BOSTON – A new era of Suffolk men's hockey is set to begin as Shawn McEachern, long-time NHLer and Stanley Cup Champion, has been named the program's new head coach, Director of Athletics Cary McConnell announced Wednesday morning.
McEachern becomes the squad's first-ever full-time head coach after the position was elevated earlier this summer and will lead the Rams into the 2022-23 season and beyond.
"I'm excited to announce Shawn as our first-ever full-time head coach of men's hockey," McConnell said. "With Shawn's experience, both as a high caliber player and coach, we firmly believe this marks a new era for our men's hockey program at Suffolk and we're excited to see what the future holds."
McConnell continued, "We are thankful to the senior leadership at the University who shares in our vision and value of the richness of experience that a full-time coach can provide to a student-athlete's education, on and off the playing service. This investment exemplifies the institutions value of the student-athlete experience."
"I'm looking forward to joining the Suffolk University community as the head men's hockey coach," McEachern said. "I have high expectations for our program and I'm excited about working with the players. Our team will compete at a high level, be disciplined and respectful, and make the University and alumni proud."
McEachern, a native of Massachusetts, who currently resides in Marblehead, spent a decade on the Rivers School bench, an independent grade 6-12 prep school in Weston, Massachusetts, as its head coach. From 2010-20, he led the Red Wings to six Eberhart Championships in the Independent School League, eight New England Tournament appearance and a pair of Elite 8 trips.
Before taking over at Rivers in 2010, McEachern served as an assistant coach at UMass Lowell (2008-10), Northeastern (2006-08) and Salem State (2004-06).
McEachern, a 1988 graduate of Matignon High School, starred for the program as a player, racking up more than 200 career points for the Warriors that won MIAA Division 2 State Championships each of his final two seasons.
After Matignon, McEachern took his talents to Boston University. From 1988-91, he skated as left wing for the Terriers where he led the team to back-to-back NCAA Frozen Fours with a championship contest appearance in 1991. His player portfolio while in a BU sweater includes a first-team All-American honor in 1991 and a finalist for the Hobey Baker Award, the most coveted award in college hockey given to the top NCAA Men's ice hockey player in the nation, that same season after putting up 82 points, the second-highest single-season total in BU men's hockey history at the time of his induction into the Boston University Athletic Hall of Fame in 2008.
A draft pick of the Pittsburgh Penguins as a Matignon junior in 1987, McEachern played 13 seasons in the NHL, including a pair of separate one-year stints with the Bruins and a 1992 Stanley Cup Championship run with the Pittsburg Penguins. He made stops at the Los Angeles Kings, Ottawa Senators and Atlanta Thrashers as well. Over 900-plus games in his professional career, he tallied 254 goals and 317 assists.
On top of his collegiate and professional playing days, McEachern skated for the red, white and blue at the 1992 Olympic Winter Games in Albertville, France. He was also a member of the 1996 U.S. World Cup Championship Team.