By Joshua Boyd / NCDCHockey.com
The National Collegiate Development Conference is proud to announce that Mercer Chiefs Head Coach Rob Broderick has been named the Atlantic Division 2023-24 Coach Of The Year, as selected by his peers in the division.
The Mercer Chiefs made their debut in 2022-23, also with Broderick at the helm, and impressed everyone by making the playoffs on their maiden voyage, after going 26-20-1-3 in their first season. The Chiefs improved upon even that already potent record by going 27-22-2-1 and placing second in the Atlantic Division here in 2023-24.
The Chiefs went 6-3-1-0 in their final 10 games to outlast in-state rivals the Rockets Hockey Club in a tight battle for second place. With 57 points, the Chiefs rose to the top of a tight 2-6 pack separated by just 10 points. This year, the Chiefs also won their first playoff game on March 28, avoiding elimination after falling in their previous playoff game against the Rockets. They went on to win the series 2-1 and faced the league’s No. 1 seed P.A.L. Jr. Islanders in the Atlantic Division Championships, evening the series at 1-1, before eventually falling 3-1.
The New York City native Broderick, a former junior player in the old Metropolitan Junior Hockey League and then the USHL, played college hockey with SUNY-Potsdam and Salem State University. He began his coaching career in 2005-06 in the former New Jersey Rockets (now Rockets Hockey Club) organization at the Midget level, where he was a 16U and 18U coach and President through 2018-19.
He was also the former GM of the Rockets’ NCDC team, and he has held many positions including VP of Hockey Operations and Scout for the Maryland Black Bears (NAHL) and Youngstown Phantoms (USHL). He began coaching the Mercer Chiefs 18U in 2019-20 and also added coaching duties of the 16U team in 2020-21, keeping those positions until becoming NCDC Head Coach for the Chiefs in their inaugural 2022-23 season.
In two short years, Broderick has made Mercer into a major contender in a very tough division within the NCDC.
“What an honor, especially in a division of such great coaches,” said Broderick, of receiving the honor. “I admire all of these guys so much, and it means a lot coming from them. I’m most thankful to my team. I have just been so lucky to have coached so many great young men. I also want to thank my assistant coach J.T. Tarantino, who has just been terrific all year.”
The NCDC joins the Mercer Chiefs in congratulating Rob Broderick on being named as the Atlantic Division Coach Of The Year.
About The NCDC
The National Collegiate Development Conference (NCDC) was founded in 2017 as the Tuition-Free Tier II conference of the United States Premier Hockey League, itself founded in 2012. The NCDC consists of 18 teams in three divisions, two on the Eastern Seaboard and one in the Rocky Mountain states of Colorado, Utah and Idaho.
The NCDC has sent more than 250 alumni to play NCAA Division I hockey, and more than 900 overall into NCAA college hockey. There were also more than 250 alumni in pro hockey around the world during the 2023-24 season. Former NCDC player Drew O’Connor has become a regular with the NHL’s Pittsburgh Penguins, Collin Graf recently signed and has played with the San Jose Sharks, and there have been seven players selected in the NHL Entry Draft from the NCDC.
