New Blue Jackets coach Rick Bowness, 70, paused his retirement to rejoin the NHL as Dean Evason’s replacement in Columbus. His debut was an exciting 5-3 home win over the Calgary Flames on Jan. 13 that saw Bowness coach the son of another player he had coached many years earlier.
Cole Sillinger’s father, Mike Sillinger, played for Bowness in 2003-04 with the former Phoenix Coyotes. Bowness was promoted from assistant to interim head coach of the Coyotes that season.
Bowness has also coached the fathers of injured Blue Jackets forwards Mason Marchment (Bryan Marchment) and Miles Wood (Randy Wood).
Bowness won’t have a chance to look for similarities in Marchment and Wood to their fathers until they’re healthy enough to return, but Sillinger has already shown the new coach a genetic connection to his dad in his style of play.
“Hockey sense,” Bowness said. “I talked to Cole today about that. I said, ‘You play like your father.’ Mike had good hockey sense.”
Bowness has also coached two other father-son combinations: Jevgeni/Vladislav Namestnikov and Robert/Kristian Reichel.
Bowness will coach his second game for the Blue Jackets on Jan. 15 at Nationwide Arena against the Vancouver Canucks, when they’ll try to win a third straight game.
Blue Jackets reporter Brian Hedger can be reached at bhedger@dispatch.com and @BrianHedger.bsky.social
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Columbus Blue Jackets coach Rick Bowness coached three players’ dads
Reporting by Brian Hedger, Columbus Dispatch / The Columbus Dispatch
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