Paul C. Jerrard (April 20, 1965 – February 15, 2023) was a Canadian professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two o ...

defenceman Defence or defense (in American English) in ice hockey is a player position that is primarily responsible for preventing the opposing team from scoring. They are often referred to as defencemen, D, D-men or blueliners (the latter a reference t ...

who played five games in the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey sports league, league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranke ...

for the

Minnesota North Stars The Minnesota North Stars were a professional ice hockey team in the National Hockey League (NHL) for 26 seasons, from 1967 to 1993. The North Stars played their home games at the Met Center in Bloomington, Minnesota, and the team's colors fo ...

. Jerrard was an assistant coach for the

Omaha Mavericks The Omaha Mavericks are the sports teams of the University of Nebraska Omaha The University of Nebraska Omaha (Omaha or UNO) is a public research university in Omaha, Nebraska. Founded in 1908 by faculty from the Omaha Presbyterian Theologica ...

of the

National Collegiate Hockey Conference The National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) is an NCAA men's Division I hockey conference formed on July 9, 2011. The league began playing for the 2013–14 season, the same season that the Big Ten Conference began competition, as a combina ...

(NCHC). He was previously a coach for the Stars AHL affiliate, the

Texas Stars The Texas Stars are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL) based in Cedar Park, Texas, near Austin, with home games at the H-E-B Center. They are owned by the National Hockey League's (NHL) Dallas Stars and are the te ...

. He served as assistant coach for the Utica Comets of the American Hockey League, and then, an assistant coach for the

Calgary Flames The Calgary Flames are a professional ice hockey team based in Calgary. The Flames compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference, and are the third major professional ice hockey tea ...

Playing career

Jerrard was drafted in the 9th round of the 1983 NHL Draft by the

New York Rangers The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its ho ...

from

Athol Murray College of Notre Dame Athol Murray College of Notre Dame is a private, co-educational boarding high school located in Wilcox, Saskatchewan, Canada. It was founded by the Sisters of Charity of St. Louis in 1920 as St. Augustine school when they established Notre Dame ...

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a province in western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North ...

, a famous hockey school in Canada. After being drafted by the New York Rangers, he left Canada to play college hockey at

Lake Superior State University Lake Superior State University (colloquially Lake State, Lake Superior State, Soo Tech, and LSSU) is a public college in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. It is enrolls approximately 2,000 students. Due to its proximity to the Canadian border, and th ...

, where he played all four seasons for the Lakers. After graduating from LSSU, he joined the

Colorado Rangers The Colorado Rangers Law Enforcement Shared Reserve (known publicly as the Colorado Rangers) is a governmental police agency in the U.S. state of Colorado. Colorado Rangers are sworn, Colorado P.O.S.T. Certified police officers who serve as forc ...

of the IHL. He would be traded to the

in 1988, where he played five games for in the

1988–89 NHL season The 1988–89 NHL season was the 72nd season of the National Hockey League. The Calgary Flames won an all-Canadian Stanley Cup final against the Montreal Canadiens four games to two. This remains the last time two Canadian teams faced each other ...

. After this brief stint on the NHL, he would remain in the minors for the rest of his career, ending it with the

Hershey Bears The Hershey Bears are a professional ice hockey team based in Hershey, Pennsylvania, a town located 14 miles east of the state capital of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Harrisburg. The current Bears club has played in the American Hockey League since ...

in 1997.

Coaching career

Jerrard began his coaching career with the

Lowell Lock Monsters The Lowell Devils were a minor ice hockey team in the American Hockey League playing in Lowell, Massachusetts, at the Tsongas Center. As their name implied, they were the top minor league affiliate of the New Jersey Devils of the National Hockey ...

of the AHL in 1998. After coaching one season, he joined the staff of his alma mater, the

hockey team. He spent four seasons with the Lakers before joining the

Colorado Avalanche The Colorado Avalanche (colloquially known as the Avs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Denver. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division in the Western Conference (N ...

as an assistant coach. He left the next year for the

, where he stayed for 2 years before returning to the former

organization. Jerrard remained with the

Iowa Stars The Iowa Stars, later known as the Iowa Chops, were a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League. The club was based in Des Moines, Iowa at the Wells Fargo Arena. History The Stars were founded by Howard Baldwin, of Hockey Holdi ...

as an assistant coach before leaving in 2008. He rejoined the

Dallas Stars The Dallas Stars are a professional ice hockey team based in Dallas. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference, and were founde ...

organization in 2009 for the newly created

, where he coached under

Glen Gulutzan Glen Gulutzan (born August 12, 1971) is a Canadian ice hockey coach and former player. He is currently an assistant coach for the Edmonton Oilers. Playing career Gulutzan played junior hockey with the Moose Jaw Warriors, Brandon Wheat Kings ...

. When Gulutzan was promoted to become the coach of the Dallas Stars, he brought Jerrard with him. On May 14, 2013, Gulutzan and Jerrard were fired. On August 12, 2013, Jerrard was hired by the

Vancouver Canucks The Vancouver Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Vancouver. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division of the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference, and ...

to be assistant coach of their AHL affiliate, the

Utica Comets The Utica Comets are a professional ice hockey team based in Utica, New York, with home games at the Adirondack Bank Center. They are members of the North Division in the Eastern Conference of the American Hockey League (AHL) and affiliated wi ...

. On July 6, 2016, Jerrard was hired by the

as an assistant coach, who focused on developing Calgary's defence corps and improving their

penalty kill Short-handed is a term used in ice hockey and several related sports, including water polo, and refers to having fewer skaters (players) on the ice during play, as a result of a penalty. The player removed from play serves the penalty in the pe ...

. He was fired on April 17, 2018, along with assistant coach Dave Cameron and head coach Glen Gulutzan. Jerrard then took an assistant coach job with the

of the

(NCHC) on May 25, 2018.

Personal life and death

Jerrard was biracial, with a white Canadian father and Jamaican mother. He died from cancer on February 15, 2023, at a hospital in

Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County, Nebraska, Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. List of ...

, at the age of 57. Jerrard was survived by his wife and two daughters.

Career statistics

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Jerrard, Paul 1965 births 2023 deaths Albany Choppers players Athol Murray College of Notre Dame alumni Black Canadian ice hockey players Calgary Flames coaches Canadian ice hockey defencemen Canadian sportspeople of Jamaican descent Colorado Avalanche coaches Colorado Rangers players Dallas Stars coaches Denver Rangers players Fort Wayne Komets players Hershey Bears players Kalamazoo Wings (1974–2000) players Lake Superior State Lakers men's ice hockey players Milwaukee Admirals (IHL) players Minnesota North Stars players New York Rangers draft picks Ice hockey people from Winnipeg Canadian ice hockey coaches