Red Berenson: All Business About Hockey

Michigan head hockey coach and Ross BBA and MBA alum, Gordon "Red" Berenson has had more than a few honors to pin to his hat. Having played for 17 seasons in the NHL, Berenson amassed 658 career NHL points in 987 games. Before he captained and led the St. Louis Blues to three straight Stanley Cup Finals, he was a member of the 1965 Stanley Cup Champion Montreal Canadiens. But it is his coaching prowess that makes him famous in the Ann Arbor circles.

Berenson's 600 career victories, all while coaching the Wolverines, put him 8th on the all time NCAA wins list. Ten Frozen Four appearances, two national championships, the honors go on and on. But Red Berenson, who is entering his 25th of coaching Michigan hockey, has meant so much more to the University than just being good at coaching hockey. Recently, I sat down with Coach Berenson and learned that his advocacy for education has deeply affected his personal views on both hockey and life.

When Berenson was a top prospect of the Montreal Canadiens and playing for the Regina Pats junior hockey team, he realized that he could not guarantee himself lifelong financial security with a life of hockey.

Despite being a highly-touted player in his younger years, Berenson wanted to set himself for the best chance of success. If hockey didn't quite work out, at least he would have his education to fall back on. Against the advice of many, Berenson enrolled at the University of Michigan and decided to play college hockey after junior instead of playing in the minor leagues. At the time, no college hockey player had ever gone on to play in the NHL.

While on a mission to prove the naysayers wrong, Berenson enrolled in the business school after his sophomore year - he previously toiled in engineering and geology before settling on the B-school. After graduating with his bachelor's in business, Berenson turned pro in hockey. However, this happened after he was offered a job.

"I was more secure even though I was in an insecure business (hockey)," Berenson said, "I felt so good when U.S. Steel offered me a job in Gary, IN." He later added, "I was very grounded as a person.

And indeed he was. Even while playing in the NHL for Montreal, Berenson held an offseason job for the Molson Brewing Co. His job was in the accounting department, but he didn't stay with Molson for too long. Beer and professional hockey aren't always the best mix.

"I learned enough that I realized that this was probably something I shouldn't be in if I wanted to keep playing," Berenson told me.

After working for Molson, but still during his NHL days, Berenson returned to Michigan where he earned his MBA. The most direct effect of Berenson's business school education, though, occurred when he was playing in the American Hockey League for the Quebec Aces. While in Quebec, he would often find himself helping out with his teammates' finances.

"One year, I ended up doing most of the players' income taxes," Berenson said, "even in Montreal, I did most of the players' income taxes because I had an idea of what I was doing."

Eventually, Berenson's pro hockey career would come to an end and he started off as an assistant coach for the Blues. After a brief stint as the St. Louis head coach, Berenson found himself back in Ann Arbor where he became his alma mater's head hockey coach in 1984, a position he has yet to let go of.

Ironically, Berenson, who worked his whole life so he could have a successful life after hockey, has yet to have a life after hockey. But the life lessons were never lost on Red, as he continues to preach education to each and every one of his players. He knows that even if hockey didn't keep him employed into his late sixties that he would be well off - the U.S. Steel job offer back in the 1960s proves this. It's this sense of security that Berenson tries to give to his players. Not everyone is going to make it to the NHL, but everyone is going to need a job. Getting one's degree does the best job of assuring that. Therefore, when Red Berenson recruits the top hockey prospects, he doesn't just want the best puck handler, heavy hitter, or sharp shooter, he wants someone who wants to get his education, as well.

"And why not," Berenson rhetorically asked, "they're the best years of your life, after all.