Larry Mavety - Coaching Career

Coaching Career

In 1979–80, Mavety was hired by the Belleville Bulls, an expansion junior tier II team in the OHA. He led the club to a 24–18–2 record. In 1980–81, he led the Bulls to a 35–7–2 record, as the team won the league championship, defeating the Guelph Platers. The Bulls then went on to play for the national championship for the Manitoba Centennial Trophy, losing to the Prince Albert Raiders in the final game.

In 1981–82, the Bulls moved to the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) as an expansion team, where they finished the year with a 24–42–2 record, and missed the playoffs. In 1982–83, the Bulls improved to a 34–36–0 record and qualified for the playoffs for the first time, as the club lost to the Oshawa Generals in the first round. In 1983–84, the Bulls had a 33–37–0 record, making the playoffs again, and lost in the first round to the Generals again.

In 1984–85, the Bulls had their first winning season with a 42–24–0 record. They had another rematch against the Generals, this time beating them in 5 games. In the 2nd round, they got past the Cornwall Royals, before falling to the Peterborough Petes in the division finals.

The 1985–86 Bulls had another winning season, this time with a 37–27–2 record. The Bulls defeated Cornwall in the 1st round, tied with Peterborough in a round-robin matchup against the Kingston Canadians, defeated Peterborough in the division finals, before losing to the Guelph Platers in the J. Ross Robertson Cup finals.

The 1986–87 season was a rebuilding one for the Bulls, who had a 26–39–1 record, and lost to Kingston in the 1st round. In 1987–88, the Bulls rebounded with a 32–30–4 record, but again lost in the first round, this time to Cornwall.

In 1988 Mavety left the Bulls and joined the Kingston Raiders as the head coach. The club finished the 1988–89 season with a 25–36–5 record, failing to qualify for the playoffs. In the summer of 1989, the Raiders were renamed to the Kingston Frontenacs, and in 1989–90, the Frontenacs finished with a 42–21–3 record, and Mavety won the OHL Coach of the Year award. The Fronts had a disappointing playoff though, losing in 7 games in the opening round to Mavety's former team, the Belleville Bulls.

For the 1990–91 season, Mavety returned to coach the Bulls, who finished with a 38–21–7 record, and lost to the Ottawa 67's in the first round of the playoffs. In 1991–92, the Bulls fell to a 27–27–12 record, losing to the North Bay Centennials in the opening round. The 1992–93 Bulls had a rough season, finishing with a 21–34–11 record, and lost to the Generals in the 1st round.

In 1993–94, the Bulls finished with a winning record, with a 32–28–6 record, and defeated the Frontenacs in the first round, the first time since 1986 that Mavety won a playoff round. The Bulls then fell to the Centennials in the 2nd round. The 1994–95 Bulls had a 32–31–3 record, and won their opening round against North Bay, then defeated Kingston before losing to the Guelph Storm in the 3rd round. In 1995–96, Belleville had a 35–26–5 record, and defeated Oshawa in the 1st round, Ottawa in the 2nd round, before falling to Guelph in the 3rd round. In 1996–97, the Bulls slumped to a 22–37–7 record, and lost to Ottawa in the 1st round.

In 1997 Mavety returned to the Kingston Frontenacs, and the club finished the 1997–98 season with a 35–27–4 record for 3rd place in the OHL East, and won a first round playoff series over Oshawa, but fell to the London Knights in the 2nd round. In 1998–99, the Fronts fell to a 22–42–4 record for 5th place in the East, losing to the Barrie Colts in the opening round. He then helped Kingston rebound in 1999–2000 with a 38–22–5–3 record, however they lost in the opening round to the Sudbury Wolves. The Fronts then played .500 hockey in 2000–01 with a 28–28–11–1 record, losing to Belleville in the opening round. In 2001–02, Kingston slumped to a 18–37–9–4 record, and lost a tie-breaker game to North Bay 6–2 to miss the playoffs. Mavety stepped down halfway through the 2002–03 season to focus solely on being the GM of the team.

With Mavety as the general manager, Kingston finished the 2002–03 season with a 25–37–2–4 record, missing the playoffs. The Fronts rebounded in 2003–04 with a 30–28–7–3 record, but lost to Barrie in the 1st round. Kingston missed the playoffs in 2004–05 with a 28–33–4–3 record, but had a strong season in 2005–06 with a 37–24–4–3 record, however, lost to Sudbury in the opening round of the playoffs. The Fronts in 2006–07 qualified for the playoffs for the 2nd year in a row, finishing 5th in the Eastern Conference with a 31–30–7 record, but lost to Oshawa in the first round.

After a 2–9–1 start by the Frontenacs in 2007–08, the club fired head coach Bruce Cassidy and Mavety took over coaching for the remainder of the season. Under Mavety, the Frontenacs played better hockey, and finished with a 23–32–1 record, however, they were unable to rebound from their poor start and failed to qualify for the post-season.

Mavety returned as head coach of the team for the 2008–09 season, however, after Kingston began the year with a 5–13–5 record and in last place in the Eastern Conference, he resigned from the position to focus on his general manager duties. Mavety hired former Toronto Maple Leafs captain and Kingston-born Doug Gilmour to coach the hockey club. Under Gilmour, the Frontenacs improved, however, they fell short of the playoffs. Kingston rebounded in 2009–10, as the team finished with a 33–30–5 record, and returned to the playoffs, however, the club lost to Brampton in the opening round. The Frontenacs struggled during the 2010–11 season, going 29–30–9, however, they made the playoffs for the second straight year. Kingston then lost to Oshawa in five games in the first round. After the season, Mavety stepped down as general manager, as Doug Gilmour was named to replace him. Mavety is now a senior consultant with the Frontenacs.