Beginning today, Minnesota State officials can begin reviewing applications for the vacant men’s hockey coaching position. If all goes better than expected, the school could be introducing a new coach by the end of next week.
The names that are starting to surface have made for an impressive list of potential candidates.
“This university is fully committed to hockey,” MSU President Richard Davenport said during last week’s press conference announcing the move to reassign Troy Jutting . “We’re not pulling back; we’re going to step it up a notch or two.”
A few of the top assistant coaches in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association have been mentioned, including Minnesota’s Mike Guentzel, North Dakota’s Cary Eades and Nebraska Omaha’s Mike Hastings. But some of those coaches also have been considered the heirs apparent at their current schools.
Some have wondered whether or not Minnesota State can attract those types of coaches and lure them away from supposed great situations.
Perhaps it would be tough, but both the school and those coaches also should realize a couple things:
1. Head coaching jobs don’t open up every day in college hockey.
2. If you make your living in the world of sports, you can only be assured that there are no assurances.
At Minnesota, Guentzel returned to coach Don Lucia’s bench this year after three years away and has been given a ton of credit for the Gophers’ turnaround this season. Minnesota won the WCHA regular-season title and went to the Frozen Four last week.
But that turnaround also took Lucia off the hot seat. Successful coaches don’t just walk away (national championship-winning coach Jerry York of Boston College is 66; Michigan’s Red Berenson is 72), and at 53 years old, Lucia could be there awhile.
Although he has said that he wants to be a head coach one day, Guentzel might have compelling reasons to stay in Minneapolis. He’s well paid, and he and his family might like having some stability after working on his fifth bench in five years.
Earlier this year, Nebraska Omaha coach Dean Blais reportedly told a group of North Dakota boosters that he might retire in three years and that Hastings would replace him.
Blais later backed off on those comments, and UNO athletic director Trev Alberts told the Omaha World Herald that not only he does hope Blais would be around for awhile but that there had been no “formal or informal discussions about what the succession plan might look like.”
A lot of things can happen over the next few years. So it wouldn’t hurt some of those assistants to look into the Minnesota State job. And MSU shouldn’t assume that those coaches are already spoken for.
Shane Frederick is a Free Press staff writer. Read his blog at mankatofreepresshockey.blogspot.com. Follow him on Twitter @puckato.
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