Lou Reycroft

Louis M. Reycroft
Born	1951
Occupation(s)	Ice hockey coach, scout
Years active	1969–present
Known for	Head coach of Cornell Big Red men's ice hockey team; NHL scout for Calgary Flames and New Jersey Devils

Louis M. Reycroft (born 1951) currently works as a scout for the New Jersey Devils in the NHL. During the mid-1980s, he held the position of head coach for the Cornell Big Red team amid a period of transition. Reycroft brings close to three decades of NHL scouting expertise, having served both the Devils and the Calgary Flames.

Career

Reycroft's playing career was as a goaltender with Brown from 1969 through 1972. He launched his coaching journey as an assistant at Rensselaer, working under head coach Jim Salfi and helping achieve two winning seasons. Subsequently, he joined Cornell as an assistant coach under Dick Bertrand. When Bertrand departed for Ferris State, Reycroft was elevated to head coach.

Assuming leadership of a program that had experienced its first losing record in over two decades and had limited NCAA tournament participation, Reycroft faced initial challenges. Nevertheless, by 1985 he had begun steering Cornell back toward competitive prominence. This period coincided with a significant conference restructuring when seven ECAC teams, spearheaded by Providence's Lou Lamoriello, established Hockey East. Within a reduced ECAC lineup, Reycroft led Cornell to an 18-win season followed by a 21-win campaign, securing the conference title and an NCAA tournament appearance in 1986. After a subsequent disappointing 11-16-0 season, Reycroft was succeeded as head coach.

In 1987, Reycroft moved into NHL scouting with the Calgary Flames, playing a role in their sole Stanley Cup triumph in 1989. Two years later, in 1991, he joined the scouting department of the New Jersey Devils under Lou Lamoriello's leadership. As of 2016, Reycroft remains with the Devils organization, spanning eras including that of general manager Ray Shero. He has been part of New Jersey’s three Stanley Cup-winning teams (1995, 2000, and 2003). Despite his association with four championship squads overall, his name has yet to be inscribed on the Stanley Cup.