In the summer of 1999, Tom Brennan was at a sizable disadvantage when he started looking for someone to coach his son’s varsity hockey team at Lansing Catholic High School in Michigan. The position paid very little and the program had not been competitive in 25 years.

Brennan, a judge in the 55th District Court in nearby Mason, Mich., could find only one qualified candidate: a lawyer fresh out of law school who had recently established his own one-man practice. Almost 16 years later, that coach, Jon Cooper, is leading the Tampa Bay Lightning in the Stanley Cup finals. Tampa Bay lost Game 1 to the Chicago Blackhawks on Wednesday, 2-1.

But 16 years ago Cooper was just a ringer on the Legal Eagles, a local recreational team made up of area lawyers.

“The guys loved him and he was the best player on the team, a natural leader with a great sense of humor,” said Brennan, 63, who left the bench in 2004. “I think his goal was to get into a sports agency. He was trying to connect with the hockey scene. He was practicing law and trying to make a living. So I wanted to help him.”