WORCESTER—The Worcester Railers have named Bob Deraney as the fourth head coach in franchise history.
Deraney served as assistant coach under Jordan Smotherman last year. He was also David Cunniff’s assistant when he took over from Jamie Russell midway through the 2019-20 season.
Deraney has also been a head coach at Worcester State and at Providence College where he ran the women’s hockey program.
“This a dream come true,” Deraney said. “It is something I have absolutely dreamed about. You want to be great at whatever you do. You want to move higher, and even at 59, you have to dream.
“There are only three pro head coaching jobs in Massachusetts, the Bruins in the NHL, Springfield in the AHL and the Railers. To be one of those three is a privilege.”
A Shrewsbury resident, Deraney is 59 and will be the oldest coach in Worcester hockey history, although not by much. Roy Sommer was 58 when he coached the Sharks’ final season in 2014-15. Jimmy Roberts was 56 when his tenure with the IceCats ended in 1995-96. Deraney is the first former goaltender to coach a Worcester pro team.
Along with Deraney, the Railers have hired Nick Tuzzolino as the team’s general manager and Deraney’s associate coach. Tuzzolino, 38, spent last season as an assistant coach working in player development with the ECHL Savannah Ghost Pirates. He is a native of Buffalo with a long, long playing career that included stints with 14 different teams in four different leagues.
Bill Ballou covered the Red Sox for the Worcester Telegram from 1997 through 2018. He has covered pro hockey in Worcester since 1994 and currently does a weekly column for the Worcester Red Sox. Ballou can be reached at vetgoalie@aol.com
