When Paul Holmgren replaced Laviolette with Berube in 2013, the Flyers took grief from some quarters about being too insular. While Hextall is a member of that insider's club, he continues to lead the organization down a new path. This certainly qualifies as an outside-the-box move.
I certainly will not pretend to have any special insight into Hakstol as a coach. Here are some facts and comments others have made about him this morning:
-He played college hockey at UND and played a few years of minor league hockey.
-After retiring from playing, he became an assistant with his minor league team, and then an assistant at UND in 2000.
-He was promoted to head coach at UND in 2004. As head coach there, he had 289-141-43 record. He was named conference coach of the year in 2009 and 2015. UND made it to the Frozen Four seven times, although never won a championship.
-He is the NHL coach hired directly from a college job since Herb Brooks in 1987, and only the third guy ever to get his first NHL job as a head coach from only college experience (Bob Johnson 1982, Ned Harkness 1970). The Flyers did hire Mike Keenan when he was serving as head coach of the University of Toronto in 1984, although he had already been around the block in different jobs.
Ryan Bright
Per @GFHerald, Hakstol is "stoic, straight-forward personality." Known for "intense presence." He also doesn't sleep, apparently.
Quote on Hakstol from @GFHerald: “That stare,” one former player said, “will penetrate the back of your helmet.”
Hakstol is extremely well regarded. Coached Ron Hextall's son Brett at NoDak. NHL people I've talked to say Hakstol's assistants will be key
-Dan Hammer, UND play-by-play guy, appeared on CSN this morning and said the big word regarding Hakstol is "intensity." He also said that his "system" is defensively-oriented and "very much into molding players into two-way players [citing Toews]."
-He has seen several NHL guys pass through UND, such as TJ Oshie, Jonathan Toews, and Zach Parise. Current Flyers Chris VandeVelde also played for him.
Given that he is a college coach, there is a natural presumption that he will be good with young players. I think this something of a statement hire, and Hextall is willing to be patient and go back square one in many respects. Hakstol will be given the chance to stamp his identity on the team, as this hire is not an attempt to get back into the playoffs as fast as possible.
Based on his comments at the press conference today, it seems Hextall likes that he pushes players, has personal familiarity with him from his son playing there, and that ultimately the lack of NHL experience simply wasn't a dealbreaker. Personally, I have no complaints. It will be intriguing to watch things going forward the next few seasons with Hakstol molding the team while a bunch of young players coming into the lineup.
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