A junior coach and former Briere teammate linked to Flyers' job originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

As the Flyers search for a new head coach, we’re looking at potential candidates to fill the vacancy.

“Communication and teaching are probably two things that will be at the forefront of our next coach,” general manager Danny Briere said April 19 at his end-of-the-season press conference. “When you have a young team in place, I really think those two attributes are extremely important.”

We’ve profiled Mike Sullivan (hired by the Rangers), Rick Tocchet, Pat Ferschweiler, Brad Shaw, Jay Woodcroft, Ian Laperriere and Jeff Halpern. Next up in our series is Jay McKee, the head coach of the OHL’s Brantford Bulldogs.

On the 32 Thoughts podcast a little over a week ago, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported that McKee “could be on Philly’s radar.”

Why McKee would be a fit

The 47-year-old is coming off a 44-19-5 season in Brantford. He captured the 2022 OHL title with the Bulldogs, leading a club that put up 107 points in the regular season (51-12-5) and won 16 of its 19 playoff games.

McKee has been a head coach in the OHL for parts of eight seasons and was an assistant for a 2014-15 Erie Otters team that featured Connor McDavid. His time working with prospects might have appeal to the Flyers, whose roster has consistently gotten younger.

Some quality former and current coaches took paths from the OHL to the NHL. Jacques Martin, Peter DeBoer, Sheldon Keefe and Kris Knoblauch all went through the OHL and eventually climbed to an NHL bench.

McKee has a connection to Briere. The two were teammates for parts of three seasons with the Sabres. Their prior relationship could make for a seamless GM-coach fit.

As the 14th overall pick in the 1995 NHL draft, McKee had a 14-year career between three teams. The former defenseman played 802 games in the NHL and had Shaw as an assistant coach for three seasons with the Blues.

McKee’s wisdom on the back end could potentially benefit the Flyers’ young blue-line picture.

Terry Wilson/OHL Images

Why McKee would not be a fit

Do the Flyers want more of a household name?

Considering McKee is such an under-the-radar candidate, he may not move the needle with the fan base. If a coach is the right coach, the Flyers won’t be super worried about outside perception, but it does matter to a degree.

The Flyers have gone five straight seasons without a playoff berth, matching the franchise’s longest drought. Their decision on the next head coach has a chance to reinvigorate the fan base a bit and set expectations for a critical 2025-26 season.

McKee’s inexperience coaching at the pro level would elicit some concern. He has never coached in the NHL and has one season as an AHL assistant, which was 13 years ago.

By Bill Hoppe, Features Writer

Jimmy Carson is on the phone chatting about his exploits as the greatest teenage goal-scorer in NHL history, and he’s doing a little research at the same time.

He can’t remember when he learned that the 92 goals he scored for the Los Angeles Kings – 37 as a rookie in 1986-87 and a whopping 55 in 1987-88, the highest total by a U.S.-born player at the time – are the most by a player under 20.

The affable, down-to-earth Carson, the No. 2 overall pick in 1986, is pretty sure he had no idea at the time. He thinks perhaps he heard about it in 2013 when TSN aired a feature on his career to mark the 25th anniversary of that little trade he was involved in that sent Wayne Gretzky to Los Angeles. “At some point, someone said, ‘You know, you have the most goals in the history of the NHL as a teenager,’ ” Carson said.

Carson never looked into it until now. “I’ve been led to believe that’s an accurate record,” he said. “Is ‘record’ the right word?”

Record. Achievement. Distinction. Whatever you want to call it, Carson owns it.

From Oct. 11, 1986, when he scored a power-play goal in his second NHL game, until March 30, 1988, when he tallied four times and broke Bobby Carpenter’s record for most goals in a season by an American player, he compiled 92 regular-season goals before he turned 20 on July 20, 1988.

Carson is so curious about his accomplishment – he wants to double-check he’s really first – he types “most goals in NHL history by a teenager” into an internet search engine. “Let’s see what comes up,” said Carson, now 56 and working as a personal financial representative in suburban Detroit.

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First, he finds another one of his records: most goals in a single season by a teenager, 55. After adjusting his search, he finds what he’s looking for. The legendary names behind Carson on the list of the top teenage scorers – Dale Hawerchuk, Gretzky, Sidney Crosby – illustrate how dynamically he performed. Hawerchuk (85) had the second-most goals, followed by Patrik Laine (80), Gretzky and Brian Bellows (76 each) and Crosby (75). No one else has hit 70.

So, how has Carson’s mark lasted for 37 years? For starters, most youngsters don’t play two full seasons as a teenager. Gretzky turned 20 about halfway through his second season with the Edmonton Oilers. Ditto for Connor McDavid, who broke his clavicle as a rookie en route to 16 goals in 45 games.

The high-scoring era Carson played in certainly buoyed him. In 1986-87 and ’87-88, the NHL averaged 7.3 and 7.4 goals per game. In 2023-24, games averaged 6.2 goals. In 2024-25, the average was 6.0 goals.

While some teenagers possess the talent and maturity to produce in a demanding league, it usually takes years. McDavid and Connor Bedard are often called generational talents. Bedard, who turns 20 on July 17, scored 45 goals over his first two seasons with two awful Chicago Blackhawks teams.

Several other factors (most notably talent) contributed to Carson’s unique place in history. He used his speed and lethal shot to make an immediate impact. “He had an explosive first few strides,” said Morris Lukowich, one of the linemates Carson played with as a rookie. “He had huge legs. That was one thing that was tremendous about him. When he got the puck, he’d be gone.”

JIMMY CARSON

But Carson, the NHL’s youngest player during his rookie season, also found himself in the right place at the right time in Los Angeles. The Kings immediately expressed their belief in him, putting him in situations to succeed and showcase his high-end skill set. Like the rest of the Smythe Division in the late 1980s, they played an up-tempo style. Carson was teammates with respected veterans – Marcel Dionne, one of his childhood heroes, Dave Taylor and others – who welcomed him. He also adapted to the NHL alongside Luc Robitaille, another special rookie.

If Carson’s hometown Detroit Red Wings, who owned the No. 1 pick in 1986, had drafted him, he wouldn’t have enjoyed the same early success. The Wings selected Joe Murphy, who, coincidentally, was traded for Carson in 1989. “In hindsight, it was a real blessing for me, I believe, that I was not picked by Detroit, because they had a whole different style of play, and the Norris Division was much more clutch-and-grab,” Carson said. “Who knows if I would’ve made the team or if I would’ve been sent to the minors or back to juniors? Would I have had as good of a start? You never know how those things develop.”

Carson, who scored 70 goals and 153 points for the QMJHL’s Verdun Junior Canadiens in 1985-86, learned early in his first training camp just how much the Kings valued him. “I had a pretty good training camp,” he said. “And then, we started some exhibition games, and I was told, ‘You’re making the team, and we expect you to be an impact player right away.’ ”

The news filled the durable Carson, who played all 160 games over his first two seasons, with confidence. If he had a poor shift or a weak game, he never felt like he would be demoted. While he admits he was raw, he produced from the get-go on a line between Lukowich and Taylor. “Wherever I played, I could put numbers on the board and score,” he said. “It just kind of started translating right away.”

As a rookie, Carson never went more than eight games without a goal. He enjoyed his hottest stretch in late March, scoring nine times in seven games to hit 37 goals. Meanwhile, Robitaille, a ninth-round pick from 1984 who was always exceeding expectations, scored 45 goals.

Having entered the league together, Carson and Robitaille are often linked. They developed a close friendship off the ice and displayed special chemistry on it when they became linemates in 1987-88. “We were both kind of finding our way around,” Carson said. “But Luc always exerted such enthusiasm and love of the game and a very strong offensive nose. We had a lot of fun off the ice. We had a lot of fun on the ice. And we were putting some good numbers up.”

Carson – whose 186 points as a teen rank fourth behind Crosby, Gretzky and Hawerchuk – remembers watching the 1987 Canada Cup with Robitaille during their second training camp in Victoria, B.C. When Gretzky and Lemieux combined to score their legendary tournament-clinching goal against the Soviet Union – Lemieux, a right-handed shot, moved the puck to Gretzky, a lefty, on the left wing before completing a 2-on-1 – Carson, a righty, and Robitaille, a lefty, looked at each other and said, “Wow!”

“We’re like, ‘We’re going to have to use that play this year,’ and I’ll never forget, we actually did a few times,” Carson said. “I think we called it ‘The Mario’ or something. I remember a few times, right in the middle of a game, we would see the play develop, and one of us would yell, ‘Mario!’ ”

Carson scored his 50th during a three-goal performance on March 26, 1988. He scored four times four days later, reaching 92 goals as a teenager. Robitaille, who turned 22 that season, scored 53 goals.

Then, four months after Carson scored five goals in five games in the 1988 playoffs, the Kings sent him to Edmonton in the massive deal that landed them Gretzky. But even before he was a major part of the biggest trade in sports, Carson had secured his place in hockey history. His early success might never be duplicated. “It’s very hard to compare eras,” Carson said. “Am I surprised? I’ve never really thought about it.”

This article appeared in our 2025 Top-100 NHLers issue. This issue focuses on the 100 best players currently in the NHL, with the Avalanche's Nathan MacKinnon sitting atop the list. We also include features on Alex Ovechkin finally beating Wayne Gretzky's goal-scoring record, and former CFL running back Andrew Harris' switch to semi-professional hockey. In addition, we provide a PWHL playoff preview as the regular season nears its end.

You can get it in print for free when you subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/Free today. All subscriptions include complete access to more than 76 years of articles at The Hockey News Archive.

The Buffalo Sabres announced a few days ago that they have fired Eric Staal. He will serve as the special assistant to the General Manager Kevyn Adams. 

The former Wild forward recorded 111 goals, 129 assists, and 240 points in 311 games with Minnesota. In his first season with the Wild, Staal led the team in goals with 28 and was second in points behind Mikael Granlund. 

In his second season, Staal became the first Wild player to score 40 or more in a single season since Marian Gaborik did in 2007-08. He was the second player in Wild history to have 40 or more goals at the time. Kirill Kaprizov has had three 40-goal seasons since Staal. The three are the only Wild players to record 40-goal seasons in franchise history.

He joined Gordie Howe as the only players in NHL history to have 40-goal seasons at least nine seasons apart with none in between.

His 76 point season in 2017-18 ranked as third-best in franchise history at the time. He has now been passed by Mats Zuccarello, Kevin Fiala, and Kaprizov (twice). 

Staal, 40, has been living in Minnesota since he retired from the NHL after the 2022-23 season. He recorded 455 goals, 608 assists, and 1,063 points in 1,365 games in 18 NHL seasons.

The Wild traded him to the Sabres in 2021 for Marcus Johansson. He played half the year with the Sabres after being traded to the Montreal Canadiens. The following year, Staal recorded one goal and three assists as Canada's captain in the 2022 Olympics. He finished the year with the Wild's American Hockey League affiliate in attempt to keep his career going. 

Staal then signed a PTO with the Florida Panthers before eventually signing a one-year contract. He recorded 14 goals, 15 assists, and 29 points in 72 games for the Panthers in his last NHL season. 

Make sure you bookmark The Hockey News' Minnesota Wild page for the latest news, exclusive interviews, breakdowns and so much more.

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The Vegas Golden Knights will be without two veteran players in Brayden McNabb and Brandon Saad, but will welcome back two youngsters by way of Pavel Dorofeyev and Kaedan Korczak.

McNabb and Saad are considered day-to-day after sustaining injuries in a 5-4 overtime loss in Game 2. McNabb's injury has come with a lot of controversy. No call was made on the infraction, and instead of the Golden Knights heading onto the power play, Leon Draisaitl ended the game 17 seconds later. 

Saad's injury is undisclosed at the moment, and he'll be replaced by Dorofeyev, who will make his series debut after suffering an injury against the Minnesota Wild in Game 5.

Replacing McNabb will be Korczak, who will return to the lineup after playing in Game 1. In Game 1, the 24-year-old played 13:04 of ice time, throwing one hit and blocking one shot. 

The Oilers will be making one lineup change as well. Calvin Pickard was announced as day-to-day and will be replaced in net by Stuart Skinner. Skinner has recorded an .810 SV% and a 6.11 GAA in two playoff games this season. 

The Golden Knights are in massive need of a win, looking to avoid going down 3-0 in the series. The Golden Knights lost both games at home, but recent memory provides evidence that the Golden Knights have what it takes to win back-to-back road games. Just last season, the Golden Knights beat the Dallas Stars in Games 1 and 2 on the road. 

Going down 3-0 all but wraps up the series, meaning today's game is virtually a must-win. 

Stay updated with the most interesting Golden Knights stories, analysis, breaking news and more! Tap the star to add us to your favourites on Google News to never miss a story.

Golden Knights' Nicolas Roy Will Have A Hearing For His Cross-Checking Penalty In Game 2Vegas Golden Knights forward will have a hearing with the Department of Player Safety for his cross-check on