Fire Hak?

Surfing Twitter today, I came across a tweet from Broad Street Hockey. Once again, it was like I was walking into a time warp. Apparently, the BSH writers are unhappy with head coach Dave Hakstol and how he manages some of the younger talent. In another post, they were having a round table discussion on Hakstol’s employment future.

You can check out both posts by clicking on the links:

‘Has anybody else jumped to the Fire Hakstol camp?’ Let’s talk about the Flyers coach. and Shayne Gostisbehere, Travis Konecny scratched because everything is bad.

Now for the record, I am not real familiar with Travis Hughes, but he doesn’t appear to be a huge fan of Dave Hakstol. That’s fine, but apparently, the Broad Stree Hockey blog staff wants Hak gone sooner rather than later. Check out the comments at the end of both posts, I think you’ll find them to be interesting.

"Has anybody else jumped to the Fire Hakstol camp?" We have opinions about the Flyers coach: https://t.co/pOTcAukUCI

— Broad Street Hockey (@BroadStHockey) February 2, 2017

Reading the comments, the more things change, the more they stay the same. Some of the things the various bloggers wrote were eerily similar to what some University of North Dakota hockey fans used to say about their former coach.

Finally, for those that are confused about the systems and styles of play that Hakstol employs, it’s pretty simple. Hak’s teams are known for playing an uptempo game with an aggressive, relentless forecheck. Hak’s teams cause havoc in the offensive zone but are also very defensive minded and responsible in their own end. Hak likes honest players that don’t take any shortcuts and play a two-way game. He’s also known for developing young players. Last night, against the Montreal Canadiens, the Flyers executed Hak’s game plan to a “T”. The Canadiens had little time and space and had trouble getting out of their own zone.

I wrote this article for the Hockey Writers back in April of 2015; UND had just lost another semifinal game in the Frozen Four and fans were unhappy and looking for answers. Funny thing, that would be coach Hakstol’s last game behind the UND bench. None of us knew that a shocking decision was about to be announced coach Hakstol was headed to Broad Street to coach the Philadelphia Flyers.

A Blast From the Past

It must be the offseason, a vocal minority of North Dakota hockey fans are once again calling for the ouster of head coach Dave Hakstol.  This time, some of those same fans want Hakstol to take the whole coaching staff with him.

Fire Hakstol, not likely.

I can predict with great confidence that the Hakstol haters aren’t going to be very happy.  First, Hakstol isn’t going anywhere, unless he takes another job (which could happen) or his team has a couple of losing seasons and they miss the NCAA tourney. Then maybe, he gets fired.

Second, UND Athletic Director Brian Faison isn’t going to fire a head coach that’s led his team to the NCAA tourney every season that he’s been the head coach at UND. Also, his team has made the Frozen Four on a regular basis (seven-of-11 seasons he’s been the head coach).

Firing him would defy logic. It makes no sense what-so-ever. It’s not going to happen, and if UND was silly enough to fire Hakstol, he would be picked up almost immediately.

The Hakstol file

UND hockey has a passionate, loyal following. The UND hockey team has been stuck on seven titles for 15 years. The fan base is getting antsy and wants to see their team win a national title. That’s not an unreasonable expectation.

Prior to leaving UND for the Flyers, Hakstol had a successful 11-year coaching career at UND, Hakstol’s teams have amassed a 289-142-43 (.655) record.

Under coach Hakstol, UND is 54-23 (.701) combined in the conference and NCAA tourney.  For those that are keeping track at home, that’s 19 more wins than any other NCHC school.

Making the NCAA tourney is no easy task. Under coach Hakstol, UND has made the NCAA tournament 11 consecutive years.  That’s the third-longest streak of any coach in NCAA tournament history. Only Michigan’s Red Berenson (22, 1991-2012) and Minnesota’s Gophers former head coach Doug Woog (12, 1986-97) have had longer streaks.