Hockey Search Items
This is not a searchbits. I don't have any solid intel. This is probably going to be a thing where nobody knows anything and one day there's a new coach. But there are some tea leaves, so let's observe them.
Bill Muckalt?
Mel Pearson continues to assert he has not had any conversations about the Michigan job, and Chris Dilks thinks it won't be him:
I don’t think it will be Mel Pearson. The feeling I’ve gotten from people on both sides of the situation is that two or three years ago, it would have been a done deal. But today, I’m not sure it makes much sense for either party.
On the other hand:
Many of those same coaches believe Red wants Mel Pearson to succeed him w/ Bill Muckalt on that staff.
— Mike McMahon (@MikeMcMahonCHN) April 10, 2017
Pearson's 58, so each year Red waited took a significant chunk of his potential Michigan career. Red probably doesn't think that's true for obvious reasons. There's been a lot of talk that Pearson might stay in Houghton even if Michigan offered him the job but this is not even a particularly strong denial:
“I enjoy where I’m at, have great support there and obviously we got the program turned around, but Michigan’s Michigan so we’ll see what happens,” Pearson said.
That sounds like a guy who would move cartoonishly fast if given the opportunity.
Also, this is unintentionally revealing:
“For us, we led the country in scoring margin at Tech three years ago. I really wanted to play the same way as we did at Michigan, have a fast, uptempo team. I changed the forecheck a little bit from when we were at Michigan in our neutral zone, some systems that are little different at Tech. Part of that is because of the personnel that we have but also I try to stay on top of how the NHL plays in some ways and try to incorporate that in our system.”
The dropoff in Michigan's play when Mel left was immediate and apparent; my best guess is that he was always driving Michigan forward towards the state of the art and Wiseman either could not replicate that or just didn't have Red's ear as much. The one exception was the brilliant and modern 2015-16 power play, which was the umbrella from hell for opponents.
Dilks then divides the potential candidates into super-successful-back-up-the-dump-truck types, of which there are a surprising number, and low-hanging program alum fruit. We've talked about the dump truck names—Montgomery, Leaman, Bazin—before. The low-hanging fruits in the absence of Pearson appear to be current assistant Brian Wiseman and Bill Muckalt, currently head coach of the USHL's Tri-City Storm. Muckalt was an assistant under Mel at Tech for a bit and would probably be fine:
When Mel Pearson left Michigan after 23 years on Red Berenson’s staff to become head coach of Michigan Tech, Muckalt was the first person he contacted to assist him.
It was the second time their paths intertwined. It was Pearson who recruited Muckalt to play there after watching him score five goals in one game with Merritt in the BCJHL.
“I always admired his tenacity, his work ethic, his character; with his background it was a no-brainer hire for me,” Pearson said.
Pearson also eyed Muckalt for his own recruiting skills. “He’s such an out-going guy. You need someone who is personable and not afraid to go out on the road and work hard.”
Vagaries of USHL rostering make it hard to figure out who's any good, and Muckalt's a great example. He took over a bad team and led them to the title his first year; this year they finished last in their conference.
The dump truck names are radio silent for the most part, with one exception. Denver's Jim Montgomery is a target of the Florida Panthers, and it sounds like he might be hard to pry away from Denver even for the mondo dollars the NHL offers:
“I don’t even know if I would leave for an NHL coaching job,” Montgomery said recently. “The ability to win and live the quality of life for my family — the quality of life of being a good husband and dad, compared to an NHL coach — factors into that, plus the fact that we’re getting the (new) locker-room done. We love living here in Colorado, and it would have to take an incredible situation to leave here. Those things don’t come around very often.”
He's a Denver alum coming off a national title and is probably off the table even for a program with Michigan's resources. Leaman or Bazin may be open to Michigan's pitch, should they choose to make it. I can find nothing on the internet concerning either guy written since Red retired save the Dilks piece above; no quotes, no buzz.
Meanwhile, Michigan State hired Danton Cole a few days ago. That's not a wow hire. This Hollis quote is really something:
"It took us 21 days, but honestly, it could have just taken one," Hollis said.
A three-week dog and pony show to hire the low-hanging fruit is the kind of thing only the Hollis/Brandon wing of self-important ADs would proudly admit in public.
Cole's only college head coaching experience was a three-year stint at Alabama-Huntsville. That didn't go well, but it probably couldn't have given UAH's status in the college hockey world. Since departing UAH he's been with the NTDP. Hypothetically this would provide a recruiting advantage, except for the fact that these days most of the NTDP is committed to a college before they even get to Plymouth.
But at least he's a hockey coach, which gives him one leg up on Tom Anastos.
Side note. here's a little good recruiting news: Mike Pastujov went from a top-end talent to unranked by the CSB in their mid-term rankings. That changed in their final rankings, which saw Pastujov shoot up to 80th. Some scouts think that's still too low:
Same goes with Michael Pastujov after being unranked @ midterm. I value him even higher than #80 NHL CSS has him at. Just my opinion though.
— Andrew Weiss (@WeissFC) April 11, 2017
80th is approximately a fourth-rounder, FWIW, because euros and goalies aren't included in that ranking. Pastujov was a potential first-rounder when he committed so this is still a step back; I'll take circumstantial evidence that he can be a productive scoring line player.
For the MGoPeople with more info than me - is Enrico Blasi worth considering?
No. Brady Hoke without the Michigan connections or the charm.
Do we want a coach who is on a 10-game winless streak?
http://collegehockeystats.net/1617/schedules/miam
If Michigan had hired Brad Bates (Miami's AD) instead of Warde Manuel, Blasi would probably be a candidate. I think this is one occasion where the entire Michigan fanbase can breathe a sigh of relief that Mr. Manuel is the Athletic Director.
Also, since it has been implied that Red Berenson will have a lot of say over who will get hired, I think we can be very confident that Rico Blasi won't get anywhere near that job.
Exciting name back in 2009 or 2010. Miami has been lackluster in the last 5 years
April 21st, 2017 at 11:20 PM ^
My general thought is that if Michigan were slam-dunk going after Pearson or someone else close to the program, the deal would've been done by now.
That doesn't mean we won't wind up with Mel, but Warde appears to be exploring his options, which I support.
I agree that Mel was a major reason for Michigan's successful on-ice performance when he was here. I wonder if things changed a bit when Hogan went down--suddenly, Hunwick was thrust into the starting role, and people were worried about him. And from that point on the team went on a run unequaled from 2003 to today: Nearly making the FF from not being in a tournament position, making the final, high seed fluked out of the tournament in a near-empty Resch center. I think Mel got the head coach and the team on board. And they nearly won it all.
But, for what it's worth, I hope they're kicking the tires on Leaman.
Jim Montgomery is not a Denver alum, he went to Maine. He captained the '93 national championship team that also featured Paul Kariya and Garth Snow. There can't be too many coaches with national titles as both a player and a coach.
Yeah, that was weird erroneous information. Maybe Brian got him mixed up with Bazin who is an alum of Mass-Lowell where he is coaching.
but I have been saying for a while, I don't think we have any chance to land him. He has a great thing going on at DU. They have the money to pay and facilities as nice as any in the country. He just won an NC so it doesn't get much better. I do hope we are exploring all options though.
Since you mentioned that Maine team it made me think of the documentary 'Out of the Woods' about that '93 squad. I must have watched this 5 times growing up and it's now in ten parts on Youtube. Kariya put up an unbelievable 25-75-100 stat line that year in 39 games. Montgomery was #19 on that team and second in points with a 32-63-95 stat line. Completely unrelated to the OP but heres the embed for any other college hockey nerds.
o_0
Side bar- it's sad to see where Maine's program has landed. I don't know all the details but I believe I've read that the AD has basically allowed it to fester and fade. They're barely even a shell of their former selves
indeed
April 21st, 2017 at 11:18 PM ^
April 21st, 2017 at 11:19 PM ^
April 22nd, 2017 at 12:35 AM ^
That is so weird, I swear that during the national title game they kept talking about how he won a national title with Denver as a player.
He is a college hockey guy (BGSU) and is from the Muskegon area so it's a decent question to ask. However, he has no college coaching experience but I assume recruiting wouldn't be a problem for a guy with a Name Brand like Bylsma.
I'm not sure if I'm convinced he's an elite coach. He did well in Pittsburgh but also had a great roster. His time in Buffalo was uninspiring and I know a lot of their fans aren't upset to see him go (caveat again, the Sabres roster is young and not good). Not sure if he's an elite coach or not
Coaches that follow "legendary" coaches don't fare well. Lots of resistance to change.
Expect 4 years of blah, maybe with 1 good year. Really thay are just an interm while the alumini work on other better prospects that are not yet ready to move.
Examples: Moeller, Rich Rod, Ellerbe I could go on in many sports and programs.
Only a legend can fill the shoes of a legend. Ask around in Houghton, MI, you'll find that coach Pearson is, in fact, a legend in his own right
Not to be too rude, but your inclusion of Moeller is complete horseshit. Carr might be the greatest caretaker of all time, but he was the caretaker that stuck around because of 97 and Cooper's inability to coach in a big game.
I think Moeller was a good coach.
But again, that has nothing to do with it.
Legend leaves and the next guy gets all the high expectations, recalcitrant system and attitudes.
It's not until the program sinks lower and the "old guard" all leaves that true new leadership is accepted. By then the expectations are lower and the next guy looks like a savior.
This occurs all the time in business too.
Except Moeller didn't leave because of any shortcomings on the field. So to compare him to Ellerbe and Rodriguez makes no sense.
I agree but that would mean his inclusion of Rich Rod is horseshit. Carr won a title but also drove the program into the ground for 10 years because of petty differences. downvote me, idgaf. As MGoBloggers we should all be aware of this, already.
Including Ellerbe is pretty weird, too.
Jimbo Fisher is doing pretty well following Bowden.
Bill Muckalt seems like a we'll hire him because he's a Michigan Man type of hire. He was an assistant at Michigan Tech and coached the USHL for a few years. He may be Scotty Bowman but ifyou're going to bash MSU for hiring Danton Cole, you can bash Michigan for going after Muckalt. Hire Mel or hire Rick Bennett, Nate Leaman, Bazin. If you can't get one of them to come to Mcihigan, you have failed as athletic director.
Agreed. Mel should be the (very high) floor for this hire.
If the stories are true that last year Warde kind of had to talk Red into coaching one more year, then Warde had 365 days to start looking for a new coach. Maybe Warde wasn't reaching out to the coaches or their agents, but one would think he'd at least have done some vetting and come up with a list of some possible candidates.
Instead it slowly begins to look like the Bill Martin-Carr scenario where one has to wonder if Martin had done much research on a new coach when he knew Carr was retiring at the end of the 2007 season.
http://www.denverpost.com/2017/04/20/jim-montgomery-colorado-avalanche-…
Stumbled across this gem from yesterday.
Moneyshot: " But Sakic, the former Avs star whose efforts as a front-office executive for the franchise has been an unmitigated hockey disaster, would be crazy to let Montgomery leave town."
I also find that pic of Muckalt interesting. Neither person in the photo looks like they're aware an interview is occurring.
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