Drew Commesso (CAS’24) doesn’t plan to change his game for the Olympic stage. “I really just try and keep a simple mindset,” he says. Photo by Patrick Donnelly

International Sports

BU Men’s Hockey Players, Coaches, Past and Present, Off to Olympics

Drew Commesso, David Quinn, David Warsofsky, and Scott Young will represent Team USA, while Brandon Yip suits up for China

Five Terriers will be on duty when Team USA goes up against host nation China in the first game of the 2022 Olympic men’s ice hockey tournament on February 10 in Beijing.

China captain Brandon Yip (CAS’09) will face off against former teammate David Warsofsky (CGS’11) and current Terrier goaltender Drew Commesso (CAS’24), who will be coached on the USA bench by former BU players and coaches David Quinn (CAS’89) and Scott Young (CAS’87).

“It’s really going to be exciting to see those guys around the village, and then compete against them in our first game,” Yip says. “It’s pretty cool how it can come full circle.”

Yip skated with Warsofsky on the 2008-09 Terrier squad that won the program’s most recent national championship. Quinn was an assistant coach on that team. “That was the best time of my life,” Yip says. “It really was the glory days.”

After graduating, he spent six years playing in the NHL and AHL before moving overseas to China, where he currently captains HC Kunlun Red Star of the Kontinental Hockey League.

When offered the captaincy for Team China at the Olympics, Yip jumped at the opportunity. “We’re here to grow the sport in China,” he says. “There’s not a better place than the platform of the Olympics to show everyone how great this sport is. Hopefully this is just the beginning.”

While Yip and his teammates have been preparing for the Olympics for half a decade, other Olympians, like Commesso, didn’t get an invitation until a month ago, when the National Hockey League decided to remove players from Olympic competition because of the pandemic. “When NHL players decided they weren’t going to come, we had to pivot quickly to form our Olympic roster,” Quinn says.

Meanwhile, Commesso and the rest of his USA Under-20 teammates were reeling from the cancellation of the World Junior Championship on December 29 after playing just one game. On the way home, Commesso says, he realized that going to the Olympics might be a possibility. “We were kind of keeping our fingers crossed that we’d be able to play with each other again,” he says. “I’m thankful for USA Hockey for allowing me to have another opportunity to represent the country.”

Commesso’s invitation came while he was in his BU dorm on January 6. “I got the call and I was very excited,” he says. “I called my mom and I think she almost started crying.”

Though it was difficult to leave his teammates at BU in the middle of the season, Commesso says, going to the Olympics is an experience he couldn’t pass up. “You never really know the last time that you’re going to be able to put on the USA jersey,” he says. “Everyone in the hockey world told me that this only comes around once, and I completely agree with them.”

With a mix of college players like Commesso and veteran professionals like Warsofsky, Quinn and his staff will be tasked with blending them together with little on-ice practice time. Thankfully, Quinn says, there are connections across the team already. “A lot of these guys know each other, and a lot of these guys have played with each other,” he says. We’ve got an awful lot of confidence in the staff, that we’ll be able to become a team in a hurry.”

Like the playing roster, Quinn assembled his coaching staff in short order after the NHL news. Instead of NHL coaches and former Terriers Mike Sullivan (Questrom’90) and John Hynes (Wheelock’97) patrolling the bench, as was announced over the summer, Quinn will lead Team USA alongside a staff that includes his former Terrier teammate, current BU assistant coach, and friend Scott Young, a member of the US Hockey Hall of Fame Class of 2017.

“Scott and I go back a long way,” Quinn says. “He’s got an incredible amount of experience in international play and coaching. We’re just lucky to have him on the staff.”

Quinn tallied 48 points in 94 games over three seasons at Boston University, from 1984 to 1987, and he became the 11th head coach in team history in 2013 when Jack Parker (Questrom’68, Hon.’97) retired after 40 years as head coach. Young joined Quinn’s staff a year later, returning to the school where from 1985 to 1987 he put up 65 points in 71 games.

Reuniting with a friend to lead Terriers and other American hockey stars at the highest level of international action, Quinn is cherishing the occasion. “I’ve been very fortunate in a lot of ways in my coaching career, and never more fortunate than I am today,” he says.

“We’re very excited about going over and competing for a gold medal.”

Team USA will meet Team China in Beijing on Thursday, February 10, at 8:10 am Eastern time. After a preliminary round and qualification playoff, the quarterfinals will begin on February 16, followed by the semifinals on February 18, and the gold medal game on February 20. All games the United States plays in will be televised on USA Network or CNBC.