As college hockey coaches meet for the annual convention in Naples, news and rumors of movement have been coming fast and furious. As it stands right now, there are two head coaching vacancies across college hockey. Colgate and Bentley are looking to fill voids after the departure of longtime coaches. There are also a handful...
As college hockey coaches meet for the annual convention in Naples, news and rumors of movement have been coming fast and furious.
As it stands right now, there are two head coaching vacancies across college hockey. Colgate and Bentley are looking to fill voids after the departure of longtime coaches.
There are also a handful of assistant coaching positions open. In addition, new NCAA legislation allowing a third assistant will mean significant hiring movement over the coming months.
I reported on Bentley University head coach Ryan Soderquist (Stoneham, Mass.) stepping down after 22 years at the school on Monday with a list of possible candidates. One potential replacement for Soderquist could come from within Atlantic Hockey.
American International head coach Eric Lang is the hot name being bandied about in Naples by multiple sources within college hockey. Lang, a 1998 AIC alum, has been the head coach at his alma mater since 2016. He’s turned around the Yellow Jackets’ program and it might seem like a lateral move, at best. However, industry insiders suggest that Bentley’s facility and resources could sway Lang to leave AIC.
In other coaching moves, UMass Lowell assistant Taylor Nelson is leaving the River Hawks to take a similar position at Division 1 upstart Augustana College in South Dakota. The move brings the former Ferris State goaltender closer to his roots in Saskatchewan.
Nelson has been one of coach Norm Bazin’s two assistants at Lowell since 2021. Prior to UML, Nelson had stops as an assistant coach at Canisius and the USHL’s Tri-City Storm.
USHL DRAFT: 11 New England forwards to watch for the USHL Phase 1 Draft
Stonehill alum Dana Borges (Taunton, Mass.) is leaving Colgate University to become an assistant coach at Arizona State. Borges, a 2013 alum of the Skyhawks, had been on Don Vaughan’s staff since 2018. He had previous stints at Williams College, Colgate and Stonehill.
Borges left Colgate when it became apparent he would be passed over for the school’s open head coaching position. At ASU, he replaces 2008 AIC alum Mike Field, who was let go earlier this offseason.
