Kodi Legassie played two seasons of hockey at John Bapst High School in Bangor, and now he is returning to coach the Crusaders.
The 25-year-old Legassie went on to play one year at Bangor High and two at Hebron Academy before putting together a four-year career at NCAA Division III Johnson and Wales University in Providence.
The former center will inherit a team from Devin Fitzpatrick that appeared in its first ever state Class B championship game last season.
Cheverus-Yarmouth defended its state title with a 5-1 victory over the Crusaders thanks to four third-period goals.
The Crusaders finished at 19-2-1 and with a 12-1-1 record in their last 14 games including the playoffs.
Fitzpatrick, who had taken over as the head coach at John Bapst in 2019, stepped down earlier this fall due to personal reasons.
“I am super excited,” said Legassie, who is an Orrington native. “I’m fortunate to come to a great team and a wonderful school that I attended.”
John Bapst Athletic Director Dan O’Connell said the school is excited to have Legassie leading the hockey program.
“We are confident he’s going to become a great young coach,” O’Connell said. “His hockey knowledge at all levels is impressive.”
O’Connell said Legassie has started to develop relationships with the student-athletes on the team, who hail from several different schools. Players from Hermon High School and Bangor Christian are also part of the John Bapst cooperative team.
The new coach has also “built a good staff to help him lead our program,” O’Connell added.
Legassie will be assisted by Mike Perry, Tyler St. Lawrence and Adam Violette.
“We are looking forward to a great winter,” O’Connell said.
Legassie was the head coach of the Maine North Stars 16-under Tier II team this past summer and in the fall.
“I wanted to continue coaching and give back to the community. I always appreciated it when players who played at a high level came back to their community and coached. It is something I wanted to do as well,” said Legassie, who played in 73 career games at Johnson and Wales and had a brief pro career in the Federal Prospects Hockey League.
Legassie had his first practice last Wednesday and things have gone well.
“I’ve been building relationships with the players and getting their trust. I started implementing some systems and finalized our team,” said Legassie. “Now we’re ready to kick off the John Bapst Faceoff Tournament on Friday and Saturday.”
That early action will be at Bangor’s Sawyer Arena.
Legassie is confident that he and his coaching staff will be able to help the players from several different towns bond as one unit, since he played for the Crusaders and is familiar with the dynamic.
“I know what the players are going through and I will always be a source for them,” Legassie said. “At the same time, they are all out here because they love the game and they want to get back to the state final. They’re pretty focused on that.”
He will build his team from the goal out, and the goaltending position will be a strength with sophomore Camden Leighton returning. Leighton stopped 53 of 54 shots in their three Class B North playoff victories. The state game was the first time he had allowed more than two goals in a game all season long.
He had a 1.11 goals-against average and a .940 save percentage during the regular season.
“He will be the rock on the back end most nights,” Legassie said.
Offensive-minded Owen Hart (7 goals, 15 assists) and reliable Kaleb Keezer supply Legassie with two top-notch veteran defensemen. Keezer had a goal last season.
“They are going to be huge factors for us,” said Legassie, who added that he also has some promising young defensemen.
The catalysts up front will be Cooper Lewis (9 goals, 18 assists), Nathan Marryatt (8 goals, 8 assists) and Mason McNally (3 goals, 3 assists).
“Cooper will be one of our leading goal scorers and I expect the two sophomores, Nathan and Mason, to step up big for us,” Legassie said.
Legassie is looking forward to helping his players improve and watching them progress.
And for those who hope to go on to play at the next level, their new coach says that he knows what it takes.
“And I am hoping to pass that down to them,” Legassie said.
