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Should Hakstol be considered for National Coach of the Year?


siouxnami

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Like I said, Hakstol has done a good job this year. But when an elite program is in the middle of their own league that coach will never be in the conversation for coach of the year regardless of the circumstances he's facing.

I totally agree with this

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A few things:

1. Lucia is not COTY material unless he wins it all. All those reasons given up about previous years are bunk. Uearly departures happen all the time in elite programs. it's to be expected. Losing a player midseason is tough but how difficult it is depends upon the context. If the player is a disruptive influence, it's not bad. If he just up and leaves, it can be a distraction sure. Losing those guys unexpectedly wasn't that big of a deal, imo, to Minnesota. Especially in the case of Burkholz and Dorr. Dorr was a flake. If Lucia was somewhat competent, which I believe he is more than just "somewhat," Dorr probably wouldn't have played much anyways due to character issues alone. Burkholz was a moron and Minny was lucky to lose him. As for the coaching changes, PLEASE! I maintain that it was Lucia trying to save his job that led to Hill's departure. And you CANNOT look me straight in the eye (even with the 10-10-2 record IIRC) and say that Minnesota has done poorly thus far with Guentzel as compared to how Hill would have coached them. Sorry. I don't buy that for one second.

2. I believe Hakstol is in the same boat as Lucia. He's truly a great head coach and has faced plenty of adversity this year, but his team isn't without talent. There is no certainty that UND will make the NCAAs this year. I'd say that if Hakstol makes the Frozen Four suiting up the 18 skaters he has and no fluke team like Union or Yale or whatever pulls off a miracle, I'd say Hakstol has a decent shot.

If the season ended today, though, I'd probably be considering the head coaches of either Ferris State or UMass Lowell. Freakin' Ferris State. Going from the rumormill deathbed to #1 (even if it may be only temporary and not with a lot of teeth behind it ala Union) is remarkable.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Brought this back to the top not because I think Hak should get the award (yet), but to recognize again what a job he's done with this team--especially with guys like Patyn, Gaarder, and Senkbeil, all while keeping Kristo and some of the other vets 100% into the scheme. Remarkable, really.

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