Lou Vairo

Lou Vairo has coached hockey players at every level in the game and was instrumental in the development of hockey in the United States for parts of the past six decades. Vairo has served as head coach of the US National Junior Team, head coach of the US Men's National Team, scout to the gold medal-winning 1980 US Olympic Men’s Ice Hockey Team, head coach of the 1984 US Olympic Men’s Ice Hockey Team, and assistant coach for the 2002 US Olympic Men's Ice Hockey Team. Vairo was also an assistant coach for the NHL's New Jersey Devils. Vairo was USA Hockey’s director of special projects and was the driving voice in the formation of the Diversity Task Force. He was honored twice for his lifetime commitment to hockey, receiving both the John “Snooks” Kelley Founders Award from the American Hockey Coaches Association and the Walter Yaciuk Award from USA Hockey’s Coaching Education Program. Vairo received the NHL’s Lester Patrick Trophy in 2000 and in 2010 was named the recipient of the International Ice Hockey Federation's Paul Loicq Award. In May of 2022, he was inducted into the New York State Hockey Hall of Fame. Michael McKinley is a journalist, author, screenwriter, and filmmaker. The author of more than a dozen books, his most recent book, Willie: The Game Changing Story of the NHL’s First Black Player, was named to the Top 20 Books of 2020 by the CBC and nominated for a 2021 NAACP Image Award as best biography. His most recent projects for TV and film include works for NBC Peacock, Nightfox Entertainment, and CNN. He created, cowrote, and produced The Two Marys for CNN, winner of the Gracie Award for Best Hour-long Documentary. He lives in Brooklyn, New York. See more at www.libertayo.com.