In recent years, NHL teams have turned their coaching searches more toward the college ranks than ever before. While one name in particular has been on most teams' wishlists, there are more than a few NCAA coaches who could make the jump in the next few seasons.
These days, NHL teams are less eager than ever to recycle coaches who have plenty of experience in the best league in the world, and are turning their attentions elsewhere with greater frequency.
That, increasingly, means at least interviewing prominent college hockey coaches.
Names like David Quinn and Dave Hakstol started the trend in the late 2010s, but they each had difficulties in their stints, even though the rosters they inherited weren't very strong.
But now, it seems that at least one or two NCAA coaches at least interview every time an NHL club has an opening.
With that in mind, here are some of the NCAA coaches most likely to take that big step in the near future.
David Carle, University Of Denver
David Carle says repeatedly that he is not particularly interested in leaving Denver.
It's his alma mater, he's had phenomenal success there, he makes a lot of money, and the risk associated with jumping to the NHL for maybe only a handful of years probably isn't worth the raise and the hassle of uprooting his young family.
So while I would personally stop asking this question if I were you, I think there does come a time in the next several years when an NHL team comes in over the top with an offer he can't refuse.
But it would have to be mega money, maybe in the "top 3-5 in the NHL" strata, and it's difficult to determine which organization would be willing to do that.
He is really only included on the list because if he weren't here, everyone would be saying, "Uhh, what about Carle?" Yeah, I actually did think of him, but if there were a way to bet on him being an NCAA lifer, I would make that bet.
Reid Cashman, Dartmouth University
Unlike every other coach on this list, Reid Cashman is not an alum of the team he coaches.
But he has quickly turned Dartmouth from a doormat in the ECAC (they won just seven games in his first season) to a team that just won the conference championship and made the NCAA tournament for the first time since 1980.
He's a great coach, a great culture guy (he fundraised significant behind-the-scenes improvements at a rink that needed more than just a fresh coat of paint), and someone who has really shaped the Big Green in his image over the past six seasons.
Dartmouth had three alumni in the NHL last season (Clay Stevenson, Drew O'Connor, and Luke Haymes), compared with a grand total of 15 prior from 1917 to 2024. Things are definitely trending in the right direction.
Plus, Cashman has pro experience as an assistant. He was a member of the Hershey Bears in the AHL from 2016-18, and was with the Washington Capitals from 2018-20. Additionally, he just served as the head coach for Team USA at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup.
There's a lot for NHL teams to like.
Jay Pandolfo, Boston University
Jay Pandolfo is a lot like Carle in that he's at his alma mater and is in a great position with a job that he can probably hold as long as he wants.
The complicating factor is that he was a long-time assistant with the Boston Bruins from 2016-2021, and of course played 899 games over 15 seasons in the show as well.
That, plus his age, may make him more attractive to some NHL teams, but the Terriers pay him a lot of money and this is a dream job for him. He's seen how it works in the NHL, albeit not as a head coach, and may not be as interested in taking the step as other guys on this list who never got that taste.
Adam Nightingale, Michigan State University
Adam Nightingale has been doing some form of hockey coaching since 2008-09.
From Shattuck St. Mary's, to Michigan State, to the Buffalo Sabres, Detroit Red Wings, the U.S NTDP, Team USA's World Junior team, and more, he's had a lot of success everywhere he's been.
But at Michigan State, he's getting the chance to build elite teams with a galaxy of first-round picks and compete for national titles year after year. Much like Carle, it's only a matter of time before NHL teams start really pursuing him.
Word is that he was in the mix for the Chicago Blackhawks' head-coaching job last summer, but also like Carle, it would take a lot to get him to leave his alma mater.
I do think, however, that he's a little more likely than Carle to reciprocate that interest.
Pat Ferschweiler, Western Michigan University
Pat Ferschweiler, just a year removed from winning a national championship with the Broncos, was reportedly a finalist for the Toronto Maple Leafs job that eventually went to Jim Hiller.
He was also interviewed for the Philadelphia Flyers job that went to Rick Tocchet. It's worth noting that Ferschweiler was Flyers president Keith Jones' linemate at WMU back in the early '90s.
While any of the coaches on this list — plus other names that have cropped up over the years like Quinnipiac's Rand Pecknold, Boston College's Greg Brown, Providence's Nate Leaman, and more — would probably be good to great hires at the NHL level, it's hard to see many of them being willing to give up very comfortable jobs.
Quinn and Hakstol showed that NCAA coaches may be the kinds of guys brought in to help young players develop, but as Martin St. Louis (himself a former NCAA player) once said, the guys who plant the trees don't usually get to sit in their shade.
Put another way, these five guys might be the most likely to make the NHL jump, but I don't think any of them are particularly likely.
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