20 potential candidates for the UND hockey coaching job
Mar. 24—GRAND FORKS — The only two times the UND hockey head coaching position has been open in the last 30 years, the school promoted the top assistant coach.
Last time, in May 2015, UND hired Brad Berry within hours of Dave Hakstol leaving for the Philadelphia Flyers.
UND is entering new territory
after firing Berry on Sunday
night.
It is UND's first hire of the transfer portal era, which makes timing critical. It also complicates things.
The portal opens for non-graduates Sunday.
If UND hires before the portal opens, that eliminates NCAA tournament-bound coaches.
If UND waits for the regionals to end, it risks losing players — and missing out on top forwards it will need to round out next year's roster.
According to multiple sources, UND is currently pursuing the first option — trying to make a hire by the end of the week. The job was posted Monday morning. It closes Wednesday.
Here are some potential candidates:
Dave Hakstol is one of the top hockey coaches in the world. He's two years removed from being a Jack Adams Award finalist in the NHL, leading the second-year Seattle Kraken to within a game of the Western Conference Finals.
Hakstol, 56, had major success during his 11-year run as UND's coach from 2004-15, bringing the program to seven NCAA Frozen Fours.
But it also may be a pipe dream.
Hakstol is likely in line to get back into the NHL when jobs open up this spring. Luring him back to college would be a home run, but probably a longshot.
UND has only hired one coach since 1957 who was not previously a UND assistant coach. That was Rube Bjorkman and it did not turn out well. Bjorkman is the only UND coach to finish with a losing record.
If UND goes with an internal candidate, associate head coach Dane Jackson is likely the guy.
He's been with the program for 19 seasons — and
those 19 seasons have been pretty good.
Jackson has been offered at least three assistant coaching jobs in the NHL and at least one head coaching job in the AHL, but he's remained in Grand Forks.
Jackson, 54, has long seemed like the heir apparent to Berry.
He will likely be the most popular choice among alums.
A few years ago, Scott Sandelin was one of the hottest names in college hockey coaching circles.
After three-straight sub-.500 seasons at Minnesota Duluth, that has quieted a little bit, but he's still an excellent coach who played at UND and has won NCAA national championships as an assistant coach and a head coach.
He's been at Minnesota Duluth for 25 years, though. At age 60, and potentially closing in on retirement in the next 5-10 years, he might not want to make a move.
Pat Ferschweiler, 55, has done an incredible job at Western Michigan since taking over for Andy Murray, moving the Broncos to the top half of the NCHC and all the way to the Penrose Cup this season.
There are two problems, though.
No. 1: He's not going to be available for a while. Western Michigan is in the NCAA tournament and could be playing for a few more weeks.
No. 2: Ferschweiler just signed a new contract at Western Michigan and it contains a massive buyout. If he leaves this summer, the buyout totals $2.29 million.
There's one pattern with two previous names: Jason Herter was an assistant coach on their winning teams.
Herter has an eye for talent and has done a great job developing defensive corps at both Minnesota Duluth and Western Michigan, where he's currently the associate head coach.
Herter, 54, served as head coach of the Fargo Force for a season before becoming a top NCAA assistant. He has two NCAA national titles as an assistant coach.
Maine coach Ben Barr, 43, is one of the top coaches in the country.
He won an NCAA title as an assistant coach at UMass. He then went to Maine and brought the Black Bears back to prominence.
The challenge: Barr's Black Bears will be playing in a regional this weekend and UND would have to wait until after the transfer portal opened to make a run at him.
Nate Leaman, 52, is one of college hockey's most accomplished coaches.
He turned Union College into a college hockey power before heading to Providence. He won an NCAA national championship with the Friars and has posted 12-straight winning seasons.
Like Ferschweiler and Barr, Leaman's team is playing in the NCAA tournament this weekend.
Reid Cashman, 42, is quickly building an impressive resume.
He was an assistant coach on two Quinnipiac teams that played for NCAA national championships, including the 2016 squad that lost to UND in Tampa, Fla.
He has been an assistant at the NHL and AHL levels.
He pulled Dartmouth out of the doldrums in a couple of years and made the Big Green an ECAC contender.
Cashman is from Red Wing, Minn.
Former UND defenseman Aaron Schneekloth, 46, is the head coach of the Colorado Eagles in the American Hockey League.
He's done a terrific job at the pro level. He won two championships in the ECHL as a head coach. He's worked his way up from assistant to head coach after the Eagles became the Colorado Avalanche's top minor-league affiliate.
The Eagles are currently in first place in their division, four points shy of being the best team in the league.
The drawback? Pro coaches haven't always translated in college hockey without previous college hockey experience. Colorado College tried it with Mike Haviland. Wisconsin tried it with Tony Granato.
Jeff Blashill, 51, has been in pro hockey for the last 14 seasons, serving as a head coach for Grand Rapids in the AHL and a head coach for the Detroit Red Wings in the NHL. He's currently an assistant with the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Blashill has a college hockey background, though.
He helped build Ferris State in the early 2000s. He was a part of building Miami's great teams in the mid 2000s. He spent one year at Western Michigan and led the Broncos to the NCAA tournament in 2011.
He also won a United States Hockey League Clark Cup with Indiana in 2009.
Former UND captain Matt Smaby, 40, is considered a top up-and-coming coach.
He's currently the head coach of the Waterloo Black Hawks in the USHL and has experience at the pro level in Austria.
He has dabbled at the college level as a student assistant at UND for two years.
Former UND captain Matt Greene, 41, is a terrific leader and a winner at all levels.
He won two Stanley Cups as an alternate captain of the Los Angeles Kings and is universally respected.
Greene is currently in player development with the Kings.
He has no NCAA coaching experience.
Former UND defenseman James Patrick had a long run as an NHL assistant coach, but moved to the Western Hockey League in 2017. He has been coaching junior hockey since then.
Patrick, 61, has deep ties to what will soon become a popular recruiting ground for UND — Manitoba and the WHL.
He has no NCAA coaching experience.
Former UND national champion Jeff Ulmer, 47, is currently an assistant coach in the NHL with the San Jose Sharks.
He previously was an assistant coach with the American Hockey League's Abbotsford Canucks and had a lengthy professional playing career.
He has no NCAA coaching experience.
Jonathan Toews, 36, is an off-the-board name.
He has never coached at any level. But he's a terrific leader, sharp and would bring star power to UND's head coaching job.
Toews appears to be set on returning to a playing career, though.
Matt Cullen is an off-the-board pick, but he's a winner at every level.
He's won three Stanley Cups. He got involved with the Fargo Force and they quickly won a Clark Cup. He was involved with Moorhead hockey this year and it won titles at both the high school and bantam levels.
Cullen, 48, also has high-end sons who he could bring to campus for the ride.
If UND is looking to take a swing at an up-and-coming coach, Garrett Raboin would fit the bill.
Raboin, 39, was an assistant at St. Cloud State when the Huskies were winning Penrose Cups in the 2010s. He coached at the University of Minnesota for four years under Bob Motzko.
He has helped get the Augustana program off the ground in a hurry.
Raboin is from Detroit Lakes, Minn.
Kris Mayotte, 42, has had success everywhere he's gone.
He was at Providence with Leaman for the 2015 NCAA title. He was at Michigan for two seasons and helped recruit star players to Ann Arbor.
He's currently at Colorado College, where he's quickly rebuilt the Tigers along with his main recruiter Peter Mannino.
Brett Larson, 52, won two NCAA titles as an assistant at Minnesota Duluth before moving to St. Cloud State.
He took the Huskies to the NCAA title game and he's won at the international level with U.S. World Junior Championship teams.
UND would have to overlook that Larson's squad finished eighth in the NCHC this season and set a program record for longest winless streak, but he's a sharp, well-regarded coach.
Luke Strand, 52, has been on a good run.
He won a USHL Clark Cup with Sioux City in 2022. He helped Ohio State to the NCAA tournament as an assistant coach in 2023, and he's helped Minnesota State stay at the top of the Central Collegiate Hockey Association after Mike Hastings left for Wisconsin.
Strand's Mavericks play in the NCAA tournament this weekend.
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