Hakstol Couldn't Resist NHL Shot

Has 'Regret' Over Not Winning Title, But 'Proud'

by Adam Wodon/Managing Editor

PHILADELPHIA  As the amount of former NCAA players in the NHL has balooned to the 33 percent it is today, there has been barely any movement on coaches making the same jump, certainly not as head coaches.

That changed Monday with the surprise announcement that the Philadelphia Flyers hired Dave Hakstol from North Dakota. The 46-year old has been at the helm for 11 years, going to seven Frozen Fours but without winning a championship. Now, one-time minor league pro, gets a crack at the highest level of pro hockey.

Of course, the Philadelphia media, obsessed with Mike Babcock for months, was caught off guard, and was quick to hound Flyers general manager Ron Hextall on why he went out on such a limb. They have no knowledge of Hakstol and his track record, but, still, they are right to an extent. No matter how good Hakstol has been at North Dakota, the NHL is another matter entirely.

"There's going to be several adjustments along the way," Hakstol said at Monday's introductory news conference. "But No. 1, I believe in the things that I do, and I'm not going to change that as I come to this level. The delivery of the message is maybe a little different. That I don't have experience at this level, I'm not going to pretend that I do, but I do have confidence that I know the game well and can communicate with players."

Hakstol joins a very elite group of those who have made the jump from the NCAA to an NHL head coaching job: Ned Harkness, Bob Johnson and Herb Brooks. All three had won multiple national titles at the school they were leaving, and made for an enticing option to an open-minded NHL GM.

Hakstol's hire could signal a change in attitudes that will open more doors. It's too quick, however, to believe this is the start of a trend. It's safe to say that Hextall would not have even though of Hakstol had his son, Brett, not played for North Dakota from 2008-11.

"I thought about him long before this as a head coach in the National Hockey League," Hextall said. "I believe he was dsetined for it. He has a lot of pro qualities.

"(Brett and I) talked. Because he's my son and he played for North Dakota, we've talked about the coach over the years. But I had my eye on him for a while now."

Hextall was concerned, of course, with the lack of pro coaching experience, but said ultimately, the other factors were more important.

"We met parts of four days. We were on the phone a lot. And everything checked out the way we hoped it would check out," Hextall said. "I had a list of things I wanted as a head coach. I went down this checklist in my mind. Every box was checked except for NHL experience. And quite frankly, for me, that was the one that was least important. It's no different than a rookie player. Does Dave have things to learn? Absolutely. He'll be the first to admit it. ... Can Dave handle the schedule, the differences in players, and every time I asked myself the questions, the answer was yes."

Part of the reason few have made the jump is that many coaches don't want to go. Jack Parker, for example, turned down a straight up offer from the Boston Bruins once, among other overtures. It's much more stable to coach in the NCAA, even if it has become more cutthroat over the years. There are family considerations, the joys of mentoring young men into young adults, or even the connection to an alma mater in many cases.

"It's been a goal of mine," said Hakstol, who becomes the second current NHL coach from Warburg, Alberta, population 789, joining Lindy Ruff. "It's a tough question to answer, when's the right time to leave. I can tell you, the opportunity that Ron and the rest of the Flyers organization have presented here is the right opportunity, and a lot of it comes down to the time that I spent with Ron and other members of the staff here, and also the history and tradition and how much meaning that has in this city. And there's an excitement about the group of players and some of the ones coming that plays into it.

"I have a pretty good understanding of what I'm getting into. There's going to be challenges. I look forward to learning more about the city. ... In a lot of ways, yes (it's different). But I come from a program with a lot of expectations, obviously at a different level."



It may not have been an easy sell. Hakstol was at his alma mater, and despite the pressures to win there, and the frustration of not landing an elusive national title, he was in a comfortable spot. And he could've stayed there as long as he wanted. His wife is from Grand Forks.

But the program, looked at as practically "NHL-like," because of the style, the fan base, and the quality of player it's able to attract, set him up well for leaving.

"As we went further and further getting to know each other, it not only made a lot of sense, it became an exciting opportunity, one we both worked our way through with a lot of detail," Hakstol said.

"Sometimes time's not a luxury at this level, but everyone here was great in giving me that time to work through the process. It was a real hard decision to leave North Dakota, but this was the right opportunity. But more importantly, it was the right people to come work for. ... I spent some time here in town, and most of that time was spent with Ron and a few others in the organization, discussing a lot of different things — hockey, the situation here, and also just philosophies. When you go to work every day, you have to work closely with everybody.

Of course, Hakstol regrets the lack of a national title, and always will. But there's plenty to be proud of.

"I'm very honestly saying that's a regret, that I wasn't able to part of one of the green banners hanging in the rafters at Ralph Engelstad Arena," Hakstol said. "But ultimately I look back on the tremendous experiences I had there, the success we were able to have there on a yearly basis is something we take an awful lot of pride in, and a lot of good players and a lot of good coaches had a hand in that.

"Yeah, no question (it made it harder to leave). But I couldn't make that the main focus of my decision, and it wasn't.

One of the Frozen Four heartbreaks came in the very building Hakstol was speaking in today, that loss in the closing seconds of the 2014 semifinals to Minnesota, on a shorthanded goal. This year, North Dakota outplayed Boston University in the semis for most of the game.

"The way our team played over the last two Frozen Fours, our team played extremely well," Hakstol said. "It's difficult in a one-game shot. You don't have a chance to go back and tweak a couple things and extend the series."

Another regret is that he didn't get the chance to tell his players before he left, such being the way of the world these days, the immediacy of information. But he hopes to rectify that soon.

"That's one of the hard things about the world we live in today, that's just not something I was able to do before I came out here," Hakstol said. "Those are special guys to me, so I'll do that when I get back to Grand Forks."

As for the future at North Dakota, Hakstol is sure the program is in good hands. He had talks with athletic director Brian Faison before leaving, trying ensure the transition was as smooth as possible — meaning, that it included his two assistants, both also alums, somehow, Brad Berry and Dane Jackson. Faison made quick work in offering the job to Berry.

"My greatest concern was continuing continuity with the program," Hakstol said. "They're both quality guys, they're both capable of taking the lead role there. To look at the experiences both of those guys have had there, they're both very well prepared. ... I was part of the discussion in terms of making the transition in house to one of those two guys."

Despite the inability to discuss the idea with any other coaches who have taken this path — all three of the aforementioned guys to make the jump from the NCAAs to NHL have passed away — there were some people Hakstol leaned on. Hakstol declined to name names of who he spoke to, specifically, but there are people like former Denver coach George Gwozdecky, working as an assistant in the NHL, who could certainly have some pointers. And, of course, his predecessor at North Dakota, Dean Blais, left to become an assistant with Columbus in the NHL, though that didn't last too long.

"Dean and I had such a good relationship," Hakstol said. "I don't need to have a specific conversation with him at this time, we've had many conversations over time, and he's been a great mentor to me."