A year ago Monday was a whirlwind day in the hockey world. Early May 18, 2015, the Philadelphia Flyers announced that University of North Dakota head coach Dave Hakstol had been hired by the Flyers to become their 19th head coach. Hakstol left UND with a 289-143-43 record and a .654 winning percentage. The only thing that had eluded Hakstol was a NCAA title.
For the most part, UND hockey fans were shocked by the announcement. An even bigger shocker, the Flyers, and the UND were able to keep this story a secret. No one from the NHL media had caught wind of this story. That’s remarkable in today’s world where news comes quick and fast via social media.
According to UND head coach Brad Berry, the Flyers made two initial offers to coach Hakstol. He turned both of them down. The Flyers wouldn’t take no for an answer. On the third try, they were able to persuade Hakstol to take the position.
Hakstol became the first head coach since Bob Badger Johnson to make the jump from college to the NHL in 1981. (Philly.COM)
After Hakstol announced his resignation at UND, associate head coach Brad Berry was named UND’s head coach a mere two hours later. (Grand Forks Herald)
A year later, after much thought, one must conclude that it was a heck of a year for Berry and Hakstol.
UND would finally get the monkey off their back by winning their school’s eighth NCAA title. Meanwhile, Berry’s good friend, Hakstol would lead the Flyers to an eye-opening second half run to qualify for the Stanley Cup Playoffs. IN his first season, Hakstol took over a young team that wasn’t expected to even make the Stanley Cup Playoffs with a 41-27-14 (573) record.
So, I must say, it worked out pretty well for both coaches
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