Hockey CC: Spath & Bacon candidates list
Guys they've heard are candidates.
Hockey coaching candidates (in no order): Brian Wiseman, Billy Powers, Billy Muckalt, Mel Pearson, Enrico Blasi, Nate Leaman, Dave Hakstol.
— Michael Spath (@MichaelSpathITH) April 11, 2017
Hakstol would only be an option if he gets fired in Philly apparentlyCandidates for UM hockey include MTU's Mel Pearson, UM assistants Billy Powers and Brian Wiseman, and USHL's Bill Muckalt. All UMers.
— John U. Bacon (@Johnubacon) April 10, 2017
Hasn't heard anything about Bazin@goon48 @Siouxforever5 And if he doesn't in a week, have been told he would explore college options.
— Michael Spath (@MichaelSpathITH) April 11, 2017
@PuckingOff @ChrisDilks Yeah he's worth checking into though I haven't heard his name from Michigan folks.
— Michael Spath (@MichaelSpathITH) April 11, 2017
April 11th, 2017 at 12:26 PM ^
As a diehard Flyers fan let me say this: his second season was an absolute disaster. As we didn't have any particularly offensive trainwrecks or public breakdowns, an outsider might think it was merely a middling season. However, he has consistently infuriated the fanbase by punishing young talent yet rewarding veterans for making the same mistakes. There's even been rumblings Hextall has had buyers remorse this year and specifically left prospects in the minors longer than necessary to avoid damaging them.
I know he had success at UND, but these are not the types of things I want to say about a guy whose sole job is coach kids and attracts the top prospects who see M as valuable developmental path to the pros.
Honestly, I don't want him near my professional team nor my school.
As a red wings fan, this is very familiar
April 11th, 2017 at 12:35 PM ^
April 11th, 2017 at 12:50 PM ^
Enrico Blasi sucks. Hated that guy so much.
I miss the CCHA. Sigh. Those games were so fun.
Rico Blasi is slimier than Nickelodeon circa 2002
April 11th, 2017 at 12:51 PM ^
Nothing to see here. Please disburse.
April 11th, 2017 at 12:59 PM ^
Hakstol wasn't that highly thought of when he coached at North Dakota, I'd rather not go that direction. Not really enthusiastic about Blashill, either.
I hope the Blasi info is erroneous. He had a good stretch there, but the way he builds his team won't work at Michigan and he has translated a new arena and participation in the best conference in college hockey into a lifeless, losing team. He would be a disaster at Michigan.
I wouldn't mind someone from the athletic department read this thread, just to see Alton's revulsion at some of the candidates. That should be listened to.
Hakstol went to 7 Frozen Fours in 11 years at North Dakota and he's had two winning seasons in his first two years in the NHL. I don't know if he would necessarily be my first choice, but I like that he's on the list. Agree with you on Blashill and Blasi.
He was a capable guy, but North Dakota fans felt he underperformed given the talent that he had. In fairness, I have bristled at similar accusations made about Red, but Hakstol did indeed fail to win a national title despite cycling guys like Jonathan Toews through the program.
He wouldn't be a disaster, though. You're probably right.
Hakstol recruited so well he was the victim of his own success. He never won a national title but neither has Mel, or Norm Bazin, or before last weekend Jim Montgomery. 7 Frozen Fours in 11 years is incredible. He's probably a long shot, but Hakstol would be a very good hire.
During the Dave Hakstol era, UND won more games than any program in the nation - two more than Boston College, 12 more than Michigan.
— Brad E. Schlossman (@SchlossmanGF) May 18, 2015
1a. Hakstol
1b. Mel
2. Montgomery
3. Bazin
4. Leaman
Norm Bazin isn't leaving though (unless Warde pulls a Hackett and Jedi mind tricks him) and Nate Leaman is rumored to be taking the Bruin's job (if indeed Claude Julien gets canned).
Do we have a realistic shot at landing Scotty Bowman? He's wone verywhere he's been
weird things happen in college hockey
he ran into a buzzsaw (boston college, denver, Michigan etc.).
A couple of those seasons he ran into buzzsaws (people lament the 2008 loss to Notre Dame and you never know what might have happened but BC was killing everybody by the FF and we would have been in the way). Several years, though, he ran into teams like Yale over which he was favored and lost. And Michigan wasn't a buzzsaw in 2011, North Dakota was. Makes the victory that much sweeter.
College Hockey News guy @JoeMeloni has some helpful thoughts in response to the front paged article. He throws a lot of cold water on the Bazin idea, citing both Bazin's philosophy of using overagers (I had been troubled by that, but then I looked at their roster and it didn't look that remarkable to me, but he would know better than I) and the fact that in addition to Bazin's own loyalty to UML his wife has a good position in the university that would be hard to leave.
He suggests Leaman is, in style and philosophy, a good fit for Michigan, but it doesn't sound like he expects that to happen. Has no inside info there, though.
Well, sure Bazin uses overagers. Boston College and Boston University get all of the commits from 9th & 10th graders out East. Harvard (and a few other Ivies) swoop up the 11th & 12th graders that they want. That leaves a bunch of 18-year-olds who didn't get scholarships at BC/BU and didn't get into Ivy League schools. What do you do if you're that 18-year-old? You go play Juniors for 2 years. That leaves most of Hockey East playing 20-year-old Freshmen, the way the second division CCHA schools used to.
If Bazin comes to Michigan, he has his pick of 9th & 10th graders in the Little Caesar's and Honeybaked programs, and a bunch of 11th graders from the USNTDP as well. Bazin plays overagers because he's at UML. I think we can assume that he can make the transition to playing 18-year-old Freshmen, the same way Mel Pearson transitioned from recruiting young stars at Michigan to recruiting older Juniors at Tech.
about mid-season and I said Hakstol was my top-pick besides Mel (maybe even 1a over Mel).
I also said I highly doubt he'd leave the NHL (Flyers) to coach Michigan. Funny he got brought up here. Flyers kinda suck so maybe they let him go? He is immediately a top 3 college coach in the country if he came back. Only knock is he never won a title at ND but was in the playoffs every year with 7 Frozen Fours in 11 years. One runner up.
another year in Philly, don't see him as a legit candidate. Also not sure I want him ND was not too upset about loosing him.
North Dakota hockey fans are about as rational as Bama football fans.
but they have one of the top programs in the country and felt in 11 seasons he should've brought home at least one NC and never did. The first year he is gone they win it all, so maybe something to it. I think he's a good coach, but have talked to a lot of ND fans who followed him all those years and they felt he under acheived for the talent level he has. I am also a Flyers fan and he has left me scratching my head several times at some of his moves this year and probably cost the Flyers a shot at the playoffs.
49 years old and created the PSU hockey program out of literally dust.
He also plays the wide open style Michigan fans love and came to expect.
Plus middle finger to PSU.
Why not him?
Can't get him. All of the advantages Michigan has in trying to acquire a coach from places like Lowell, Providence, and Denver evaporate in comparison to Penn State. At PSU, he has:
1. A great new arena
2. A rich donor (Terry Pegula) who funded the arena and the program
3. A B1G revenue stream the same as Michigan
4. A young but so far terrific fanbase.
And he has something else, that Michigan doesn't offer:
5. A program that is nationally competitive that he built entirely by himself, synonymous with his name.
Guy Gadowsky will coach at Penn State until he retires.