Mike Addesa, a former RPI hockey coach, passes away aged 77. Learn more about his passing and Mike Addesa cause of death in detail.
What happened to Mike Addesa?
Mike Addesa, a former RPI men’s hockey coach who guided the Engineers to the NCAA Division I title in 1985, passed away on Tuesday evening. He was 77.
Addesa’s death was publicized on social media by the Worcester (Mass.) Railers Junior Hockey Club, where he served as general manager. There was no apparent indication of the cause. He and his wife Mary resided in Andover, Massachusetts.
Alumni of RPI hockey, such as 1985 team captain Mike Sadeghpour, instantly heard about it.
Update regarding Mike "Coach" Addesa's services:
Relatives and friends are invited to attend visiting hours, to be held in the Robert J. Lawler and Crosby Funeral Home Tue Dec 6 from 3-7pm
A Funeral Mass will be celebrated Wed Dec 7 at 10am in the Holy Name Church in West Roxbury pic.twitter.com/7z2wYVB45R— Hockey Night (@HNIBonline) November 30, 2022
Mike Addesa cause of death
Mike Addesa the well-known Former Rensselaer head coach Mike Addesa died at the age of 77. He died peacefully at his home and his death is believed to be of natural cause. No other details regarding his death have been released.
From 1990 to 1995, Addesa served as a scout for the NHL’s Detroit Red Wings, and from 2011 to 2013, he did the same for the Calgary Flames. Addesa was hired as a scout by the National Hockey League’s Vancouver Canucks on August 4, 2015.
Who is Mike Addesa?
Mike Addesa was an American ice hockey coach and football player who lived from January 8, 1945, to November 29, 2022. From 1979 through 1989, Addesa served as the team’s head coach for the men’s ice hockey squad at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. At Holy Cross, Addesa participated in collegiate football.
Career in Coaching
Addesa joined Holy Cross as an assistant ice hockey coach in 1974. When Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute hired him at the end of the 1978–1979 season, he had been promoted to head coach in 1976 and had held that post ever since.
RPI hired Addesa to take over for Jim Salfi, who had led the squad from 1972 until 1979. Mike Addesa won two ECAC Division I Men’s Ice Hockey Championships in 1984 and 1985, as well as one NCAA Division I Men’s Ice Hockey Championship during his ten years with RPI.
Due to philosophical disagreements that developed as a result of the controversy surrounding accusations that Addesa made racist remarks to one of the two black players on his team—a future NHL player named Graeme Townshend—the coach was forced to resign from his position as head coach at RPI in 1989. He has expressed regret over the remarks.
Townshend accepted the apologies and has always backed Addesa wholeheartedly. According to Townshend, his relationship with Addesa was unlike any other player/coach relationship he had ever had, and Addesa went above and beyond the duties of a simple coach.
Townshend thought their bond was more akin to that of a father and son. “I adored the man,” Later, Addesa would clarify that he had not intended the remarks to be “racially offensive” and would call his termination from RPI a “scam” that had prevented him from being able to continue coaching.
Mike Addesa with his entire family, including his wife, children, their spouses, and all of his grandchildren.
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Lavanya (Senior Editor) is a full-time content writer with almost 5 years of experience and a part-time teacher. She joined Medico Topics on the Breaking News trainee scheme in 2022 and now works on MedicoTopics.com. As a lifelong learner, She is constantly curious about learning new things and passionate about sharing knowledge with people through her writing and teaching.