Jay Varady has visited Tucson only once on vacation. Except it wasn’t Varady’s final destination, but rather only to hop in a rental car to drive four hours east to Las Cruces, New Mexico, where his parents reside.
Now? Varady gets to call the Old Pueblo home as he was named the new head coach of the Tucson Roadrunners on Monday morning. Varady agreed to a multiyear contract, but terms of the contract were not disclosed, per club policy.
“It’s an honor to be named head coach of the Tucson Roadrunners,” Varady said. “I’m looking forward to developing the Coyotes prospects while building on the team foundation that was established in Tucson last season.”
Varady becomes the Roadrunners’ third head coach in three seasons after Mike Van Ryan left Tucson for a position on the St. Louis Blues’ staff in the NHL.
The Roadrunners won their first AHL playoff series as the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference for the first time in franchise history after finishing the regular season with a 42-20 record. And as Tucson heads into a year with high expectations, Varady gives the team a new step, but at the same pace.
“We want to build on the continuity that was developed last year in terms of development with young players and the culture of trying to win hockey games night in and night out,” he said.
For the Arizona Coyotes, hiring Varady was a no-brainer. Varady comes over after coaching the Kingston Frontenacs of the Ontario Hockey League, a major junior hockey league, which features 20 teams with players between 16 to 21 years old.
He led Kingston to a 36-23-6-3 record in his lone season.
“Jay is an excellent coach, teacher and a proven winner. We are confident that he is the right coach to continue forming the culture that we are creating with the team,” said Arizona Coyotes assistant general manager Steve Sullivan.
“He will be a great leader and will continue to develop our prospects in Tucson.”
The 40-year-old Varady replaces a 39-year-old Van Ryn so the Roadrunners look to keep the face of the franchise on the younger side. In a league such as the AHL, most of the prospects are recent draft picks and players just earning their wings as professional hockey players.
Last season, Roadrunners center Dylan Strome turned 21 years old, while goalie Adin Hill — who didn’t allow a goal in three games at home during the playoffs — turned 22 in May.
While a plethora of veterans return, the Roadrunners as a minor league hockey team are still young, and Varady’s “competitive, fast-styled game” — with years of experience in developing young players — bodes for a prosperous career in Tucson.
“It’s the evolution of coaching now. We’re dealing with different players now than we dealt with 15 years ago. I’ve experienced that firsthand,” Varady said.
“A part of my role is to be teaching, mentoring and trying to build tools for these players to not only be successful in Tucson, but for their entire career.”
Although Varady is young, his experience is another part of the package that could make him an intriguing choice for the Roadrunners.
Born and raised in St. Louis, Varady played with the Dubuque Fighting Saints as a teenager, which is a junior ice hockey team in the United States Hockey League. He also played at Union College from 1997-2000, before assistant coaching the Everett Silvertips throughout most of his 20s.
After that, his first official head coaching role came between 2011-13 with the Ducs d’Angers in France.
He then coached the Sioux City Musketeers of the United States Hockey League and led the franchise to a 136-88-0-1 record over four years, with three playoff appearances.
For Varady, hockey has never stopped.
Varady said family usually doesn’t play a factor when it comes to the business side of the sport, but he’s now in an ideal situation because his parents are now just an afternoon car ride away from watching their son lead an AHL team.
“My focus is on hockey, but it’ll be really nice to have family around.”
Varady wasn’t sure what his agenda for the Roadrunners will be right away considering his contract is fresh off the printer, but the primary goal is attitude and everyone having the same goal and mindset as Tucson looks to build on a historic 2017-18 season.
“I don’t like to talk about big chunks of things we’re trying to get accomplished. It’s really about coming to the rink everyday with the attitude and mindset of getting better,” Varady said.
“From a team perspective, I want to make sure that our fans that come to the rink are proud of the effort and the competitiveness of our team.”
