Westfield State hockey alumnus Peter Laviolette '86 recently became the second American-born NHL head coach to win 600 games.
Laviolette, the head coach of the Nashville Predators, is a member of the Westfield State athletic hall of fame, and was named to the inaugural class of the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference Hall of Fame this year.
Laviolette had led turnarounds with the New York Islanders, Carolina Hurricanes (winning the Stanley Cup in 2006), and the Philadelphia Flyers before taking the reins of the Predators. He led both the Flyers and the Preds to the Stanley Cup Finals. Laviolette is just a few career wins behind John Tortarella in the race to be the winningest American-born coach in NHL history. Laviolette currently ranks 20th all time among NHL head coaches in wins, according to hockey-reference.com
Laviolette has been active as an Owls alumnus, helping to lead the fundraising campaign that brought varsity ice hockey back to the Westfield State campus in 2008.