Columbus Blue Jackets forward Miles Wood told his father, Randy, in January that the team had hired Rick Bowness as head coach after moving on from Dean Evason. Bowness has coached more games in the National Hockey League as either an assistant or head coach than anyone else in league history, with a career spanning four decades and stops in Winnipeg, Boston, Ottawa, New York Islanders, Phoenix, Vancouver, Tampa Bay, and Dallas.
Bowness’s long tenure means he has crossed paths with many people in hockey. For Wood and two other current Blue Jackets players—Cole Sillinger and Mason Marchment—the connection is personal: their fathers all played under Bowness during his earlier coaching stints. Randy Wood was coached by Bowness with the Islanders in 1996-97; Mike Sillinger played for him briefly with the Coyotes in 2004; Bryan Marchment made his NHL debut under Bowness in Winnipeg in 1989.
Wood said he was surprised to learn about the connection when speaking to his father. “It was wild,” Wood said. “I had no idea. I was like, ‘Yeah, we just hired Rick,’ and when I paused for a bit, he was like, ‘Rick Bowness?’ I said, ‘Yeah.’ And he’s like, ‘He coached me in New York.’ That’s just a testament to Rick and what he’s done over his career. He’s been around for a long time. He coached my dad, so it’s kind of a full circle moment for my dad, I guess.”
When asked about coaching two generations of players from the same families, Bowness responded with humor: “Old,” Bowness said. “Listen, when I first started coaching, I was younger than some of the players. Then I got to the age where I was old enough to be their father… Aww, crap, man, I’d old enough to be your grandfather.”
Mike Sillinger recalled positive experiences playing under Bowness and shared advice with his son Cole upon hearing about the new hire: “He just remembered how good of a heart he has… He’s just someone who knows how to get the most out of each and every player.” Mike added that Bowness is known for being fair and understanding each player’s strengths and weaknesses: “He just knew how to push the guy the right way… After talking with Cole here after a dozen (plus) games… he’s straightforward and he’s very honest and he wants to compete and work but his message is very clear.”
Since taking over as head coach this season, Bowness has led Columbus to a record of 15-2-4 as they approach playoff contention. Mike Sillinger said: “He loves the rink… He loves the interaction with the players. I think it’s just meant to be. He’s back in the league for a reason… The timing of everything has been great.”
