As the hockey world celebrates Black History Month, the Hershey Bears will spotlight several players who made key contributions to the 87-year history of the hockey club's tenure in the American Hockey League.
In the mid-1990s, Paul Jerrard was one of a handful of Black players in pro hockey, and had carved out a reputation as a reliable physical presence in the minor leagues, after spending the majority of his first seven years of pro hockey in the International Hockey League, along with a five-game cup of coffee with the NHL's Minnesota North Stars.
Growing up in Winnipeg, the veteran defenseman had experienced his share of racism as a minority in a largely white-dominated sport.
"There still was quite a bit of racism there," Jerrard recounted in an interview with Sportsnet in the mid-2010s. I had to endure a little bit of it, but I don't think it was quite as bad as what people like Willie O'Ree had to endure when he first started out.
"Sometimes it was people I was competing against. When I look back at my game, I was a little bit of an annoyance-type player, I'd get under people's skin, and sometimes in the heat of the moment they might spout off and say something that they regretted later. It was minimal with fans. I remember one time when I was younger I had a conflict with some fans playing in Winnipeg, but it was nothing overly large."
Jerrard signed with the Hershey Bears in August of 1994, and over the next three seasons, he served as a dependable two-way defender who could contribute on both sides of the puck. In 153 career games with the Chocolate and White, Jerrard generated 52 points (20g, 32a) and 325 penalty minutes. He also set club records for the fastest pair of shorthanded goals scored - scoring both goals in a 13-second span on Nov. 5, 1994 against Saint John - and the most game-winning goals by a defenseman in a single season (5, 1994-95).
At the time of Jerrard's signing, then-head coach Jay Leach compared the 6-foot-1, 190-pound Jerrard to a utility infielder in baseball.
"I think he's one of the necessary guys you need on a team," Leach said. "He's the guy in the playoffs that gets the big goals for you because of his intensity and work ethic."
Those words proved prophetic two years later. By then, Leach was gone, as was much of the roster after a change in affiliation from the Philadelphia Flyers to the Colorado Avalanche.
It was Jerrard who assisted on Hershey's opening goal of the 1997 Calder Cup Playoffs and scored the club's second goal of the postseason for good measure as Hershey opened its first-round series against the Kentucky Thoroughblades with a 4-3 double-overtime win.
Under new head coach Bob Hartley, the Bears battled through the 1997 postseason, with Jerrard playing in all but one of Hershey's 23 playoff contests as he soldiered through knee and shoulder injuries, notably sacrificing his body while taking pain-killing injections in Games 6 (where he dished out a pair of assists) and 7 of the Mid-Atlantic Division Finals series with the Philadelphia Phantoms.
"It was a very tough series," Jerrard summarized. "And [Philadelphia] are a great bunch of hockey players, so it feels extra special. It's been a great rivalry all year long, and it's just escalated in the playoffs. We played well and we beat a great hockey team."
All told, Jerrard finished the postseason with five points (1g, 4a) as the Bears battled through four grueling rounds to defeat the Hamilton Bulldogs to claim their eighth Calder Cup championship.
After helping lead Hershey to the title, Jerrard hung up his skates in the summer of 1997 and joined the coaching ranks, accepting an assistant coach position with his alma mater at Lake Superior State University. As Jerrard said his goodbyes at Hersheypark Arena, he expressed to Bears scribe Dave Sottile a desire to someday return to Hershey in a coaching capacity.
Following a season with Colorado as an assistant video coach, Jerrard returned to the Bears as an assistant coach on Paul Fixter's staff for the 2003-04 season, bringing his knowledge and experience to a new generation of Hershey players.
"Believe me, it was a goal of mine," Jerrard said at a GIANT Center press conference introducing him and Fixter. "This is a tremendous organization and my route to getting back here was kind of a dream come true, coming through Colorado."
After his time in Hershey came to an end in 2005, Jerrard continued his career as an assistant coach with AHL clubs in Iowa, Texas (where he coached against the Bears in the 2010 Calder Cup Finals), and Utica, as well as in the NHL with Dallas, and Calgary, before returning to the college ranks with the University of Nebraska-Omaha in 2018-19. Jerrard remained with the Mavericks before tragically passing away on Feb. 15, 2023 at the age of 57 after a lengthy battle with cancer.
Jerrard's hiring as an assistant coach with the Bears marked the first time in club history that a Black man had held a coaching role with the club. In many ways, Jerrard's presence behind the bench has also helped pave the way for greater representation in coaching, an area where diversity remained limited. Maxime Fortunus, whom Jerrard coached as a member of the Texas Stars in the early 2010s, now serves as an assistant coach for Texas.
"If you look up the definition of a great human you'll see Paul's name next to it," Fortunus told The Rink Live's Jordan McAlpine. "He carried himself with respect and was such a role model for every player he coached."
Paul Jerrard's time with the Hershey Bears was just one chapter in a remarkable hockey career, but it reflected his larger impact on the sport. As a player, he demonstrated skill and perseverance; as a coach, he shaped the next generation with his wisdom and leadership. His legacy as one of the few Black players and coaches in professional hockey serves as an inspiration, reminding us of the importance of representation and the strides still needed to make the game more inclusive. In honoring Jerrard during Black History Month, we celebrate not only his contributions to the Bears but also his lasting influence on the sport he dedicated his life to.
Written by Bears media specialist Jesse Liebman
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