Flyers' Dave Hakstol hire a shrewd, outside-the-box move, When Ron Hextall played in the NHL, he was impulsive and prone to volcanic emotional outbursts. Now as the Philadelphia Flyers general manager, he has proved to be calculating and prone to creative solutions.
Hextall showed he can think outside the box with the hiring of University of North Dakota coach Dave Hakstol to be their new head coach.
Hakstol is the first college coach to step directly into an NHL head coaching job in 28 years. Herb Brooks was the last to do it when he left St. Cloud State to coach the Minnesota North Stars in 1987, however that situation isn't the same because Brooks had previously coached in the NHL.
The last similar situation was in 1982 when "Badger" Bob Johnson left Wisconsin to coach the Calgary Flames.
Hakstol, 46, might be an ideal choice for the Flyers because he is coming from an environment where he had to be a teaching coach. The Flyers' future depends significantly on the coach's ability to inspire younger players such as Sean Couturier, Brayden Schenn and Shayne Gostisbehere to take their games to a higher level.The Flyers could also use a coach who will be demanding in his expectations. Hakstol made the NCAA tournament in all 11 seasons he coached at North Dakota.
He won 65.4% of his games during the regular season and 69.2% of his games in the postseason.
Although he never coached in the NHL, Hakstol sent 20 players to the league, including Jonathan Toews (Chicago Blackhawks), Matt Greene (Los Angeles Kings), T.J. Oshie (St. Louis Blues) and Travis Zajac (New Jersey Devils).
Many fans wanted Hextall to fire coach Craig Berube during the season, but reacting to public sentiment has not been his management style. He seems to prefer to watch and analyze for a lengthy period before he makes his move.Although reviews were not favorable on Hextall's first major trade in moving Scott Hartnell to the Columbus Blue Jackets last summer for R.J. Umberger, he did seem to hit a home run by landing a first-round pick, a third-rounder and defenseman Radko Gudas from the Tampa Bay Lightning for Braydon Coburn this season. Getting a second-rounder from the Blackhawks for Kimmo Timonen was also considered a coup.
Hextall's biggest accomplishment thus far might have been to persuade owner Ed Snider to be more patient, and less impulsive, about trying to make the Flyers a winner.
The evidence of that is in the hiring of Hakstol. The Flyers were initially interested in getting into the Mike Babcock sweepstakes. That certainly would have fit Snider's history of doing whatever it takes to acquire the best available talent.But after investigating the situation, Hextall believed Hakstol was the right man for the job in Philadelphia. He obviously has Snider's support in that decision.
"Most of all, this is a tribute to Dave's abilities and his history of having coached several players who moved on to successful NHL careers," said USA Hockey executive director Dave Ogrean. "But it also speaks to the respect that college hockey has earned as a development ground for players at the highest level."
This was a big day for the Flyers and college hockey. Hakstol is only the fourth college coach to move directly from a school to an NHL head coaching job."It is surprising that it hasn't happened more often given the success that NCAA coaches are having in helping prepare so many players for careers in the NHL," said Mike Snee, executive director of College Hockey Inc. "…Many other college coaches have had an impact very similar to Dave's so I don't think it will be another 28 years before it happens again."
Ned Harkness became the first when he left Cornell, where he coached Hall of Fame goalie Ken Dryden, to join the Detroit Red Wings in 1970. Glen Sonmor (Minnesota) and Jack Kelley (Boston University) left college jobs to join the World Hockey Association in the 1970s.
Today, about 30% of all NHL players have a college background, and the college coaching ranks have long been an untapped well of talent. That well was finally tapped Monday.
Hextall showed he can think outside the box with the hiring of University of North Dakota coach Dave Hakstol to be their new head coach.
Hakstol is the first college coach to step directly into an NHL head coaching job in 28 years. Herb Brooks was the last to do it when he left St. Cloud State to coach the Minnesota North Stars in 1987, however that situation isn't the same because Brooks had previously coached in the NHL.
The last similar situation was in 1982 when "Badger" Bob Johnson left Wisconsin to coach the Calgary Flames.
Hakstol, 46, might be an ideal choice for the Flyers because he is coming from an environment where he had to be a teaching coach. The Flyers' future depends significantly on the coach's ability to inspire younger players such as Sean Couturier, Brayden Schenn and Shayne Gostisbehere to take their games to a higher level.The Flyers could also use a coach who will be demanding in his expectations. Hakstol made the NCAA tournament in all 11 seasons he coached at North Dakota.
He won 65.4% of his games during the regular season and 69.2% of his games in the postseason.
Although he never coached in the NHL, Hakstol sent 20 players to the league, including Jonathan Toews (Chicago Blackhawks), Matt Greene (Los Angeles Kings), T.J. Oshie (St. Louis Blues) and Travis Zajac (New Jersey Devils).
Many fans wanted Hextall to fire coach Craig Berube during the season, but reacting to public sentiment has not been his management style. He seems to prefer to watch and analyze for a lengthy period before he makes his move.Although reviews were not favorable on Hextall's first major trade in moving Scott Hartnell to the Columbus Blue Jackets last summer for R.J. Umberger, he did seem to hit a home run by landing a first-round pick, a third-rounder and defenseman Radko Gudas from the Tampa Bay Lightning for Braydon Coburn this season. Getting a second-rounder from the Blackhawks for Kimmo Timonen was also considered a coup.
Hextall's biggest accomplishment thus far might have been to persuade owner Ed Snider to be more patient, and less impulsive, about trying to make the Flyers a winner.
The evidence of that is in the hiring of Hakstol. The Flyers were initially interested in getting into the Mike Babcock sweepstakes. That certainly would have fit Snider's history of doing whatever it takes to acquire the best available talent.But after investigating the situation, Hextall believed Hakstol was the right man for the job in Philadelphia. He obviously has Snider's support in that decision.
"Most of all, this is a tribute to Dave's abilities and his history of having coached several players who moved on to successful NHL careers," said USA Hockey executive director Dave Ogrean. "But it also speaks to the respect that college hockey has earned as a development ground for players at the highest level."
This was a big day for the Flyers and college hockey. Hakstol is only the fourth college coach to move directly from a school to an NHL head coaching job."It is surprising that it hasn't happened more often given the success that NCAA coaches are having in helping prepare so many players for careers in the NHL," said Mike Snee, executive director of College Hockey Inc. "…Many other college coaches have had an impact very similar to Dave's so I don't think it will be another 28 years before it happens again."
Ned Harkness became the first when he left Cornell, where he coached Hall of Fame goalie Ken Dryden, to join the Detroit Red Wings in 1970. Glen Sonmor (Minnesota) and Jack Kelley (Boston University) left college jobs to join the World Hockey Association in the 1970s.
Today, about 30% of all NHL players have a college background, and the college coaching ranks have long been an untapped well of talent. That well was finally tapped Monday.
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