With a number of high profile head coaches available for hire around the NHL, Philadelphia Flyers general manager Ron Hextall decided that an established name wasn’t the right fit for his club.
The organization announced today that longtime college hockey coach Dave Hakstol has been hired as the team’s new head coach, replacing Craig Berube, who was let go in April after spending two seasons with the club.
“I wasn’t going to choose the coach that was the people’s choice, the popular choice,” Hextall said. “I was going to pick the coach that I felt like for this franchise from today, next year and moving forward was the right coach. And Dave is the right coach for this franchise at this point.”
Hakstol comes to the Flyers after spending 11 seasons with the University of North Dakota, where he went 289-143-43, made the NCAA Tournament each season and reached the Frozen Four seven times—including this season when North Dakota lost to Boston University in the national semifinals.
Hextall’s son played for Hakstol for three seasons at North Dakota, giving Hextall prior insight into Hakstol’s coaching style. But he still needed more time to make sure Hakstol was the right fit and ended up spending several days talking to the coach over the phone and in person.
“I had a list of things I wanted from a head coach and went down this checklist in my mind and every box was checked except for the NHL experience,” Hextall said. “Quite frankly, for me that’s the one that’s least important. It’s no different from a rookie player. Does Dave have things to learn? Absolutely; he’ll be the first to admit it. He’s got a lot of time here to get to know the League, get to know our team, familiarize himself with the area, look into forming a staff.
“It’s a big jump; that’s fair to say. … I had a lot of questions for Dave in terms of the schedule, 82 games vs. low 40s; there’s an adjustment there. We talked about a lot of things. I was very comfortable with his answers. He’s very direct, he knows what he believes in. In the end it comes down to a gut feel. Can Dave handle NHL players, the schedule, the differences in the collegiate level vs. this level? Every time I asked myself that question my answer was yes.”
Hextall will look to his new coach to help his team into the playoffs next season after missing twice in the past three years.
