordon.

He comes to his new role well prepared.

He played goal for Boston College, finishing up there in 1986, before
embarking on an 11-year professional career, most of which was spent in the American Hockey League.

In a twist of irony, Gordon played for Ftorek in 1989-90, when Ftorek
coached the Halifax Citadels, and later when Ftorek was an assistant with the Quebec Nordiques.

Gordon spent parts of two seasons in the NHL with the Nords, before winding up his playing career with the Atlanta Knights of the now-defunct
International Hockey League.

After two years as an assistant coach in the IHL, Gordon moved on to take the reins of the Roanoke Express of the ECHL. He captured division titles
in both of his years there.

When Bill Armstrong was hired to coach the P-Bruins in 2000, Gordon
came aboard as his assistant.

Armstrong's contract was not renewed following the 2001-02 campaign, but Gordon was asked to stay on under Mike Sullivan, who took over this year.

The newly formed coaching tandem of Sullivan and Gordon found great success this year, rolling to an impressive 41-17-8-4 mark, right on the verge of clinching the North Division title.

Gordon said that the even with the step up in responsibility, life
will go on as before.

"There won't be any changes," he said, noting that he had served a
three-game stint as Providence bench boss a month ago, when Sullivan was absent to tend to a family situation. "By unfortunate circumstances, I got a little dry run a few weeks ago."

The team racked up two wins and a tie during Gordon's stewardship.
Gordon's promotion was given a hearty endorsement by the guys in the
dressing room.

"Gordo's been a big part of our success," said rookie center Kris
Vernarsky. "We love him. He's a great coach. We're going to play just as hard for him as we did for Sully. We're not going to change one thing."

Gordon said that as excited as he is about his new post, he is still left
with mixed feelings.

"It's actually disappointing because I enjoy working in the office with
Mike (Sullivan) being there," he said. "We have a pretty good time with the day-to-day tasks, so (him leaving) would be the disappointing part. I'll have to put a picture of him on the wall so I can talk to him."

Whether Gordon's tenure at the helm will last longer than this year hasn't
been discussed.

His one-year pact with the club will expire after the playoff run; a situation that he said didn't worry him.

"I've been year to year here for three years, so that doesn't bother me,"
Gordon said.

Should he guide the P-Bruins deep into the Calder Cup playoffs though, it may behoove Bruin management to get Gordon's name on a new, multi-year pact.

"You just do the job you do. If you do a good job, you get rewarded. If you don't, you're gone," Gordon explained.