Dave Hakstol Built Reputation Behind U. of North Dakota Bench
Dave Hakstol has tackled the Zen question of which comes first, winning, or believing you can win. The Seattle Kraken coach knows for sure the order that his Kraken used to great success last season.
"To build belief, you have to find some success," Hakstol told University of North Dakota writer Patrick C. Miller. "Once we dug in and found some success, that’s when belief started to happen, and that’s when the power of a competitive-type team really came to light."
It's natural UND would profile their proud alumnus; Hakstol played three seasons there on defense, and later coached at the school for 11 seasons. As a three-article series points out, "His teams won three conference championships, four conference tournament championships, made the NCAA playoffs 11 times and played in the NCAA Frozen Four seven times."
After four years as a UND assistant/associate coach, Hakstol was promoted for the 2004-05 season. His first season leading the Fighting Hawks started slowly. “Through all the ups and downs," Hakstol recalled, "I remember one Sunday morning after getting beat 6-0 the night before by Minnesota, trying to figure out what our next direction would be at practice on Monday."
Another of those downs was seeing defenseman Robbie Bina suffer a broken neck on a check from behind into the boards. (Bina would make a full recovery.) One team member credited Hakstol's calm demeanor for keeping the team from out-of-control retaliation.
Hakstol that season led his Fighting Hawks to NCAA playoff victories against a college hockey murderer's row of Boston University, Boston College, and Minnesota. The magic carpet ride lasted until a 4-1 loss to Denver in the NCAA championship game.
Hakstol's memory of that season will sound familiar to Kraken fans. “You know what? We always stuck together. Our group always worked, showed up and competed.”
In the NFL, it's well-documented how many college coaching legends - Nick Saban, Lou Holtz, Steve Spurrier, to name three - have failed at the pro level.
Making that type of transition successfully is even more rare in hockey. When the Philadelphia Flyers hired Hakstol in 2015, he was the first NHL coach plucked from the college ranks in 40 years.
Whatever the differences between amateurs and pros, Hakstol believes all athletes thrive with a holistic approach to coaching.
"Players want help to be at their very best, and they know when you’re ready and prepared to help them do that," Hakstol explained.
"It’s really difficult to coach players if don’t pay attention and know what’s happening in their personal lives. If you want somebody to trust you, you have to do a little bit better than just having systems and Xs and Os for them."
Editor's note: UND used a different nickname during the time Dave Hakstol played and coached there. We've chosen to refer to the school using their current "Fighting Hawks" nickname.