| An All-American at Boston College, John Cunniff became a member of the United States National Team in 1966-67 and represented his country at the 1967 World Championships and at the 1968 Grenoble Winter Olympics. Cunniff then embarked on a seven-year professional career that saw him spend two years with the New England Whalers of the World Hockey Association. He later returned to the World Championships with the U.S. team in 1975.
A head coach in the NHL with the Hartford Whalers (1981-82) and New Jersey Devils (1989 to 1991), Cunniff continued his international ties after getting involved in coaching. He was an assistant coach with Team USA at the 1981 Canada Cup, with the U.S. National Junior Team in 1989-90 and 1990-91 and with the American team at the World Championships in 1991, 1992 and 1993. He was an associate coach of the 1994 U.S. Olympic Team in Lillehammer and an assistant coach with the American squad that beat Canada to win the World Cup of Hockey in 1996. He was again an assistant to head coach Ron Wilson at the 1998 Nagano Olympics. |
