Larsen finished his playing career with the Pirates, who Springfield played Wednesday night.
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Springfield Falcons coach Brad Larsen conducts drills at Columbus Blue Jackets development camp in Columbus, Ohio.
By GREG REID
PORTLAND, Maine – Stepping off the bus onto Spring Street still conjures up memories for Springfield Falcons coach Brad Larsen.
The Cumberland County Civic Center, after all, was the last place he called home as a player, retiring as a Portland Pirate in 2010, when he stepped away after 13 years as a professional hockey player.
“I had had a couple of surgeries the year before and I wanted to see if I could make one last go of it,” Larsen said by phone Wednesday as the Falcons traveled to Maine. “It wound up being a great experience.”
After spending most of his career with Colorado and Atlanta in the National Hockey League, Larsen attended Buffalo’s training camp in 2009, signing with Portland in September. A big draw was the chance to work with Kevin Dineen, the former Hartford Whaler and longtime Portland coach.
“I’d had conversations with Kevin about wanting to get into coaching,” Larsen said. “I was fully invested in playing for the Pirates, but I wanted to pick his brain from time to time, just to see what I could learn. He was all for it.”
The Pirates named Larsen captain, and he went on to score 13 goals for 27 points in 55 games, helping the Pirates reach the Calder Cup quarterfinals. Dineen spent another season in Portland before taking the Florida Panthers head coaching job in 2011.
“The biggest thing I learned from Kevin was patience,” Larsen said. “You have to be patient with players and let things come together.”
The Pirates entered the 2009-2010 season with pretty high expectations but opened flat.
“We were 2-7, I think,” Larsen said, “and I was getting anxious. I went in to Kevin and said, ‘You need me to do anything about this?’
“Kevin knew we were a pretty good club. He just told me to remember we had a lot of young guys coming from different systems and levels, and that it would take a while for us to gel. And we did. We ended up with 101 points that year.”
That summer, Larsen continued his search for a coaching job while preparing for another season as a player if nothing materialized. Perfectly willing to work in the ECHL or juniors, Larsen was pleasantly surprised to be offered the assistant role with the Falcons in August 2010.
As he made his way to the bench Wednesday night, there was no time for nostalgia.
“We’re going up there to win, just like everyone else is, every night,” Larsen said. “We’re just trying to execute our game plan, and let the rest take care of itself.”
Stretching to last season, the Falcons have won 7 of 8 games against the Pirates. Larsen’s having none of it.
“They got us last time,” he said, referring to Portland’s rally to a 6-5 win in overtime on November 23. “So we owe
NOTE: Wednesday’s game was a matchup of division leaders. Springfield (15-5-2-3) is in first place in the Northeast Division, while Portland (15-10-1-1) tops the Atlantic Division. The Falcons trail only Syracuse by two points for first place in the Eastern Conference and earned a dramatic 3-2 shootout win in Manchester on Sunday.