Whatever happened to... Former Admirals coach John Brophy?

John Brophy

The Virginian-Pilot

Even a near-fatal collision couldn't keep former Hampton Roads Admirals coach John Brophy off a hockey rink.

The car crash in 2000, in his native Nova Scotia, cost the coaching legend his sight in one eye and left him with lingering leg, back and hip problems.

Something sharp pierced his chest and just missed his heart when his rental car ran off the road that morning. Doctors removed a tooth from his esophagus.

They were mere annoyances to a man whose tolerance for pain set benchmarks even in the brutal world of minor league hockey.

This fall, Brophy, 73, is on the ice again, coaching the new Richmond Renegades in the Southern Professional Hockey League, a level for young players three rungs below the National Hockey League.

"It's good to be back," he said from Florida, where his team was beginning a road trip Thursday.

The team's owner, Allan B. Harvie Jr., is a friend who asked Brophy to take charge.

Now the coach is traveling cross-country to minor league venues and enjoying every minute of it.

"The buses are better now," he said, noting that they have sleeping compartments. Mostly, the young players respect their coach, but things have changed.

"You can't talk to some of them the way you did before," he said.

Brophy has logged more than 50 years in hockey, mostly in the minors. He did a 2-1/2- year stint at the helm of the NHL's Toronto Maple Leafs in the 1980s.

He was reportedly the model for Paul Newman's character in the cult movie "Slap Shot," a film about the brawling, defunct Eastern Hockey League. Brophy, a legendary Long Island Duck, logged more penalty minutes in that league than any other player.

He played the game hard. He coaches with the same passion.

"I've never come to the rink or the game and wished it was over before it started," he said.

The East Coast Hockey League, where he holds the coaching records for regular- season and post season games and wins, annually presents the John Brophy Award to the coach deemed most responsible for his team's success.

Brophy led the then- Hampton Roads Admirals to the post season in each of his 11 seasons here. He won back-to-back titles in 1991 and 1992 and an ECHL record third title in 1998.

According to the ECHL, Brophy started this season second in professional hockey with 1,027 wins, behind only Scotty Bowman's 1,244.

"I've probably coached more games than anybody in the world," is all Brophy will admit.

His Renegades had a 4-2 record before the road trip, "a good start," Brophy said.

The team's crowds are still small, but Brophy figures wins will change that.

He keeps track of Norfolk's American Hockey League Admirals and drops down to catch a game now and then.

Brophy said he'll be behind the bench and riding the bus "as long as the equipment holds up."