BUFFALO – You can hear it in Chadd Cassidy’s voice over the phone. He’s smiling when he calls Cortland State – a Division III school 35 miles south of Syracuse – the cradle of hockey coaches.
It’s no joke. Providence College’s Nate Leaman, Tampa Bay Lightning assistant coach Derek “Newsy″ Lalonde and Cassidy, a veteran AHL and amateur coach, were teammates at Cortland State in the 1990s.
The three remain close, reaching out to each other to talk about the challenges they run up against, on ice and off. Passion for the game is what drives them.