Color of Hockey: Gomez looks to emulate Lamoriello as coach in BCHL

William Douglas has been writing The Color of Hockey blog since 2012. Douglas joined NHL.com in 2019 and writes about people of color in the sport. Today, he profiles retired NHL forward Scott Gomez, who is in his first season as coach and general manager of Surrey of the British Columbia Hockey League.

Scott Gomez keeps a photo of New York Islanders general manager Lou Lamoriello on his desk in the offices of Surrey of the British Columbia Hockey League.

It’s a reminder for Gomez, in his first season as Surrey’s coach and general manager, of his hockey past and an image for his young players of what to expect under his leadership.

“I had to get permission from Lou, of course, but I want the kids to see what I had to deal with all those years in New Jersey,” he said with a laugh.

Gomez has brought the style of play and philosophies to Surrey that Lamoriello demanded as president and GM of the New Jersey Devils from 1987-2015, ways that Gomez sometimes chafed under as a Devils forward from 1999-2007.

“People would think my personality and the way I was, just all offense,” Gomez said. “But I do have two Stanley Cup rings because of defense. ‘Marty’ [Brodeur], [Scott] Niedemayer, Bobby [Holik] and [Ken Daneyko], they established, ‘Take care of the D zone and that leads to offense.’

“I was stubborn when I was younger about that. Here, you’re allowed to create, you’re allowed to do anything you want in the offensive zone. But in the D zone, it’s the Devils way. There’s no negotiating. You’re going to play a certain way.”

Lamoriello was heartened to hear Gomez’s remarks. He was also pleased when Gomez asked him to speak to Surrey players when they visited an Islanders pregame skate before New York's 5-2 win against the Vancouver Canucks at Rogers Arena on Nov. 14.

“I think what Scotty is trying to do is share a lot of his experiences with the players that he's coaching as far as helping them when maybe they agree or don't agree with some of the experiences they're being asked to do, and what the reasons are," Lamoriello said," and I commend Scotty for that.

“Scotty came in as a young kid, maybe a little cocky on one hand, but not in a negative way. He had confidence in his abilities, and rightly so, because, he had great success in juniors, was a first-round pick (selected by New Jersey with the No. 27 pick in the 1998 NHL Draft). But I think when he came in, he found out exactly the way things have to happen to have success at this level. It took him a little while to adjust it to it, but he did.”

Gomez said he’s appreciative to Lamoriello for helping him and assistant Mike Mottau for helping them prepare coaching Surrey.

“Lou took the time -- we were on the phone with him for I don’t know for how long -- and he sent us a bunch of stuff,” Gomez said. “Once you go through the Devils system, it's kind of like you're in it for life. It’s funny, because I used to complain about it when I was there, just being a whiny, little brat. But, yeah, it’s the standard that we definitely set by here.”

Surrey named Gomez in June to succeed Cam Keith, who moved on to become coach and GM of Cowichan Valley of the BCHL after leading Surrey to the league’s Fred Page Cup last season.

Gomez was an assistant under Keith last season, returning to hockey after he retired as a player in 2016. He last coached as an assistant for the Islanders in 2018-19.

“Retirement is boring, it's not what it's cracked up to be,” he said. “I was just golfing and not doing anything, not giving back for the world. Whether I ran from it or I didn't want to admit it, I'm a hockey player.

"This is my domain. This is my passion. I didn't always agree with all the coaches I had, so I had to see if I could do it.”

Surrey was a homecoming of sorts for Gomez, a 45-year-old Anchorage, Alaska, native of Mexican and Colombian heritage. He played for Surrey 1996-97 had 124 points (48 goals, 76 assists) in 56 games.

He added 41 points (18 goals, 23 assists) in 21 BCHL Playoff games to help Surrey win the league championship and advance to the RBC Cup Finals, where it lost 4-3 to Summerside Western. Gomez was named the BCHL Rookie of the Year and the RBC Cup top forward.

Gomez said he’s enjoying working with Mottau, a retired defenseman who played 321 games with the New York Rangers, Calgary Flames, Devils, Islanders, Boston Bruins and Florida Panthers from 2000-14 and was Gomez’s roommate when they played for the United States at the 1998 IIHF World Junior Championship.

“On the ice, we run a pretty tough ship, I mean it’s a little Pat Burns, a little Larry Robinson,” Gomez said, citing no-nonsense former Devils coaches as role models. “I’m pretty hard on them, but it’s all for a good reason. And once we step off the ice, the joking and everything goes right up.”

Gomez is regarded by many as the first Hispanic star in the NHL, though he wasn't the League's first player of Hispanic descent. Bill Guerin, the Minnesota Wild general manager and former forward with eight NHL teams, is part Nicaraguan and began his career with the Devils in 1991-92.

Gomez had 756 points (181 goals, 575 assists) in 1,079 NHL games for the Devils, Rangers, Montreal Canadiens, San Jose Sharks, Panthers, St. Louis Blues and Ottawa Senators.

He won the Calder Trophy, voted as the NHL rookie of the year, in 1999-2000 and helped New Jersey win the Stanley Cup in 2000 and 2003. He had 101 points (29 goals, 72 assists) in 149 Stanley Cup Playoff games.

He had five points (one goal, four assists) in six games and shared the points lead with Craig Conroy for the United States at the 2006 Torino Olympics.

“I still tell people that [Gomez] on a power play is one of the best quarterbacks that I have seen in a long time, the way he could export the puck through center ice,” Lamoriello said. “So you know he knows the game.”

Gomez said he isn’t using the Surrey job as a platform to return to the NHL coaching ranks.

“I’m not looking to put this on a resume and move up,” he said. “With ‘Motts,’ it’s just been fun watching these kids develop. That’s the whole purpose and that’s been the greatest part.”

Though he has embraced some of Lamoriello’s ways, Gomez said he drew the line at one firm Lou rule: Surrey players are allowed to grow facial hair during the regular season.

“There’s only one Lou Lamoriello that can get away with that,” he said.