Tag Archives: Ron Rolston

That Heat…

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Just a few minutes ago, I was going through some old notes when I noticed something which happened a year ago today.

What happened was Jason Herter leaving the Fargo Force for Minnesota-Duluth to become an assistant. Herter’s departure opened the door for John Marks, who led the Force to a second-round playoff appearance.

And of course a year to the day, the Indiana Ice hire a new head coach, Ron Gay.

Pretty interesting given what’s gone on in the last year with USHL coaches. Let’s use May 22, 2011 as a starting date. Since then, 12 of the league’s franchises have replaced their head coaches.

No joke. Here’s the proof of what every team has done with its coaching situation.

In the Eastern Conference:

-Green Bay Gamblers: The Gamblers replaced Eric Rud, who left for his alma mater, Colorado College with Denver assistant Derek Lalonde. Lalonde, in his debut season, leads the team to one of the USHL’s greatest ever seasons and a Clark Cup title.

-Indiana Ice: Technically, they’ve gone through three coaches and four coaching changes in the last year. Charlie Skjodt was the team’s head coach when the season ended before he returned to the front office. The Ice hired Yale assistant Kyle Wallack, who was fired shortly before the playoffs. Skjodt returned to the bench and then the team hired Gay.

-Dubuque Fighting Saints: Former Maine great Jim Montgomery remains the team’s head coach. But here’s where it’s really interesting. He just finished his second season and he’s already the third most-tenured coach in the league. Interpret that one however you want.

-Youngstown Phantoms: Curtis Carr left the team late in the summer to become an assistant at Merrimack. Days later the team promoted assistant Anthony Noreen, who led the Phantoms to fourth in Eastern Conference.

-Cedar Rapids RoughRiders: Here’s the second team which hasn’t made a coaching change. It may never look that way either as Carlson has been there for 12 seasons and has a partial stake in the team’s ownership. Carlson, a former Pittsburgh Penguins draft pick, has won everything imaginable from the Clark Cup to the Anderson Cup to the USHL’s Coach of the Year during his time in Cedar Rapids. He also led this year’s team to the playoffs, something he’s done every year he has been in the league.

-NTDP: USA Hockey lost Ron Rolston last season to the Rochester Americans (AHL), which is an affiliate of the Buffalo Sabres. It resulted in the team hiring Don Granato. The NTDP also lost Kurt Kleinendorst and replaced him with Danton Cole. The program made the USHL Playoffs for a second straight season.

-Chicago Steel: The 2010-11 season wasn’t kind to the Steel, as the franchise suffered through a 9-43-8 season, easily one the worst in any realm of junior hockey in the last few years. It’s what led to the dismissal of Jon Waibel and the promotion of Scott McConnell. McConnell was made the team’s full-time head coach last summer. In his first full season, he led the Steel to a 25-31-4 mark and were just three points out of the playoffs.

-Muskegon Lumberjacks: Former Wisconsin assistant Kevin Patrick was among the 2011-12 season’s first coaching casualties. The team hired former NHL toughman Jim McKenzie, who had no previous junior experience. McKenzie and the Lumberjacks, despite improvement, still finished last in the Eastern Conference.

 

In the Western Conference:

-Lincoln Stars: Another weird case of the fluidity of this league. Stars coach Chad Johnson just finished his second year and he’s No. 4 in the league among tenured coaches.

-Omaha Lancers: Omaha got the trend going early in the 2011-12 season when it fired longtime USHL coach Bliss Littler. He was replaced by Mike Aikens, who led the team to a second-place finish during the regular season. Aikens signed an extension during the season.

-Waterloo Black Hawks: Behind Carlson, P.K. O’Handley is No. 2 when it comes to tenured coaches. He just finished this 10th season with the Black Hawks leading them to a Clark Cup Finals appearance. Like Carlson, O’Handley has won virtually every trophy a coach could win and when it comes to wins, ranks in the Top 10 all time.

-Fargo Force: Hiring Marks gave the Force their fourth coach in as many seasons. Marks, who is the sixth-most tenured coach in the league, already said he will stay this season and looks forward to a second year in Fargo.

-Sioux City Musketeers: Larson is technically the man who started the trend. He was hired May 22 by the Musketeers. He was at Minnesota-Duluth as an assistant. His departure resulted in the Bulldogs hiring Herter and the Force hiring Marks.

-Tri-City Storm: The team replaced Drew Schoneck with Josh Hauge during the middle of the year. Hauge led the Storm to a first-round appearance where they lost to eventual Western Conference champs, Waterloo. Even with an early exit, Tri-City returns all but six players and has what could be considered the strongest affiliates list in the USHL.

-Des Moines Buccaneers: Turmoil more or less blanketed the Bucs this season. Off-ice issues coupled with losing is what led to Regg Simon being fired. He was replaced in the off-season by Gamblers assistant Jon Rogger.

-Sioux Falls Stampede: Maybe no team has undergone more changes in the off-season than the Stampede. They fired longtime head coach Kevin Hartzell and in the span of a week, hired former North Dakota assistant Cary Eades. Eades oversaw the team’s Entry Draft and heads into next season with at least 15 returning players from the 2011-12 team.

The Old Man of the Mountain…

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Having to handle a lot at once is nothing new for any goaltender and there is quite a bit that comes with Mike Ayers’ new job at the National Team Development Program.

Ayers, a former New Hampshire goaltender, was hired on Thursday by USA Hockey to become the NTDP’s next goaltending coach replacing Joe Exter. Exter left earlier in the summer to be an assistant at Ohio State.

“I think with Joe being here in the last four years, he did an unbelievable job building the program and building it into what it is now,” Ayers said. “Joe did a great job building it and I want to continue that.”

Ayers has spent the last two years at St. Cloud State where’s he worked with goaltenders such as Phoenix Coyotes draft pick and former Fargo Force goaltender Mike Lee.

Now Ayers will be responsible for practically molding what will be considered to be the nation’s premier goaltenders for years to come. Like Ayers said, Exter played a major role in the program’s recent success.

Exter and the NTDP were responsible for developing Jack Campbell (Dallas Stars/Windsor Spitfires) and John Gibson (Anaheim Ducks/Kitchener Rangers), who have been slated by many to be the future of American goaltending.

Ayers hiring signifies the changing face of the NTDP, which is looking for a new head coach after Ron Rolston left to become the head coach of the Rochester Americans. The Americans are the AHL affiliate of the Buffalo Sabres.

“I think the philosophies have to be similar and Joe and I are very, very close in that regard,” Ayers said. “His teaching style is different than mine but it’s about what works and that is important.”

Ayers said he wouldn’t know the best way to describe his teaching style but he did say having a good mental approach to the game was an important part.

He continued by saying he didn’t describe himself as an “overly technical guy” but at the same time wants to work with a kid to figure out what works best for them.

Working with a goaltender will only be part of Ayers’ responsibilities. For starters, he’ll be working with the four goaltenders split between the U-18 and U-17 teams.

Then there’s what goes on during the week. He’ll play a part in making sure that his kids also get other things taken care of like their grades so they have the option to play in college.

Plus, there’s the scheduling. Both the U-18 and U-17 teams play a USHL schedule. The U-18 team, however, works a bit differently. It plays a hybrid of a USHL schedule, a college exhibition schedule and it also plays in multiple international tournaments throughout the year.

And then there’s the recruiting aspect of it all.

“The scouting side is an overlooked piece,” he said. “Not only with the four goalies in the program but figuring out the pool of kids for the next year. I think it’s a lot of work obviously. There are players all over the place these days. You have to figure out what is best for the program. That’s something I am looking forward to.”

Everything In Its Right Place…

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It’s an off-season that won’t stop and on Tuesday the USHL summer claimed it’s latest “victim” in Youngstown Phantoms coach Curtis Carr.

Carr stepped down to take an assistant coaching position at Merrimack giving the USHL seven teams this summer that have had to hire head coaches. Most have the vacancies taken care of while the NTDP becomes the last team to find a new coach with training camps just around the corner.

Here’s a look back at the teams that have had to make a hire this season.

Chicago Steel

Who Left: Jon Waibel

Who Was Hired: Scott McConnell

The skinny: Waibel was fired during the season following what was easily the worst season any USHL team could have had in 2010-11. McConnell was already on staff as an assistant and was later made the team’s interim coach for the rest of the season. The interim tag was removed earlier in the off-season as the Steel look to rebound from a dismal 2010-11 season, which saw them go 9-43-8. The Steel appear to be young again with six returning players, according to the team’s Web site.

 

Fargo Force

Who Left: Jason Herter

Who Was Hired: John Marks

The skinny: Herter was hired as an assistant coach at Minnesota-Duluth resulting in the Force having to hire a coach for the fourth consecutive summer. The Force turned to former North Dakota assistant and two-time ECHL champion coach John Marks to replace him. Marks inherits a team that will have 10 returning players and 11 players with USHL experience.

 

Green Bay Gamblers

Who Left: Eric Rud

Who Was Hired: Derek Lalonde

The skinny: Rud led Green Bay to a 41-15-4 record in his first and what turned out to be only season. Rud, a former St. Cloud State assistant, returned to his alma mater, Colorado College to be an assistant. It resulted in Green Bay having to find another coach for another summer and on Monday hired Denver assistant Derek Lalonde. Lalonde will inherit a team expected to have another good season just a year removed from winning the Clark Cup title.

 

Indiana Ice

Who Left: Charlie Skjodt

Who Was Hired: Kyle Wallack

The skinny: Skjodt returned to the bench in 2010 to replace Jeff Blashill, who went on to become the head coach at Western Michigan and recently took an assistant position with the Detroit Red Wings. Skjodt went back into the front office as the team hired Yale assistant Kyle Wallack. Wallack takes over a team that lost scorers like Brian Ferlin (Cornell/Boston Bruins), league leading scorer and USHL MVP Blake Coleman (Miami (Ohio)/New Jersey Devils) along with Adam Erne, who left the Ice after one season to play in The QMJHL. But he will get players such as forward Daniil Tarasov and goaltender Jon Gilles (Northeastern) to work with for the upcoming season.

 

NTDP

Who Left: Ron Rolston

Who Was Hired: Still Vacant

The skinny: Rolston left the NTDP recently to become the head coach of the Rochester Americans, the Buffalo Sabres’ AHL affiliate. His departure comes weeks after goaltending coach Joe Exter left the team to take the same position at Ohio State. Whoever gets the job will be responsible for molding what’s considered to be America’s best talent. That means playing a USHL schedule combined with international tournaments and facing college teams for exhibitions. This year’s group of notables includes players like Jacob Trouba, Nick Kerlides and goaltender Collin Olson who will play for the U-18 Team.

 

Sioux City Musketeers

Who Left: Luke Strand

Who Was Hired: Brett Larson

The skinny: Strand was fired by the Musketeers, which was later filled by Larson, who was an assistant at Minnesota-Duluth. Larson’s departure oddly enough resulted in another USHL team looking for a new coach when Herter left the Force. Sioux City returns 10 players from last season’s team. The most notable being Jordan Schmaltz (North Dakota), who many are billing to be a first-round pick in the upcoming draft. He’ll be one of four returning defenseman Larson will have in his first season.

 

Youngstown Phantoms

Who Left: Curtis Carr

Who Was Hired: Anthony Noreen

The skinny: Noreen was hired on Wednesday afternoon to take over the team. He was an assistant last season so there is familiarity. That could come in handy with what may be the hidden stat of the summer is the fact the Phantoms have 14 players returning from last season’s team, according to Pointstreak. That’s a group that includes Matthew O’ Connor (Boston University), a 6-6 goalie that can fill the net and win some games. Considering Youngstown had an up and down season, the team only finished two points out of the last playoff spot.

Let The Beat Build…

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No one can really blame National Team Development Coach Ron Rolston for leaving and taking the head job with the Rochester Americans.

But you can damn sure blame the schools that didn’t want to take a chance on hiring him. College hockey, to a degree American hockey, has had a “Who Shot JR?”-like summer with all these top-name guys leaving to go play Major Junior.

The college hockey vs. Major Junior argument has nothing to do with which provides better competition but in this case, development. Development is the key and though there are college programs that offer kids a chance to develop for the NHL, there aren’t enough of them that do it consistently.

Schools like Boston College, Boston University, North Dakota, Wisconsin and Michigan have typically been those places in the last five to 10 years that offer development. Other than that, a lot of schools are more about winning than they are development.

A friend of mine made this argument last night and it’s a valid point: If you put more time into developing good players, the winning will take care of itself.

That’s why this column leads with Rolston and the schools that didn’t take a chance in wanting to hire him. Truthfully, there wasn’t a better non-college head coaching candidate this summer than Rolston and his track record is proof.

He has helped molded and shaped talents like Patrick Kane, James Van Riemsdyk in previous years while working with talent like John Gibson, Connor Murphy and JT Miller, all guys who are leaving for Major Junior.

Throw in the fact this guy has won multiple international tournaments and it begs the question: Why didn’t college programs hire this guy?

If USA Hockey can trust this guy with the crown jewels of this nation’s future stars, why couldn’t a college do the same?

The same buddy I talked to made another point that was pretty valid: The problem college hockey has is it has athletic directors that may not understand what it takes to build a program the right way.

Obviously, there are athletic directors that get it but let’s be real here, there are probably some athletic directors that don’t. I know that. You know that and Ringo over here definitely knows that.

Here in Minnesota the high schools more or less have an unwritten rule when it comes to hiring hockey coaches. It isn’t like hiring a basketball or football coach where those coaches have to be teachers. The feeling with hiring a hockey coach in Minnesota is when a hire is made, schools are looking for people that know the game. They played the game and they don’t get caught up with other details.

A high school coach in this region once said schools find it easier to hire a hockey mind because hockey is a complex sport not everyone can coach.

That leads to this final point. If college hockey and its fans want to start putting an end to high-end guys leaving, there needs to be more motivation other than getting a college education.

College educations are important and I thank the Lord I have one but we all remember what it’s like to be 17 and 18 years old. If someone came along and said you could have your dream job for life without having to attend college, we’d all consider it. As an arrogant-ass 17-year-old I told my parents and teachers, “If journalism was like hockey, I wouldn’t waste my time in school. What can I learn in school that I already haven’t learned working at a decently-sized daily newspaper?”

More than a college education needs to be touted. Development needs to be touted. Success stories from college need to be touted.

Showing colleges care about development is a major step in the right direction but when schools let coaches like Rolston slip by, therein lies the problem. Ohio State got it right this summer when it hired goaltending coach Joe Exter away from the NTDP. That was Ohio State’s way of saying it cares about hockey and it wants to do its best to get the premier goaltenders.

People can argue all they want about Major Junior and its evil telenovela father, Hockey Canada, for ruining the game here in the United States by fleecing talent. But in true soap opera form, these kids are going to a place where they feel they can get the best development.

That’s why kids are leaving. And when guys like Rolston don’t get hired, it’s another reason to walk out the door too.