WORCESTER—One thing is certain about building a team in the ECHL.
It is really hard to do on the fly, sort of like changing a flat tire while the car is doing 60. The Railers are giving it a try, anyway, as they try to survive one of the most discouraging stretches of hockey in franchise history.
They relieved head coach Bob Deraney of his duties after Friday night’s 5-3 to Trois-Rivieres and replaced him with assistant coach and general manager Nick Tuzzolino. Deraney will remain in the organization as head of scouting.
Tuzzolino becomes general manager-coach. This is a back to the future move for Worcester, which had always had a GM-coach running things until this season.
Deraney’s tenure lasted for 25 games. The Railers were 9-14-2 in those games but were slumping. Worcester was 1-5-1 in its last seven games and was outscored, 32-19. Even worse, the Railers were an unsuccessful team on home ice. They were 3-8-1 and had been outscored, 46-30.
This is the second time the team has changed coaches during the season.
They fired original coach Jamie Russell in late November, 2019 after a 4-10-1 start that culminated in a stretch where they went 1-9-1 with only victory coming via a shootout.
Russell was replaced by David Cunniff. He coached through the end of the 2021-22 season then Jordan Smotherman took over for the next two years.
Tuzzolino will be Worcester’s fifth coach in their seven seasons in the ECHL.
“There is no bitterness,” Deraney said in a phone interview. “I was hired to do a job and didn’t do it to my satisfaction, or the organization’s. This is a result-oriented business, and we’re a third of the way into the season and things haven’t gone the way we had planned or had hoped.
“I don’t blame management for making the decision. I respect it.”
Deraney plans to take a couple of weeks off to let things settle down and allow Tuzzolino to get things organized in his new role, but plans to be around after that happens.”
“Bob has been a part of the Railers family for a number of years,” Railers chief operating officer Mike Myers said. “We can’t thank him enough for his dedication and commitment to this organization over the past several seasons. We look forward to him continuing to work with the team in this new role.”
Tuzzolino was hired in June after serving as assistant coach and director of player development with the Savannah Ghost Pirates. As a defenseman, he played more than 500 professional games including stints in the UHL, IHL, ECHL and American Hockey League from 2007-2023.
“In his time here, Nick has demonstrated his readiness to lead the team both on and off the ice,” Myers said. “He has a wealth of experience in dissecting professional systems and working in pro player development. We’re excited for him to take the reins and continue his work on bringing a winning culture to Worcester.”
The Railers did not name an assistant coach and do not plan to have a permanent one. When Russell was fired, assistant coach Derek Army was let go as well. Cunniff did not have an official assistant but Deraney came in to serve as a volunteer in that capacity.
He was Jordan Smotherman’s full-time assistant last season, then was hired as head coach when Smotherman departed for Austria.
To date, the Railers have been held back by their inability to score. Friday night’s game was a perfect example. They battled back from a 4-1 deficit against one of the league’s best teams and had several golden chances to tie it up, but could not convert.
One of those stats that does not show up in a box score is that Worcester scored one goal for every six great chances. Opponents scored one goal for every two great chances.
The Railers played better hockey under Cunniff after he took over from Russell but that season was shortened by Covid so there were no playoffs. His winning percentage that year was .402 compared to Russell’s .300.
Tuzzolino becomes the 10th head coach in Worcester hockey history starting with Jim Roberts of the IceCats inn 1994-95. He was succeeded by Greg Gilbert, then Don Granato was hired.
Granato was also part of a mid-season coaching change. He had to step down in in 2004-05 after diagnosed with lymphoma. His assistant, Steve Pleau, finished the year then went to Peoria when the team moved in 2005-06.
Roy Sommer coached the Sharks for their entire nine seasons in the city then the Railers arrived.
Since the Railers arrived, though, the results have rarely been there so another coach has come and gone.
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
