The Flyers made waves on Monday when they announced the hiring of Dave Hakstol as the 19th coach in franchise history, going with a candidate that wasn't on too many radars.
That's right. CoachWatch 2015 is over, and it ends with a candidate that you most likely have not heard of. The Flyers' new bench boss joins the NHL ranks directly from the collegiate ranks, with no prior league experience (sound familiar, Philly fans?)
It isn't often that the Flyers hire someone behind the bench that doesn't have some sort of familiarity with the organization. After all, their last two coaches from entirely outside of the organization were Peter Laviolette and Roger Neilson. Their last coach with no NHL experience as an assistant or head coach? Bill Barber in 2000-01.
Of course, it also isn't often that college coaches make the jump to the NHL. The last coach to jump from the NCAA to the NHL was the esteemed Herb Brooks in 1987, though it's worth noting that he had prior experience in the NHL. Ned Harkness left Cornell to coach Detroit in 1970, while Bob Johnson also went from Wisconsin to Calgary in 1982.
And for your obligatory dose of Flyers history, there is some precedent in hiring a college coach. 'Iron' Mike Keenan was brought here in 1985 from the University of Toronto, and went on to lead the team to two Stanley Cup finals (falling victims to the Edmonton dynasty, however).
Hakstol does have several ties to the Orange and Black as well. He coached Brett Hextall for three years, and Chris VandeVelde for four — in fact, VandeVelde and Hextall were teammates from 2008-09 to 2009-10.
In 11 seasons behind North Dakota's bench, Hakstol went 289-143-43, qualified for the NCAA tournament every year and reached the Frozen Four seven times — but ultimately, never won the national championship. Twenty players that Hakstol coached at ND went on to the NHL, including players such as Jonathan Toews, Matt Greene, T.J. Oshie and Drew Stafford.
Hakstol brings a proven track record of developing young players, and with the slew of young talent that the Flyers are developing, the decision to hire Hakstol makes sense. And when you factor in the patient, yet winning approach that the Flyers are looking to take, Hakstol seems capable of the job.
Of course, Hasktol's hiring is easy to bemoan, as he was not a high-profile candidate by any means. But he still brings plenty of upside to Philadelphia, and will be a much-needed outside voice for the Orange and Black.
Rob Riches is a contributor to Flyerdelphia. Follow him on Twitter @Riches61
