Kevin Sneddon

Kevin Sneddon
Current position
TitleHead coach
Biographical details
Born (1970-04-24) April 24, 1970 (age 54)
Burlington, Ontario, Canada
Playing career
1988–1992Harvard
Position(s)Defenseman
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1993–1998Union (assistant)
1998–2003Union
2003–2020Vermont
Head coaching record
Overall301–400–102 (.438)
Tournaments3-3
Accomplishments and honors
Awards
2008 Bob Kullen Coach of the Year

Kevin Sneddon (born April 24, 1970) is a Canadian American ice hockey coach. He is the former head coach of Vermont, a position he held from 2003 to 2020. He previously served as the head men's ice hockey coach at Union.[1]

Playing career

The son of former professional hockey player Bob Sneddon, who played for the California Golden Seals, Kevin Sneddon was raised in Burlington, Ontario, and attended Harvard where he was a four-year letterwinner under coaches Bill Cleary and Ronn Tomassoni.[2] He was a freshman defenseman on the Crimson's 1989 national championship team, appearing in 32 games and registering six points.[3][4] After the 1989 season, Sneddon was selected in the 12th round of the 1989 NHL Draft by the Los Angeles Kings. He continued his playing career at Harvard, captaining the team his senior season, amassing 23 points in his career.

Coaching career

Union

After injuries sidelined a playing career, Sneddon began his coaching career, joining Union Bruce Delventhal's staff as an assistant in 1993. He also served as an assistant coach under Stan Moore for two seasons before assuming the role of head coach in 1998.[5] As head coach at Union, Sneddon put together an overall record of 50-99-18, increasing the Skating Dutchmen's win record each season, capping it off at 14 wins in during the 2002-2003 season.

Vermont

On June 25, 2003 Sneddon was named the fourth head men's hockey coach in Vermont history, replacing the retiring Mike Gilligan.[6] After a nine-win season in his first year at the helm of the Catamounts, Sneddon guided Vermont to the 2005 ECAC Hockey Tournament third-place game, losing to Colgate 2-1. The following season, Vermont became a member of Hockey East, and by 2008, the Catamounts third season in the league, UVM finished third in the conference and reached the 2008 Hockey East Tournament Championship, falling to Boston College Eagles men's ice hockey 4-0. A year later, with Hobey Baker Award finalist Viktor Stålberg, Sneddon led Vermont to a 22-12-5 record as the Catamounts made its fourth NCAA Tournament appearance, defeating Yale and Air Force in the East regional to reach the Frozen Four for the second time in school history, and first since 1996. The Catamounts were defeated by eventual national champion Boston University 5-4 in the national semifinal game.[7]

Sneddon has since guided the Catamounts to NCAA Tournament appearances in 2010 and 2014, and also reached the Hockey East Championship semifinals in 2015. On February 5, 2020, Sneddon announced that he would retire and step down from his coaching position at Vermont after the conclusion of the 2019-20 season.[8][9]

Head coaching record

Statistics overview
Season Team Overall Conference Standing Postseason
Union Skating Dutchmen (ECAC Hockey) (1998–2002)
1998–99 Union 3–26–3 1–19–2 12th
1999–00 Union 8–24–1 6–14–1 10th ECAC quarterfinals
2000–01 Union 12–18–4 8–12–2 9th ECAC quarterfinals
2001–02 Union 13–13–6 8–11–3 11th
Union Dutchmen (ECAC Hockey) (2002–2003)
2002–03 Union 14–18–4 10–10–2 6th ECAC quarterfinals
Union: 50–99–18 (.353) 33–66–10 (.349)
Vermont Catamounts (ECAC Hockey) (2003–2005)
2003–04 Vermont 9–22–4 7–14–1 11th ECAC quarterfinals
2004–05 Vermont 21–14–4 13–6–3 4th ECAC semifinals
Vermont: 30–36–8 20–20–4
Vermont Catamounts (Hockey East) (2005–2020)
2005–06 Vermont 18–14–6 10–11–6 6th Hockey East Quarterfinals
2006–07 Vermont 18–16–5 12–10–5 T-5th Hockey East Quarterfinals
2007–08 Vermont 17–15–7 13–9–5 3rd Hockey East Finals
2008–09 Vermont 22–12–5 15–8–4 T-3rd NCAA Frozen Four
2009–10 Vermont 17–15–7 9–11–7 8th NCAA West Regional semifinals
2010–11 Vermont 8–20–8 6–14–7 7th Hockey East Quarterfinals
2011–12 Vermont 6–27–1 3–23–1 10th
2012–13 Vermont 11–19–6 8–13–6 7th Hockey East Quarterfinals
2013–14 Vermont 20–15–2 10–10–0 7th NCAA East Regional semifinals
2014–15 Vermont 22–15–4 10–9–3 7th Hockey East Semifinals
2015–16 Vermont 15–22–3 6–13–3 9th Hockey East Quarterfinals
2016–17 Vermont 20–13–5 10–8–4 6th Hockey East Quarterfinals
2017–18 Vermont 10–20–7 6–12–6 9th Hockey East Opening Round
2018–19 Vermont 12–19–3 5–16–3 10th
2019–20 Vermont 5–23–6 2–18–4 11th
Vermont: 221–265–76 125–186–64
Total: 301–400–102 (.438)

      National champion         Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

References

  1. ^ "UVM Athletics". uvmathletics.com.
  2. ^ "Bob Sneddon". Elite Prospects.
  3. ^ "1989-'90 Harvard Hockey Roster - News - The Harvard Crimson". www.thecrimson.com.
  4. ^ "1989 NCAA Champion".
  5. ^ "Union Assistant Sneddon Succeeds Moore As Head Coach". August 14, 1998.
  6. ^ "Sneddon Named at Vermont". June 25, 2003.
  7. ^ Fendrich, Howard (10 April 2009). "Boston U. Tops Vermont to Advance to Frozen Four Championship" – via www.washingtonpost.com.
  8. ^ "Kevin Sneddon to Retire from College Hockey Coaching and Step Down as Vermont's Coach at End of Season". University of Vermont Athletics.
  9. ^ Danforth, Austin. "UVM men's hockey coach Kevin Sneddon to retire at end of season". Burlington Free Press.