James Steven Stirling (born November 19, 1949) is a scout with the Ottawa Senators of the National Hockey League. He is the former head coach of the American Hockey League's Norfolk Admirals, Bridgeport Sound Tigers, the Springfield Falcons and the National Hockey League's New York Islanders.

Steve Stirling
Boston Braves 1973
Born (1949-11-19) November 19, 1949 (age 74)
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Coached for Norfolk Admirals
Springfield Falcons
New York Islanders
Iserlohn Roosters
Bridgeport Sound Tigers
Babson College
Providence College
Lowell Lock Monsters
Playing career 1971–1977
Coaching career 1978–2017

Career

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Before coaching the Norfolk Admirals to their worst finish in franchise history, Stirling spent a season and a half as coach of the New York Islanders before his dismissal in January 2006, though he led the Islanders to an impressive record of 38–29–11–4 in his first season as an NHL head coach. In the NHL playoffs, the Islanders were beaten by the eventual Stanley Cup-winning Tampa Bay Lightning in five games.

Stirling has also played centre for various teams in the NCAA, AHL and NAHL. He was the firsthead coach of the Bridgeport Sound Tigers, where he led Bridgeport to a Regular Season title in his first season. He also coached the Springfield Falcons, Babson College and Providence College and as assistant coach of the Islanders and the Lowell Lock Monsters. While in college, Stirling never had a losing season. He is also one of the few people to coach at three different levels of NCAA hockey.

After the disappointing season with the Admirals, general manager Jay Feaster announced that Stirling would not be the coach heading into the 2008–09 AHL season. Stirling was given a job as a scout for the team. On June 16, 2008, the German DEL club Iserlohn Roosters announced that Stirling had signed a two-year contract as its head coach. After 44 games and an 0–6 series, he was dismissed by the Roosters on February 5, 2009.

Stirling was signed as an assistant coach of the Binghamton Senators (the Ottawa Senators' farm team) in 2009. The Binghamton Senators won the AHL's Calder Cup one season later.

Personal

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Stirling is the father of former minor-league goaltender Scott Stirling and former Professional Head Coach Todd Stirling, who coached the Danbury Trashers.[1]

Head-coaching record

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College

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Statistics overview
Season Team Overall Conference Standing Postseason
Babson Beavers (ECAC 2) (1978–1983)
1978–79 Babson 15–8–0 11–8–0 T–13th
1979–80 Babson 17–8–3 15–7–2 8th ECAC 2 East Quarterfinals
1980–81 Babson 14–10–0 11–9–0 14th ECAC 2 East Quarterfinals
1981–82 Babson 20–7–2 16–4–1 4th NCAA Quarterfinals
1982–83 Babson 22–8–1 15–4–1 4th NCAA 4th Place
Babson: 88–41–6 68–32–4
Providence Friars (ECAC Hockey) (1983–1984)
1983–84 Providence 21–12–2 12–7–2 t-5th ECAC Quarterfinals
Providence: 21–12–2 12–7–2
Providence Friars (Hockey East) (1984–1985)
1984–85 Providence 23–17–5 15–14–5 3rd NCAA Runner-Up
Providence: 23–17–5 15–14–5
Babson Beavers (ECAC East) (1985–1993)
1985–86 Babson 20–8–1 14–6–1 3rd NCAA Quarterfinals
1986–87 Babson 20–8–1 15–6–0 3rd NCAA Quarterfinals
1987–88 Babson 23–9–0 19–5–0 2nd NCAA Semifinals
1988–89 Babson 19–10–1 17–7–0 4th NCAA Semifinals
1989–90 Babson 19–4–8 15–1–4 1st NCAA Semifinals
1990–91 Babson 20–8–0 14–6–0 3rd NCAA 3rd Place
1991–92 Babson 20–5–3 16–3–3 4th NCAA Quarterfinals
1992–93 Babson 17–8–1 17–4–1 2nd NCAA Quarterfinals
Babson: 158–60–15
Total: 290–120–28

      National champion         Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

Team Year Regular season Post season
G W L T OTL Pts Finish Result
NYI 2003–04 82 38 29 11 4 91 3rd in Atlantic Lost in First round (TB)
NYI 2005–06 42 18 22 2 (78) 4th in Atlantic (fired)
Total 124 56 51 11 6

Awards and honors

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Award Year
All-ECAC Hockey First Team 1970–71 [2]
AHCA East All-American 1970–71 [3]
ECAC Hockey All-Tournament Second Team 1971
All-NCAA All-Tournament Team 1971 [4]

References

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  1. ^ "Sound Tigers Steve & Scott Stirling Interview - Hockey's Future".
  2. ^ "ECAC All-Teams". College Hockey Historical Archives. Retrieved May 19, 2013.
  3. ^ "Men's Ice Hockey Award Winners" (PDF). NCAA.org. Retrieved June 11, 2013.
  4. ^ "NCAA Frozen Four Records" (PDF). NCAA.org. Retrieved June 19, 2013.
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Awards and achievements
Preceded by Edward Jeremiah Award
1979–80
1981–82
Succeeded by
Sporting positions
Preceded by Head coach of the New York Islanders
2003–06
Succeeded by