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Former New Jersey Devil Randy Velischek Hired As Metro Riveters Head Coach

By David Lebovitz

TORONTO, ON - OCTOBER 23: Randy Velischek #27 of the New Jersey Devils skates against the Toronto Maple Leafs on October 23, 1989 at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. New Jersey defeated Toronto 5-4. (Photo by Graig Abel/Getty Images)
TORONTO, ON - OCTOBER 23: Randy Velischek #27 of the New Jersey Devils skates against the Toronto Maple Leafs on October 23, 1989 at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. New Jersey defeated Toronto 5-4. (Photo by Graig Abel/Getty Images) /
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The Metropolitan Riveters have hired former New Jersey Devils defenseman Randy Velischek as head coach. This hiring caps off a summer of searching and waiting for a new head coach, and comes in right before the start of the NWHL regular season.

He succeeds Chad Wiseman, the successful if not polarizing Riveters head coach and general manager.

“I’m honored to coach these outstanding, dedicated, inspiring hockey players,” said Velischek in a press release. “I’m well aware of the program Chad started, and the successful and positive culture he created. It’s my responsibility to continue the Riveters’ tradition, and help every one of these gifted athletes maximize their potential. I’m very proud to be a part of it.”

Velischek played for the Devils organization between 1985 and 1990. He was a part of the 1987-88 Devils team, which somewhat famously made the Conference Finals in a Cinderella run, and much more famously were part of the Have Another Donut incident.

He was also the Devils’ radio color commentator from 1995 until 2006. He left the Devils as part of the Peter Stastny trade with Quebec. Altogether, he has a decade’s worth of pro hockey playing experience.

He also played under former Devils GM Lou Lamoriello during his college years at Providence, during which Velischek was nominated for the Hobey Baker Award.

(Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
(Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /

He comes in with plenty of experience coaching, albeit entirely with boys’ and mens’ teams. He was coach of the Morristown-Beard High School hockey team from 2009 to 2018, which co-won a championship in 2014. NJ.com listed the 2018 team as the the 16th best in the state. He’s also a coach at Twin Oaks Ice Rink in Morristown.

Also hired was Kate Whitman Annis as Assistant Coach. She is the current head coach of The Pingry School’s girls’ hockey team. She also has experience coaching at the Essex Hunt Club and the Bridgewater Sports Arena. (Worth noting: Velischek was also an employee of Pingry for a time.)

There’s also a couple elephants in the room worth addressing – the Rivs hiring another male coach, and not promoting popular assistant coach Lorna Cook to the head coach role.

For the former, having no information about the hiring process puts us at a disadvantage. We don’t know who else was asked or considered for the role. Reports that he may have been fired from his last coaching job raise a few eyebrows, as does his lack of experience coaching the women’s game.  While Annis sounds like a good candidate herself, her current gig at Pingry is probably more important to her.

Annis – the daughter of former New Jersey Governor Christie Todd Whitman – might also be keeping her options open. She ran for Congress in the past, entertained a run this year, and hasn’t ruled out a run in the future.

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Even so, the Riveters clearly hired who they thought was the best choice in Velischek. Still, it’s hard not to notice that none of the the Founding Four NWHL teams are coached by women. The optics of that are bad.

For the latter, it’s a bit too early to tell. As mentioned earlier, we don’t know what the selection process was, so we don’t know if she were offered the role or even interested. It’s certainly possible that her current gig as head coach of the Princeton Day School’s girls’ hockey program takes up more of her time. Her liking the Devils’ tweet announcing his hiring implies that she’s okay with it. If more comes to light, we’ll keep you posted.

The Metropolitan Riveters are the reigning, defending, undisputed Isobel Cup Champions. They open their season on the road against the Minnesota Whitecaps on October 6th. They will also host the Minnesota Whitecaps at their home opener this year at the Prudential Center on October 20th.

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