Q&A With ... Minnesota State, Team USA Coach Mike Hastings

by Christopher Boulay/CHN Writer (@chrismboulay)

The 2019 World Junior Championship finished in Vancouver with the United States falling in the gold medal game, 3-2, to Finland. While it wasn’t a storybook ending for the Americans, it did mark the fourth consecutive year the U.S. received a medal, the longest streak in its tournament history.

In the preliminary round, the U.S. opened with wins over Slovakia and Kazakhstan, before losing a tough game in overtime against the Swedes, one that would see a four-goal comeback with less than 10 minutes left. Completing group play with a 4-1 win over Finland, the team defeated the Czech Republic in the quarterfinals and the Russians in the semifinals to guarantee a medal.

Minnesota State coach Mike Hastings led the team to the silver medal this time around, his first time as a head coach with Team USA, but still a familiar face behind the bench as an assistant in the past.

College Hockey News sat down with Hastings to discuss his feelings looking back on this year’s World Junior Championship, and the legacy his staff and the 2019 team leaves for the future.

CHN: What was the overall tournament experience like, especially having earned a silver medal for the U.S.?

Hastings: Like any coach, you go along for the ride with the players. They’re the ones doing the heavy lifting. We had a great group of players. We had five returners that we, as a staff, asked to be our leadership group. They really embraced that opportunity and that role. They really were the conduit to getting our message, as a staff, through to the remainder of the team. They did it by example, they did it by their actions and they did it by their leadership skills both on and off the ice. It allowed us to take steps throughout the tournament.

CHN: What was your experience working with a new group, who don’t have the cohesion of practicing for months, and go into a tournament and win immediately?

Hastings: It’s a challenge, but it’s a challenge that everyone in that tournament goes through. I was surrounded by a very quality staff. It allowed us to try and communicate what our goals were, what was going to be our identity and how were were going to get there. You always want it to go faster than it does. It did take us a little bit — we got together on the 14th (of December) — even a game or two into the tournament.

I think a big turning point for us was the last 10 minutes of the Sweden game, where we were down by four and came back and tied the game and got it to overtime. I think our team really took a big step there.

CHN: How do you manage taking advantage of this opportunity while knowing in the back of your mind, Minnesota State is playing meaningful games back home?

Hastings: Part of that comfort was the staff that I had here in (assistants) Todd Knott and Darren Blue. Both of them have recruited and Todd is the recruiting coordinator and he recruited the majority of the players that were (at Minnesota State). It is different. I think it was 26 days from the time that we landed in Seattle and went to Everett to when we returned. When you’re away from your team that long, I didn’t want to meddle too much. I thought we had a good plan in place when I left with my staff and the leadership group we have here at MSU.

It’s one that’s unique. I haven’t been through it before. Previously, I was an assistant coach — one in junior hockey and one in college when I was with Dean Blais (on Scott Sandelin’s 2005 U.S. staff). It’s a little different as a head coach because you’re leaving your club for that amount of time. It was interesting. I think they grew while I was gone, and hopefully I’ve done the same. And now we’re back together and looking forward to the second half.

CHN: This was a rare tournament where the U.S. and Canada did not face each other. Was there any feelings about not having that opportunity this time around?

Hastings: One of the main things that we ask the guys to focus on is to control what we can control. A by-product of that is to ensure that we got to the quarterfinals first and then the medal round. We couldn’t really control what Canada was doing.

(The rivalry) is special. The players didn’t get to experience it, and we as a staff didn’t, but it was something we didn’t really control. We were just focused on trying to take our team as far as we could.

CHN: Staying on the topic of rivalries, you were able to play Russia in the semifinals and you got the win. What was the experience like?

Hastings: They were first in their pool. We knew they were quality, as we had played them in an exhibition game before the tournament. We had an idea of what we were getting into, and we knew it was going to be a battle. It was. At that time, you’re trying to get into that gold medal game to have an opportunity to play for the ultimate prize. We were fortunate to get a lead and we held onto that lead.

I thought it was special because when you get to that point, you want to have that opportunity to fight for that gold medal. With the teams in the past three years, USA Hockey had gone three straight years medaling for the first time in the tournament. We didn’t want to take a step backward. We wanted to continue to push and write our own history, and this group did that. They gave themselves an opportunity to win gold and that Russia game was a special one because it gave us an opportunity to play in that game.

CHN: Knowing you helped the United States extend that medaling streak, what does it mean to you?

Hastings: You’re prideful about what the group was able to accomplish and how hard those guys actually work to get there. That tournament is something that these players don’t go through at any other time, that amount of games in a short time frame. To have those guys step up and find a way to deliver at the most important time in the Russia game, to try and continue to carry the torch, there’s an expectation now at USA Hockey for this team to play for medals consistently. You’re seeing that start to happen. We wanted to continue that and that’s going to be the focus of teams ahead of us.

CHN: The team came up short in the gold medal game against Finland. What did you tell them following the loss?

Hastings: When you’re looking at 23 athletes that poured their hearts out for each other over a short period and came up just a little bit short, we talked about that we were disappointed in the outcome of that game, but not a bit disappointed in what that team was able to accomplish throughout the tournament. They got better every day, and that’s what we asked them to do. We asked them to buy in and we asked everybody to leg in and pull a piece of the rope so that we could get as far as we possibly could. They did that.

I told them they should be very proud. I know it doesn’t feel that way right at that moment, but as time moves on, as days go by, months go by and years go by, nobody is ever going to be able to take that silver medal away from those guys. That’s something that they’ll be able to hold onto for the rest of their lives. They represented their country very well, both on and off the ice throughout that tournament.

CHN: Many of the players are on college teams, and typically only play two games a weekend. They start off the season getting used to the college schedule for the season before playing several games in a very short period during the WJCs. How does the exertion affect them and how to they adjust when they get back to their college teams?

Hastings: There is (a lot of exertion), but they’re very elite players. It probably mirrors more of a pro schedule than a college schedule. There wasn’t a lot of practice time (during the tournament), and hockey players like to play games. A lot of that tournament is time management — how important it is to get rest. Can you keep guys healthy, whether it’s through injuries or through sickness? And then (you need) the mental toughness to stick through.

I’m sure there are players who have gone back (...) and get thrown back into the deep end with ankle weights, and are told to start swimming because their coaches and universities are asking them to play well. I know there has been some time given off to a majority of the guys who are heading back. But, some teams are right back at it. These guys love the game and they love playing the game. Even if there were coaches out there that said “Hey, we’re going to give you time off,” I don’t believe there are too many of those athletes who are going to say “Hey, I think I need to take the time.” They’d rather play a game with their teammates.

CHN: When someone is offered a job on the U.S. staff next year, what would you tell them about the opportunity if asked?

Hastings: If you have the opportunity to do it, you have to do it. It’s special. One, representing your country, and two, playing with your country’s best. Having the opportunity to be surrounded by the people that USA Hockey allows yourself to surround yourself with as a staff.

And then, (there’s) the people who are at USA Hockey. The people who don’t get a lot of pats on the back. The torch was passed from a very good friend in (executive) Jim Johannson, who has passed. That’s his tournament. He was with us even though he’s no longer with us. He was definitely with us at the tournament. And the torch has passed to John Vanbiesbrouck. It’s in good hands. It’s an experience I’ll remember for the rest of my life. I’m very blessed to have the opportunity to coach that team.

If there’s anybody out there at the collegiate game who has an opportunity to be a part of that, you need to grab a hold of it, take advantage of it and go experience it for yourself because it’s something special.

