(Kate Frese/Sports Talk Philly)
By Jeff Quake, Sports Talk Philly staff writer 
When the Philadelphia Flyers were looking for a new head coach to replace Craig Berube following the 2014-15 season, they made an unlikely choice for one in Dave Hakstol. There were many coaches with NHL experience to be considered for the job, most notably Mike Babcock.
However, to the Flyers, Hakstol stood out among the rest and with that the career of being an NHL coach began.
Prior to coaching the Flyers, Hakstol was the head coach of the University of North Dakota Fighting Sioux — now the Fighting Hawks — for 11 years. According to College Hockey Inc., Hakstol is the first head coach to jump straight from the NCAA to NHL since Bob Johnson who went from the University of Wisconsin to the Calgary Flames in 1982.
Very few coaches have made the jump directly from the NCAA to the NHL. Some other coaches who have accomplished this includes Ned Harkness who climbed from Cornell to the Detroit Red Wings (1970). And who could forget the "Miracle on Ice" coach Herb Brooks as he climbed to the New York Rangers bench in 1981 from the University of Minnesota.
"There's going to be several adjustments along the way, but I think No. 1…I believe in the things that I do, and I'm not going to change that," Hakstol said upon being hired in the summer of 2015. "Do I need to alter the delivery of the message? Maybe a little bit. The fact that I do not have experience at this level — I'm not going to pretend that I do. But I do have an awful lot of confidence in terms of knowing the game well, knowing how to relate and communicate with players.
"One of the first things as I get started here, and probably one of the most important things as we move through the summer, is communicating with and getting to know a lot of our players. That's going to start to build the foundation for the plan we have moving forward."
Fast forward to this summer, how well do you think Hakstol is doing after his first two seasons in the NHL? During his rookie season as head coach the Flyers were 41-27-14, but were eliminated in six games by the Washington Capitals. This past season, the Flyers were 39-33-10 and missed the playoffs for the third time in five seasons.
For many players and coaches in any sport, there is a three-year grace period to see what you have and you can never truly evaluate the direction of a decision Year 3 ends. Hakstol's current results are a reason for this.
Let’s say during their rookie year they perform well, as Hakstol did helping coach Philadelphia to a strong season and another playoff year. Last year, in Hakstol's second season behind the bench, the team missed the playoffs.
Now going into his third season as head coach, what will happen with Philadelphia?
It’s really a 50-50 shot. The Flyers have the talent to become a playoff contender again, and potential soon, but they are also playing in arguably the toughest division in the NHL in the Metropolitan Division.
It could be argued that Year 1 for Hakstol was a fluke, even ending in a playoff appearance. Next, the coach and team either has a rebound year or a flop.
After Year 3 is when you can start to tell the general direction of the coach or player and what exactly their career could shape up to be like. It makes the upcoming 2017-18 season, the third for Dave Hakstol, all the more important.
