As Union’s 15th head coach and fourth leader behind the bench since the program moved to the Division I level prior to the 1991-92 season, Leaman not only set a program record for wins last season, but led the Dutchmen to their first appearance in the ECAC Hockey Championship Game. Union’s run included the longest game in the history of college hockey in Game One of the ECAC Hockey Quarterfinals, a contest that saw Union on the wrong end of the scoreboard. Needing two wins in the next two nights, the Dutchmen showed the resolve of a great team, defeating Quinnipiac on consecutive nights to advance to the next round.
He led the Dutchmen to a winning home record for the fifth consecutive season and also secured home ice in the playoffs for the seventh time in eight seasons. Leaman’s ’09-10 squad produced 134 goals, which is the highest total in program history. Under Leaman’s direction, Mario Valery-Trabucco broke the school’s single season record with 45 points and was selected Second Team All-ECAC Hockey. Mike Schreiber, who will play professionally in 2010-11, was named First Team All-ECAC Hockey.
Union had just as much success off the ice as Stephane Boileau was named the 2010 ESPN The Magazine/CoSIDA Academic All-America At-Large Second Team. Sixteen student-athletes were named to the conference’s all-academic team, bringing the total of all academic selections to 63 during his tenure.
Leaman, who had his contract extended prior to 2008-09 season, served as an assistant coach for the 2009 U.S. National Junior Team at the International Ice Hockey Federation World Junior Championship in Ottawa, Ontario. The stint was the second for Leaman, who was an assistant coach on the 2007 bronze-medal winning American team.
He has been active in USA Hockey. Prior to his assistant coach appearances at the World Junior Championships, Leaman served as an assistant coach on the U.S. National Under-18 team that captured gold at the 2005 IIHF World U-18 Championship in Plzen, Czech Republic. He coached teams at USA Hockey’s Select 14 Player Development Camp in 2001 and 2002, and served as head coach for Team Massachusetts at USA Hockey’s 2003 Select 16 Festival.
Back in Schenectady, NY in 2008-09 Leaman established a what was then a program record for wins (19), and led the Dutchmen to their first postseason series victory, outscoring Clarkson 12-5 in a two-game sweep. He also helped Union earn its first tournament title since 1993 with a championship performance in the 2008 Governor’s Cup.
In 2007-08, Leaman led the Dutchmen to a program-best fourth-place finish in ECAC Hockey, earning the school’s first first-round bye in the league playoffs. Union finished with a 15-14-6 record, including two-of-three victories against cross-town rival RPI, earning the Dutchmen the Capital Skates Trophy. The Dutchmen also set a school record by winning seven consecutive games. The team’s 10-7-5 conference mark was the best showing in school history.
Under his guidance, three Union student-athletes were named to All-ECACH teams in 2008, with Caffaro earning second-team honors and Presizniuk and Corey Milan being selected to the all-rookie team. Ten of Leaman’s student-athletes were selected to the All-ECACH Academic squad.
In 2005-06, Leaman led Union to a then program record-tying 16 wins, including victories against four nationally-ranked teams. The Dutchmen also earned their first-ever win over a top-five team when they handed No. 5 Cornell a 2-1 loss in mid-November. Union also earned its fourth straight ECACH home playoff series.
Leaman led Union to its best Division I start in his first season as the team opened the 2003-04 campaign with a five-game unbeaten streak and six wins in the first eight contests. His team had the best non-conference record in the ECAC and ranked 10th in the country having killed off 161 penalties in 187 chances (.861).
During his tenure at Union, Leaman has coached 47 All-ECACH players, two CoSIDA/ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District Honorees and two of the three ECACH Student-Athlete of the Year.
Leaman came to Union after four seasons as an assistant coach on Mark Mazzoleni’s staff at Harvard where he served as the team’s top assistant and recruiting coordinator during his final season.
Under Mazzoleni, Leaman was part of a staff that helped rebuild the Harvard program into one of the top teams in the ECAC, taking the team from eighth place in the league to an ECAC tournament championship and NCAA appearance in 2001-2002, and an ECAC runner-up finish and NCAA appearance in 2002-2003.
A vital part of Harvard’s staff, Leaman was the architect of the Crimson’s special teams, playing a key role in developing the team’s power play and the penalty kill, as well as working with the Harvard forwards.
During his four years on the Harvard coaching staff, Leaman had a hand in recruiting 13 NHL draft picks, and helped the program to be consistently ranked near the top of college hockey in the number of players with NHL rights.
Prior to joining the staff in Cambridge, Leaman served as a volunteer assistant coach under Shawn Walsh at the University of Maine in 1998-99. In helping guide Maine to a 31-6-4 record and the 1999 NCAA Championship, Leaman’s responsibilities included working with the Black Bears’ defense, video analysis, on-campus recruiting and monitoring of the players’ academic progress. While in Orono, Leaman earned a Master of Science degree in biological sciences in 1999.
In his career behind the bench, Leaman has already coached 16 NHL draft picks, four All-Americans and one Hobey Baker finalist.
Before joining the staff at Maine, Leaman served as associate coach for one season at Old Town High School in Old Town, Maine, where he was responsible for the design and implementation of team practices and bench management during games.
Leaman is a 1997 graduate of SUNY Cortland, where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in biological sciences with a concentration in environmental science and received the Aldo Leopold Award for excellence in environmental science. Captain of the hockey team as a junior and senior, Leaman finished his career as one of the top 20 scorers in Red Dragons’ history.
Prior to attending Cortland, Leaman spent a season with the Enkoping Sports Klubb in Enkoping, Sweden, and also played one year with the Indianapolis Junior Ice in the North American Junior Hockey League.
A native of Centerville, Ohio, Leaman and his wife, Alice, reside in Clifton Park, N.Y.
