Unprecedented roster turnover and a dismal eight-win stretch have pushed the Wildcats to a breaking point, raising urgent questions about player retention under Dave Shyiak.
Northern Michigan has had an extremely rough go in Dave Shyiak's two years as Head Coach. Following his appointment during the 2024 offseason, 21 players entered the transfer portal. While some turnover is expected with a change behind the bench, the Wildcats saw unprecedented movement. Between commitment changes, graduations and transfers, Northern Michigan had just four returners out of 30 players in 2024-25. With that new look roster, the Wildcats posted a program worst 5-27-2 record.
The following summer, Northern Michigan experienced another mass exodus from Marquette, losing an additional 11 players to the portal. Just over half of them were replaced by inbound transfers, resulting in another young group. Despite hopes for improvement, the Wildcats went a staggering 3-29-2. 14 more new players arrived ahead of the 2026-27 campaign. After three summers of massive upheaval, it begs the question: Why are players consistently leaving Northern Michigan in droves?
That answer appears to be the coaching led by Shyiak himself. In his ten seasons as a Division I Head Coach between Anchorage and Northern Michigan, has not had a single winning season. Player retention, or lack thereof, is wreaking havoc on the Wildcats' program. When a team is repeatedly losing a third to over half its players, roster cohesion is hard to come by. This all boils down to recruiting issues, which Shyiak acknowledged ahead of Northern Michigan's 50th Anniversary Season.
"We've built [the roster] with the players that we love, and that want to be here for the right reasons," Shyiak said. "We've challenged our recruiting staff to revamp what we needed to revamp, and we're better in those areas, and it puts us in a way more competitive situation."
As the head coach, the buck ultimately stops with Shyiak when it comes to the on ice product. The Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA) is a hard nosed, defense oriented, in your face college hockey conference. Bringing the right pieces in, especially on the blue line is imperative to team success. The best of those pieces normally become your core until they graduate and the cycle starts over.
However, because of the recruiting and retention follies, there hasn't been a semblance of a core since the previous staff headed by Grant Potulny in 2023. On the topic of Potulny, he is currently available to come back after a short stint heading the AHL's Hartford Wolf Pack. In the pair of campaigns under Shyiak’s leadership, top performers including Tobias Pitka or Jakub Altrichter have departed once they've hit their ceilings. In Altrichter's case, he transferred to rival a CCHA school-University of St. Thomas-ahead of this year after being one of those four returners in 2024-25.
There's no question Shyiak is an important piece in the history of Northern Michigan hockey, helping captain the 1991 National Championship team. But good players don't always make good coaches, and the best coaches were not always superstar performers on ice.
Shyiak put his cards on the table in the aforementioned quote about this season's group. 2026-27 is make or break for Northern Michigan with the roster he wants and the players he loves. If the Wildcats don't make substantial progress in a tough CCHA, Shyiak will likely–and rightly–be the one taking the heat.
