Lou Vairo

The remarkable autobiography of Lou Vairo, the “Godfather of Hockey,” who helped to propel the game to unprecedented heights in the United States.

Lou Vairo’s impact on hockey in the US is unparalleled. He’s been involved in the sport for over six decades, instilling an innovative style and mindset at all levels of the game. His life is an epic insider’s hockey story, one that travels around the world from the US to Germany, Russia, the Netherlands, and Italy, involving larger-than-life characters and historic moments.

Lou Vairo: The Godfather of US Hockey tells how Lou rose from the roller-hockey streets of Brooklyn to become a force behind the success of American men’s ice hockey. His journey is full of twists and turns, from learning to coach hockey at the most basic level to meeting with some of the greatest hockey minds in the world, becoming a scout with the gold-medal winning 1980 “Miracle on Ice” US Olympic team, coaching in the NHL and in Europe, and creating USA Hockey’s diversity program which gave access to the game for tens of thousands of American players who would otherwise have been left out.

Lou’s love and passion for hockey shines through at every moment of his story. Through his vision, hard work, and persistence, players and coaches finally received the support they needed to excel on the ice and become a force on the international stage.

Lou Vairo has coached hockey players at every level in the game and was instrumental in the development of hockey in the United States for parts of the past six decades. Vairo has served as head coach of the US National Junior Team, head coach of the US Men's National Team, scout to the gold medal-winning 1980 US Olympic Men’s Ice Hockey Team, head coach of the 1984 US Olympic Men’s Ice Hockey Team, and assistant coach for the 2002 US Olympic Men's Ice Hockey Team. Vairo was also an assistant coach for the NHL's New Jersey Devils. Vairo was USA Hockey’s director of special projects and was the driving voice in the formation of the Diversity Task Force. He was honored twice for his lifetime commitment to hockey, receiving both the John “Snooks” Kelley Founders Award from the American Hockey Coaches Association and the Walter Yaciuk Award from USA Hockey’s Coaching Education Program. Vairo received the NHL’s Lester Patrick Trophy in 2000 and in 2010 was named the recipient of the International Ice Hockey Federation's Paul Loicq Award. In May of 2022, he was inducted into the New York State Hockey Hall of Fame.

Michael McKinley is a journalist, author, screenwriter, and filmmaker. The author of more than a dozen books, his most recent book, Willie: The Game Changing Story of the NHL’s First Black Player, was named to the Top 20 Books of 2020 by the CBC and nominated for a 2021 NAACP Image Award as best biography. His most recent projects for TV and film include works for NBC Peacock, Nightfox Entertainment, and CNN. He created, cowrote, and produced The Two Marys for CNN, winner of the Gracie Award for Best Hour-long Documentary. He lives in Brooklyn, New York. See more at www.libertayo.com.

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