Merrimack announced Wednesday the hiring of former Massachusetts assistant coach Bill Gilligan as the Warriors’ new associate head coach.
“I am thrilled to be working with Bill again,” Merrimack head coach Mark Dennehy said in a news release. “He is a tireless worker and an excellent evaluator of talent. He is the perfect compliment to our staff. I am confident Coaches Carr and Carratu, as well as the players, will learn from this great teacher of the game.”
“I am excited about joining the Merrimack hockey program and the opportunity to work with the other members of the coaching staff and the team,” Gilligan added. “I am well aware of the high level of competition in our league, as well as the quality of work needed for our program to be successful. I am looking forward to this challenge.”
Since leaving UMass in 2004, Gilligan has spent time as a head coach internationally in Switzerland and Austria, including one stint as the head coach of the Austrian National Team where he also headed up the entire Austrian hockey operation in addition to his coaching duties. Gilligan also has extensive experience as a talent evaluator, serving as general manager overseas and as a scout for the Los Angeles Kings.
An All-American at Brown, Gilligan is still the school’s all-time leading scorer and assists leader.
He also served as the head coach of the Swiss Junior National Team and led it to a third-place finish in the 1998 World Junior Championship.
