How Two Coaches are Building Fisher’s New Hockey Programs
This summer, the St. John Fisher University Athletics Department announced the arrival of Reid Lesswing as the head coach of the men’s ice hockey program and Scott McDonald as the head coach of the women’s ice hockey program.
Both teams will begin to compete in the United Collegiate Hockey Conference in the 2025-26 academic year.
As the University welcomes intercollegiate hockey to campus, Fisher News Highlights spoke with the coaches to share an inside look at how they are building their respective programs from the ground up.
FNH: What is your coaching philosophy?
Lesswing: I lean more towards being a player's coach. That doesn't mean I don't demand and expect a lot from our guys, but my goal is to help them become better hockey players, great students, and even better people so they are prepared for life after Fisher. On the ice, we want an up-tempo, aggressive style of play. I think defense wins championships, so it all starts with taking care of our defensive end. Let's create turnovers, transition quickly, and then let's go play offense. Everyone loves offense, so we definitely want to have a quick and creative team to capitalize on our opportunities, but we also need to be good at winning a 2-1.
McDonald: You need good people and families; that's a non-negotiable deal. Through the recruitment process, you want to make sure you're enrolling a student who will succeed on Fisher's campus, not only on the rink but in the classroom. I want players that, one, want to be here, and two, when they're here, they have a winning mentality. The players are here to work and are here to get better. We're here to try and win every game but with a focus on development. When the players are on the ice or in the gym, we are 100 percent dialed at that moment, pushing teammates and classmates in the same direction to develop a winning culture and winning program in a positive manner.
FNH: What are you most excited about building a program from the ground up?
McDonald: It’s everything, and it’s such a unique experience. Not only do I get to pick the players that I want to be here, but I get to pick the little things, like what the logo on the puck will look like and what the practice and game jerseys will look like. I liked being able to design the jerseys. It’s pretty cool that no one has ever seen this on campus before and we are planning how we will unveil it. It’s fun talking to recruits about it and seeing them be equally as curious as I am. There is this enthusiasm from the new players and families who are getting dialed into the Fisher experience, and it’s a contagious type of energy and excitement that people gravitate toward.
The exciting part of this is seeing the parallel between a rink being built from the ground up and the team being built at the same time. Seeing these two things emerge all at once has been the most exciting thing. What a time to be at Fisher right now!
FNH: What does a typical day look like for you right now?
Lesswing: It's recruiting and evaluating players all day, every day. I watch more hockey games in a week than is healthy for one individual, but it's been fun for me. Much time is spent on the phone talking with advisors, parents, coaches, and obviously, recruits. Also, depending on the week, we will have a handful of visits to show off the beautiful campus St. John Fisher University has to offer prospective student-athletes. On top of that, I have some administrative work behind the scenes, but without a roster yet, it's not as much as a normal year.
McDonald: It's 24/7. From a recruiting standpoint, there's a lot of travel. We want to see players in person, we want to be able to look them in the eye, we want to be able to meet their families, and you also have to see them play - not just once but multiple times. See how players interact with their current coaches and teammates. Recruiting happens on the weekends, and then on Monday, the coaching staff digest it all, sort out some names, and see who we want to contact. It's more paperwork and computer work from Monday to Friday, but we're on the road and in the rinks watching players on the weekends.
FNH: How is the recruiting process going?
Lesswing: Recruiting is going well. There's still a ton of work to do, but it's coming along. There has been a ton of interest in the program. My assistant, Alex Pommerville, has also been a huge help in the process. He's a local guy who just finished his professional hockey career in the ECHL, so he has a ton of connections in the area and throughout the hockey world.
McDonald: We're enjoying it. The first couple of months was spent getting our name out there, explaining to people who we are and what the school is all about. We have had a lot of success with players within New York state - many players and families know the Fisher name. We're getting traction with out-of-state players and their families right now. We have a handful of commits already, and we're working not only with the incoming first-year students but also speaking with students who will be rising seniors in high school next year. We have about nine more months to get the team fielded, and we are ahead of the game right now.
FNH: What do you look for in a student-athlete?
Lesswing: We are looking for not just great hockey players, but more importantly, we are looking for great people. The best teams I have been a part of have really close locker rooms where the individuals care more about team success than their own. The better the team performs normally leads to more wins, which leads to more individual accolades. It's also important to find student-athletes that align with Fisher as a university. We need students who make athletics and academics a priority. I want my guys to be top performers on the ice and in the classroom and give back to the community.
FNH: Once you have your team in place, how do you plan to build your team chemistry in the first year?
Lesswing: That starts with recruiting and bringing in kids with the right character—guys who will buy into the team identity and the way we want to play. The “We before Me” mentality.
McDonald: It starts before the first day on campus. We can put things out to make sure that commits know who the other commits are. I always think bonding and team chemistry develop with competition. For example, testing each other out because if you’re in the gym and they push each other to lift more, run faster, and work harder, they develop trust and respect for each other. Once we get on the ice for practices, we want to make practices hard and put players in pressure situations to develop a mentality of trusting one another in certain situations. Once you have the team all buying into our process to compete, then respect, trust, and team chemistry grows. Your team bond solidifies what Fisher hockey will be all about. Every player that’s coming here knows that practices are going to be hard, we’re going to compete, and we’re going to try and make our teammates better.
FNH: What do you love most about hockey that has made it a lifelong passion?
Lesswing: I love the speed, the skill, and physicality of the sport. Watching the NHL and seeing what these guys are capable of at such high speeds is incredible. Less downtime and more action keep fans interested, and hockey does a good job with that.
McDonald: The competitiveness of the sport. I love the cold breeze on my face when I’m skating. It’s a sport contained by boards; it’s physical, it’s fast, and you play with sticks in your hands while you hit around a rubberized little disc, and you’re doing it on skates.
It’s seeing players that can still develop at any age. From a player and coaching standpoint, you know exactly what the players have put into this to see them succeed. The exciting part is truly knowing what the players put into the game and what they’re getting out of it; it keeps me coming back.
This article was written by James Bruneau, a senior media and communication major and marketing minor. Bruneau currently serves as a public relations writing intern with the Office of Marketing and Communications at Fisher for the fall 2024 semester.