jloos

If Roger Thomas is reading, I would like to throw my name out. I have more head coaching experience than Hakstol, five years to his four. Four of my five years were winning seasons, one of those years my team nearly won the Pee-Wee B1 tourny. That has to be at least as impressive as the McNaughton Cup. Further, I'll do the job for 1/2 of what you'd pay Hakstol, and unlike Rick I don't require any bonus, annuity or boat. A car would be nice though. I would require bringing my own staff in. My former assistant may be a little slow, but I am loyal.

Well put. I hope I don't come across as anti-Hakstol. My point, and I think the point of others is they should take some time to make a decision and open it up nationally to see who is interested. I think Hakstol would be in the top 2 or 3 on everyones list. I don't buy into the O'Keefe connection - can't blame him for who he married, I don't see any connection. If Hakstol is named coach next week I fully support him and hope he gets a few years to prove himself, he earned the chance. As far as his previous coaching record I posted the stats earlier, as head coach in the USHL he turned a crap program around and had some good seasons.

No disrespect to Pearson or Rolston, but neither have any ties to UND nor have they any experience recruiting from UND's traditional areas. Michigan pretty much stays with MI kids and USDT kids, and a few Ontario kids. Boston sticks with the East coasters for the most part. BC has the Eaves from SSM, but I believe Rolston was still at Harvard when they were recruited. Hiring Hakstol is in no way a "downward trend" IMO, he is very capable. The only problem I have is in the way he's hired. I've heard Eades isn't the nicest guy before, but he gets results. Plus as Warroad coach he has a lot of recruiting experience . Seriously he should give UND a good "in" with the Northern MN kids. Why would Oshie leave for MJ's because his high school coach took a job at the college he committed to? I would think he would be excited to be familiar with one of the coaches.

True. I still think DB is a very classy guy, he is respected throughout college hockey. Which is why I doubt the need to hire someone within a week. The offer from Columbus likely did come at the last minute. DB is in a very difficult situation with his wife, I can't imagine having to make a decision like that at such a bad time. I agree with Sicatoka and others that by not opening up the job nationally it hurts the reputation of the program and Hakstol. I think Hakstol is just as qualified as anyone else, he has head coaching experience in the USHL and is familiar with the Sioux program. I think it is likely he would have gotten the job even if it was opened up nationally. But who knows what kind of applicants they would have gotten?

We will see next week when Hakstol is officially named, I'm sure they will release at least the length of his contract. I'm not sure if it is fair to give a guy one season to prove himself. I don't understand the need to have someone named right away. If the need is there DB should have given some notice that he was considering leaving, so UND could make arrangements. Not a very classy move by DB in my opinion.

I believe Johnson was offered an assistant coaching job when Sandlin left but turned it down because of the $$. Assistant coaches don't make much, and at the time it looked like Blais wasn't leaving any time soon. The only way I could see him leave is if they offer him the associate head coach position with the idea he would be the frontrunner as the next head coach. It looks to me like Hakstol and Berry will move up one position and Eades will take Berry's spot. Eades didn't have Johnson's numbers at UND, but he was a pretty good scorer I think, I'm sure he's in the century club. He seems like a pretty classy guy, even though he looks like a 70's porn star.

Some kinda interesting news. Vandevelde skated in the MN model camp a few weeks ago. I have no idea how closely related it is to the Gophers but I do know it is unusual for an out of MN recruit to skate in it. Several Moorhead players were invited. My cousin skated on the same line as Wheeler. Becker, Ammerman, Barta, Cluckey and both senior goalies were also invited. Two ND players also went - Marto and Stadstad? from GF Central. I've heard of Marto but not much of the other kid, I know he has a cousin or brother that is fighting brain cancer, I think he's the same kid anyway.

For what it's worth - CBS sports guy Rich Lodwig? reported that UND will name a coach next week, he cited Roger Thomas. He hinted that the only reason a coach hasn't been named sooner is that UND has a policy of keeping any job opening open for at least 5 business days. Again for what it's worth, none of the local TV guys seem to know much about UND hockey. However the channel 4 guy seems to be the most hockey knowledgeable, he seemed to do more stories on the Sioux than the others.

I didn't realize that. You would think they would make an exception for athletic coaching positions. Looks like I jumped the gun a little.

This is the part I'm reading, I don't know how the hiring process works, but it sounds like Harmeson is the guy making the decisions. I hope it does open up nationally, I think Johnson would be the #1 candidate, his coaching record: Season Team Lge Type GP W L T OTL Pct Result 1995-96 Fargo-Moorhead Bears USHL Head Coach 46 27 17 1 1 0.598 1996-97 Lincoln Stars USHL Head Coach 54 40 13 0 1 0.741 1997-98 Lincoln Stars USHL Head Coach 56 38 17 0 1 0.679 1998-99 Lincoln Stars USHL Head Coach 56 29 20 0 7 0.518 1999-00 Lincoln Stars USHL Head Coach 58 41 16 0 1 0.707 2000-01 Lincoln Stars USHL Head Coach 56 43 7 0 6 0.768 2001-02 Lincoln Stars USHL Head Coach 61 43 15 3 0 0.730 2002-03 Lincoln Stars USHL Head Coach 60 37 14 0 9 0.617 These are very impressive numbers, although I believe he suffered his first losing season last year.

UND keeps search for hockey coach internal; move gives Hakstol edge for job WDAY Radio Published Wednesday, June 30, 2004 The University of North Dakota has decided to start its search for a new head hockey coach from within, a move that could give interim hockey coach Dave Hakstol the inside track at taking over at the national hockey power. UND spokesman Phil Harmeson said Wednesday a national search for a successor to former UND hockey coach Dean Blais is unlikely. The head coaching job is now posted on UND's internal employment Web site, which means applicants must be current university employees. The move is a strong indicator that Hakstol, the former assistant head coach and leading internal candidate for the job, will be picked to lead the Fighting Sioux hockey squad. Another possible candidate for the position is Brad Berry, an assistant coach who had assumed Hakstol's old position on an interim basis. Harmeson told WDAY Radio that the university prefers to hire its applicants from within. Harmeson said a national search for a new head coach will not be launched unless a qualified UND applicant can't be found. There has been no final decision on whether to launch a national search, he said. The position will be posted internally for five days, Harmeson said. When Blais announced his departure last week, UND athletic director Roger Thomas would not speculate on whether either coach would be given the title permanently. "Right now our university president (Dr. Charles Kupchella) is out of the country and isn't able to be reached," Thomas said. "He returns on the sixth (of July). I'd like to discuss our procedure with him." Hakstol, who played at UND from 1989-92, has been a member of the Sioux coaching staff since the 2000-01 season. He was originally hired as an assistant and was elevated to associate head coach in December of 2000 when Blais left the team for a week. If UND doesn't hire a head coach from within, there are three possible candidates with ties to the school who are head coaches in the Midwest. Current Minnesota-Duluth head coach Scott Sandelin, a 1986 UND graduate, held Hakstol's position at UND before accepting the job in Duluth four years ago. Last season, Sandelin led the upstart Bulldogs to their first NCAA Frozen Four appearance in 19 years. Another Sioux great from the 1980s, Steve Johnson, head coach of the USHL's Lincoln Stars, is a second name which has surfaced as a candidate. Over the past seven seasons, Johnson has led the Stars to two Clark Cup championships, three Anderson Cup championships and guided the 1998 USHL Select Team to a gold medal at the Four Nations tournament. He started his coaching career in 1995 with the Fargo-Moorhead Bears. Warroad, Minn., High School head coach Cary Eades is also a candidate for the head coaching job and may also be likely to accept an assistant coaching position with the Sioux. Eades skated for UND from 1978-82. He has led the Warriors to three Class 2A Minnesota High School state titles since 1994. While he says he will play no factor in the final decision, Blais has already acknowledged who he thinks should replace him. "You never know what's going to happen, but when Scott (Sandelin) left and went to UMD, we brought in Dave Hakstol because we knew he would do a great job and he's definitely ready to be a head coach," Blais said last week. "But it's not my decision to make." There is also some uncertainty among the returning players. After Saturday's NHL entry draft, there are 10 current Sioux players who have been drafted by NHL teams. Sophomore forward Drew Stafford and incoming freshman Travis Zajac were both taken in the first round Saturday. Greene isn't sure how the coaching change will affect his decision or any of his teammates' to stay at UND. "It's a tough call," said Greene, a 2002 draft pick of the Edmonton Oilers. "We all have an allegiance to the coach, but you have to look at the big picture. You play for your coach, but you also play for your teammates as well." (This article includes material from The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead. Both WDAY Radio and The Forum are part of Forum Communications Co.) Hakstol's head coaching record: Coaching [notes] Season Team Lge Type GP W L T OTL Pct Result 1996-97 Sioux-City Musketeers USHL Head Coach

Leverage. I'm sure Duluth will toss some $$ at him if they think he's considering the UND job.

That is what I was trying to say. Jordy is the forward and a grade younger. Beau is a goalie and a grade older. Jordy is not Dave's kid, but his nephew. Beau is Dave's kid so that makes Jordy and Beau cousins. I agree about Beau, their are 2 returning varsity seniors, plus a couple that were juniors on the JV team last year. Christian was the #1 JV goalie last year, he probably could have been the #2 varsity goalie. Jordy is a very fun player to watch. There wasn't a single sophomore on varsity last year, it should be interesting to see if he can crack the line up this year. My guess is he'll start on JV and move up if he produces. I think Moorhead is going to be even better next year, they have a very impressive list of returning players.

They say former goalies make the best coaches. Not sure why considering most goalies are insane. Karl still has some time to make it into the NHL, he has already proven he can play in the AHL. After his career is done I think he would make an excellant coach. For a goalie he seems pretty normal, but then again I don't know him personally.

That would be the other Christian, Dave's kid. Jordy was on the Bantam A team that won state last year. He is also one of the best incoming 10th graders in the state. I believe the goalie is Beau. Jordy is Dave Christian's nephew. He was one of the back up goalies on Moorhead. I believe he is also one of the goalies on the select 16 team, he could compete for the varsity job next season.

I don't think too many on this board are going to "take what you say" as the truth without backing anything up. You may have inside knowledge, but it appears you are speculating. Another speculation is DB is anticipating a lockout and wants to spend more time with his wife who is very ill. Or maybe he feels this may be his last shot at getting in the NHL and felt he couldn't pass it up. Personally these make more sense to me than DB leaving because he doesn't like the rink manager. I think Blais is a little more mature than that.

"There would definitely be some familiarity for the team if (Hakstol) gets to coach," said junior defenseman Matt Greene, who was the only player on hand for the news conference. "Everybody is comfortable with him because we've all played for him. But you never know what's going to happen." If UND doesn't hire a head coach from within, there are three possible candidates with ties to the school who are head coaches in the Midwest. Current Minnesota-Duluth head coach Scott Sandelin, a 1986 UND graduate, held Hakstol's position at UND before accepting the job in Duluth four years ago. Last season, Sandelin led the upstart Bulldogs to their first NCAA Frozen Four appearance in 19 years. Another Sioux great from the 1980s, Steve Johnson, head coach of the USHL's Lincoln Stars, is a second name which has surfaced as a candidate. Over the past seven seasons, Johnson has led the Stars to two Clark Cup championships, three Anderson Cup championships and guided the 1998 USHL Select Team to a gold medal at the Four Nations tournament. He started his coaching career in 1995 with the Fargo-Moorhead Bears. Warroad High School head coach Cary Eades is also a candidate for the head coaching job and may also be likely to accept an assistant coaching position with the Sioux. Eades skated for UND from 1978-82. He has led the Warriors to three Class 2A Minnesota High School state titles since 1994. While he says he will play no factor in the final decision, Blais has already acknowledged who he thinks should replace him. "You never know what's going to happen, but when Scott (Sandelin) left and went to UMD, we brought in Dave Hakstol because we knew he would do a great job and he's definitely ready to be a head coach," Blais said. "But it's not my decision to make." There is also some uncertainty among the returning players. After Saturday's NHL entry draft, there are 10 current Sioux players who have been drafted by NHL teams. Sophomore forward Drew Stafford and incoming freshman Travis Zajac were both taken in the first round Saturday. Greene isn't sure how the coaching change will affect his decision or any of his teammates' to stay at UND. "It's a tough call," said Greene, a 2002 draft pick of the Edmonton Oilers. "We all have an allegiance to the coach, but you have to look at the big picture. You play for your coach, but you also play for your teammates as well." Greene doesn't say anything for sure, but it sounds like he has every intention of coming back next year. I was suprised to see he was the only player at the press conference.

That explains it! DB knows there will not be an NHL next season. UND is going to act like he's leaving, but drag their feet hiring a new coach. Then in August it will officially be announced that there will be a lock-out/strike. UND announces since DB has nothing better to do he will be back to coach the Sioux and WJ team. The whole time drawing two salaries, getting paid $250K for doing nothing in Columbus plus his UND salary. At the end of next season he announces he resigns as associate head coach in Columbus drawing a nice severance package. I knew the man was a genious.

Your right, I wasn't old enough to understand the entire situation. Gino did leave after some bad seasons, but he seemed to leave gracefully. He has always spoke highly of DB and doesn't seem to hold a grudge. I don't remember the situation when it occurred, was there some bad blood? I could see Gino being upset, after turning down an NHL head coaching position I'm sure he thought he was set for a long time.

Good point, UMD will never be able to outbid UND. Duluth is investing a lot into hockey, with the new rink, I'm sure they'll at least make an offer. I hope Sandy would leave Duluth for UND, he would easily be the #1 choice by most. I wonder how much DB is going to be involved in the decision, if at all. I think it says a lot about a program when the last two coaches lasted over 25 years and both left on good terms. I'd go back further but Gino was the coach when I was born so I'm not familiar with any before him.

As supportive DB has been to players leaving early for the NHL it isn't much of a surprise DB took an offer when given one. To me, I'm surprised he took the job as the #2 guy. I would think he is mainly going to be used to scout talent and make personnel decisions, which is good news to former college players. I think this could be good for the NHL, hopefully the trap is going out the window. I don't think DB would ever be a part of a team that uses a nz trap. I hope there is an NHL next season. I don't know Sandelin personally but I don't see him leaving UMD after last season, especially with them building a new rink. I'm sure Duluth will toss bags of money his way to get him to stay. I would think Johnson would have been the front runner a few years ago, but the Lincoln pipeline has dried up. This may have nothing to do with Johnson as a coach, but he isn't as close to the program as he was a few years ago. UND likes to hire internally so I think Hakstol is the front-runner. He has good recruiting skills and seems to have good rapport with the players.

Interesting. The question then is, will they play for the boys or girls team? Both were invited to the boys selects last year. However they are about at that age where the guys should start pulling ahead of them. I hope they both have scholorships, I believe SSM is about $25K a year.

I would put him in the top 5 players in the state, as far as college potential. Mauch, Brehmer and Jechort are pretty unlikely to play D-1 hockey, they are a step slow imho. From what I saw last year Graalum was the most skilled player in the state. I could see him playing if he works at it. Weisgarber is a crap shoot, he needs to bulk up. He reminds me of Cory McLean from North who is at Notre Dame. IMO Marto may be the best D-1 prospect in ND, I'd be surprised to see him back in GF next year. What is Graalum doing next season? I heard rumors about him making a USHL team in Iowa, Cedar Rapids or Waterloo I think.

Your history needs to go back more than 2 years. Moorhead had some pretty good teams in the mid 90's when Cullen was around. Moorhead's Bantam A's won state last year which is a pretty good indication that the high school team will be strong the next couple of years. If everyone stays like they claim next season should be the team to beat in the state. The group of next years seniors may be the best class of hockey players in the state. Too bad half of them are going to be cut, Moorhead should have a pretty healthy Junior Gold team next year. That 1-1 tie was two years ago. Last year Moorhead beat South easily. Again your history needs to go back a few more years. Before Cullen took over, the Fargo schools dominated Moorhead. This is going back before my time, but you have to give credit to Cullen for starting a hockey powerhouse, Moorhead was not always good at hockey.

Jacques was either dropped from Bismarck or didn't dress the last half of the season. He did not contribute much when he did play. PJ is a D-man that fit into the NAHL pretty good. From what I saw he isn't even close to having the speed or skills for a D-1 prospect. Mario was one of the top 5 players in the state last year as a 10th grader, but so was Jacques when he was that age. Some players progress quickly then hit a wall, hopefully Mario continues to progress. They kind of remind me of the Schneiders, Toby was probably the best player in GF in youth hockey, in a group that included O'Connell, Panzer, Spicer and Paul Murphy. Those players passed him up in high school. Andy was a different story. The twin girls are two of the best players in the country for their age. They could really help the womens program gain some recognition if they stay in GF.