Jay Varady

Jay Varady (born September 16, 1977) is an American former ice hockey player and current assistant coach for the Detroit Red Wings of the National Hockey League (NHL). Prior to joining the Red Wings' organization, Varady coached the Sioux City Musketeers in the United States Hockey League (USHL), the Kingston Frontenacs in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL), and the Tucson Roadrunners in the American Hockey League (AHL). He played college ice hockey for the Union Dutchmen.
==Early life and education==
Varady grew up in St. Louis and played midget hockey in Chicago for the Chicago Young Americans. He graduated to the Dubuque Fighting Saints in the United States Hockey League (USHL) for two years before entering Union College. At Union, he played three seasons with their Division I hockey team from 1997 to 2000 before joining the coaching staff after a critical neck injury. Prior to his injury, Varady served as team captain for the 1999–00 season.
==Coaching career==
After graduation, Varady coached the Chicago U16 AAA Team for the 2001 season. He then joined the coaching staff of the Pittsburgh Forge, from the North American Hockey League, for the 2002–03 season. The following year, he was an assistant and associate head coach with the Everett Silvertips of the Western Hockey League (WHL). In 2009, Varady was named Team USA's Video Coach for their 2010 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships team.
Varady stayed with the Silvertips until 2010, when he took two years off to coach in France's Ligue Magnus. Upon his return to North America, Varady took over the Sioux City Musketeers, where he helped lead them to a 136-88-16 record during his coaching seasons. This made him the third winningest coach in Musketeers’ history. As a result, Varady was awarded the 2017 USHL Coach of the Year Award. He was also selected by Team USA to coach their 2016 World Junior A Challenge team.
The following year, Varady joined the coaching staff of the Kingston Frontenacs in the Ontario Hockey League. He led Kingston to a record of 36–26–6–3, helping them reach the OHL Eastern Conference Finals for the first time in franchise history.
In 2018, Varady was named head coach of the Tucson Roadrunners of the American Hockey League (AHL), the affiliate of the Arizona Coyotes of the National Hockey League. In his second season as coach in Tucson, the Roadrunners were named the division champions when the season was curtailed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Prior to the postponed start of the 2020–21 season, Varady joined the Coyotes' staff as an assistant coach. In his two seasons as head coach, Tucson held a 70–45–6–5 record. Once the abbreviated AHL season was complete, he returned to Tucson on a three-year contract as head coach beginning with the 2021–22 season. He led the Roadrunners to a 93–84–11–6 record in four seasons.
On July 18, 2022, Varady was named assistant coach for the Detroit Red Wings for the 2022–23 season.
==Personal life==
Varady married Joy, a nurse practitioner.
==Coaching record==
===Ligue Magnus===
Team 	Year 	Regular season	Regular season	Regular season	Regular season	Regular season	Regular season	Regular season 	Post season
Team 	Year 	G 	W 	OTW 	L 	OTL 	Pts 	Finish 	Result
ANG 	2011-12 	26 	14 	2 	8 	2 	34 	5th in League 	Won in preliminary round (3-0 vs. CAE) Lost in quarter-finals (1-3 vs. BRI)
ANG 	2012-13 	26 	21 	- 	2 	3 	45 	1st in League 	Won in quarter-finals (3-2 vs. LOU) Won in semi-finals (3-1 vs. EPI) Lost in finals (3-4 vs. ROU)
ANG totals	2011–2013	52 	35 	2 	10 	5 	79 	1 Division Title	13–10 (0.565)
===USHL===
Team 	Year 	Regular season	Regular season	Regular season	Regular season	Regular season	Regular season 	Post season
Team 	Year 	G 	W 	L 	OTL 	Pts 	Finish 	Result
SC 	2013-14 	60 	38 	19 	3 	79 	3rd in Western 	Won in conference semi-finals (3-1 vs. OMA) Lost in conference finals (1-3 vs. WAT)
SC 	2014-15 	60 	38 	17 	5 	81 	1st in Western 	Lost in conference semi-finals (2-3 vs. SF)
SC 	2015-16 	60 	20 	39 	1 	41 	8th in Western 	Did not qualify
SC 	2016-17 	60 	40 	13 	7 	87 	1st in Western 	Won in conference semi-finals (3-0 vs. DM) Won in conference finals (3-2 vs. WAT) Lost in Clark Cup finals (2-3 vs. CHI)
SC totals	2013–2017	240 	136 	88 	16 	288 	2 Conference Titles	14–12 (0.538)
===OHL===
Team 	Year 	Regular season	Regular season	Regular season	Regular season	Regular season	Regular season 	Post season
Team 	Year 	G 	W 	L 	OTL 	Pts 	Finish 	Result
KGN 	2017-18 	68 	36 	23 	9 	81 	2nd in East 	Won in conference quarter-finals (4-1 vs. NB) Won in conference semi-finals (4-2 vs. BAR) Lost in conference finals (1-4 vs. HAM)
KGN totals	2017–2018	68 	36 	23 	9 	81 	0 Division Titles	9–7 (0.563)
===AHL===
Team 	Year 	Regular season	Regular season	Regular season	Regular season	Regular season	Regular season 	Post season
Team 	Year 	G 	W 	L 	OTL 	Pts 	Finish 	Result
TUC 	2018-19 	68 	34 	26 	8 	76 	5th in Pacific 	Did not qualify
TUC 	2019-20 	58 	36 	19 	3 	75 	1st in Pacific 	Playoffs cancelled due to COVID-19
TUC 	2021-22 	68 	23 	39 	6 	52 	8th in Pacific 	Did not qualify
TUC totals	2018–2022	194 	93 	84 	17 	203 	1 Division Title	0–0 (0.000)
== References ==
== External links ==
*
Category:American men's ice hockey forwards
Category:Dubuque Fighting Saints players
Category:Kingston Frontenacs coaches
Category:Tucson Roadrunners coaches
Category:Union Dutchmen ice hockey players