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Apr. 4—GRAND FORKS — New UND men's hockey coach Dane Jackson revealed at his press conference Thursday that he plans to change recruiting in a major way.
One of his three assistant coaches will be a general manager.
Instead of being on the ice for practices and on the bench for games, the general manager will be in charge of UND's recruiting efforts.
"We need to modernize our program," Jackson said. "In this fast-changing college landscape, we need to adapt. We're going to hire a person that's a GM/recruiting coach that will be dedicated to recruiting, roster management, portal management."
The general manager is required to count as one of the three assistant coaches if that person recruits off campus.
UND will become the first NCAA men's hockey team to hire a general manager as one of its three assistants.
Jackson said the move will help UND navigate an exploding player pool. Players from the three Canadian major junior hockey leagues — the Western Hockey League, Ontario Hockey League and Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League — will become eligible Aug. 1 due to an NCAA rules change.
"There's so much to cover with the CHL now," Jackson said. "There's so much information. You have to have a great book on everybody to make picks. I think we have to have one guy out there all the time."
UND posted the assistant coaching job, which will become the general manager, earlier this week. The job posting closed Wednesday night.
UND notably has one former player who holds that title in the United States Hockey League right now.
Bryn Chyzyk, an alternate captain on the 2016 NCAA national championship-winning UND team, is the general manager for the Waterloo Black Hawks. He was named the USHL's GM of the Year in 2023.
"We'll make sure we'll get to a sustainable model of recruiting and developing three- and four-year players that are tied to UND and have a love for the program," Jackson said.
The general manager won't be the only staff member responsible for scouting and recruiting, though.
Jackson said the other three coaches — himself, Dillon Simpson and a yet-to-be-named assistant — will play a role.
"We're hoping (the general manager) will identify key guys and will have done the work to have a good book on them and the person that he is," Jackson said. "Then, Simmer and I, and our other assistant coach that's on the ice, will be working hard to get out there. We're not just going to say it's on (the general manager). That's how we've always done it here. Four guys are going to watch. We're going to know exactly what we're getting."
UND was one of the only NCAA teams with all four coaches on the bench for every game this season.
That will change next season.
"Sometimes, there are only going to be two of us on the bench, because someone else might be out there as well," Jackson said.
Jackson said his recruiting philosophy is inspired from his time as a UND player from 1988-92.
"I remember, after Saturday nights, watching Dean Blais, Gino Gasparini and Cary Eades get in their car and start driving," Jackson said. "They'd be going out to Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Minnesota, to recruit for the next day. That level of dedication is something that always stuck with me. We will model that like the old guys because the answers are in the rinks."
By having a book on players as they come through high school and junior hockey, the general manager also will help UND quickly identify players it wants to recruit in the NCAA transfer portal.
Jackson said UND's use of the transfer portal will be to fill in for unexpected early signings or recruits who might not be ready to come to campus yet.
"I'd like to just be real targeted," he said.
In the era of players leaving in the transfer portal, Jackson also said he'll prioritize recruiting players who have a passion for the program.
"In this day and age, more than ever, we have to build relationships with guys, but also find guys who have ties to the program," he said. "In our (2016) national championship, what did we have? Six guys who were from within an hour of our program? You have to find good players, but if they're not willing to sacrifice or buy into our system, it doesn't matter.
"You want guys that are dying to play here and have loyalty to the program."
There are also on-the-ice attributes Jackson wants.
"He can skate, he's competitive, he's a character guy," Jackson said. "Those are some of our big things we want."
UND has a second assistant coach position open. That one hasn't been posted yet.
"Once we get the first one done, we'd like to move to the next," Jackson said. "It's not quite as important to be in such a timely manner, because we'll have a few guys on staff to kind of work through this stuff. But I would hope maybe in the next few weeks."
In the meantime, Jackson and Simpson are trying to complete next season's roster.
"It's a big deal to try to stay connected with the guys we have, and then try to find some guys who fit what we just talked about," Jackson said.
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One of his three assistant coaches will be a general manager.
Instead of being on the ice for practices and on the bench for games, the general manager will be in charge of UND's recruiting efforts.
"We need to modernize our program," Jackson said. "In this fast-changing college landscape, we need to adapt. We're going to hire a person that's a GM/recruiting coach that will be dedicated to recruiting, roster management, portal management."
The general manager is required to count as one of the three assistant coaches if that person recruits off campus.
UND will become the first NCAA men's hockey team to hire a general manager as one of its three assistants.
Jackson said the move will help UND navigate an exploding player pool. Players from the three Canadian major junior hockey leagues — the Western Hockey League, Ontario Hockey League and Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League — will become eligible Aug. 1 due to an NCAA rules change.
"There's so much to cover with the CHL now," Jackson said. "There's so much information. You have to have a great book on everybody to make picks. I think we have to have one guy out there all the time."
UND posted the assistant coaching job, which will become the general manager, earlier this week. The job posting closed Wednesday night.
UND notably has one former player who holds that title in the United States Hockey League right now.
Bryn Chyzyk, an alternate captain on the 2016 NCAA national championship-winning UND team, is the general manager for the Waterloo Black Hawks. He was named the USHL's GM of the Year in 2023.
"We'll make sure we'll get to a sustainable model of recruiting and developing three- and four-year players that are tied to UND and have a love for the program," Jackson said.
The general manager won't be the only staff member responsible for scouting and recruiting, though.
Jackson said the other three coaches — himself, Dillon Simpson and a yet-to-be-named assistant — will play a role.
"We're hoping (the general manager) will identify key guys and will have done the work to have a good book on them and the person that he is," Jackson said. "Then, Simmer and I, and our other assistant coach that's on the ice, will be working hard to get out there. We're not just going to say it's on (the general manager). That's how we've always done it here. Four guys are going to watch. We're going to know exactly what we're getting."
UND was one of the only NCAA teams with all four coaches on the bench for every game this season.
That will change next season.
"Sometimes, there are only going to be two of us on the bench, because someone else might be out there as well," Jackson said.
Jackson said his recruiting philosophy is inspired from his time as a UND player from 1988-92.
"I remember, after Saturday nights, watching Dean Blais, Gino Gasparini and Cary Eades get in their car and start driving," Jackson said. "They'd be going out to Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Minnesota, to recruit for the next day. That level of dedication is something that always stuck with me. We will model that like the old guys because the answers are in the rinks."
By having a book on players as they come through high school and junior hockey, the general manager also will help UND quickly identify players it wants to recruit in the NCAA transfer portal.
Jackson said UND's use of the transfer portal will be to fill in for unexpected early signings or recruits who might not be ready to come to campus yet.
"I'd like to just be real targeted," he said.
In the era of players leaving in the transfer portal, Jackson also said he'll prioritize recruiting players who have a passion for the program.
"In this day and age, more than ever, we have to build relationships with guys, but also find guys who have ties to the program," he said. "In our (2016) national championship, what did we have? Six guys who were from within an hour of our program? You have to find good players, but if they're not willing to sacrifice or buy into our system, it doesn't matter.
"You want guys that are dying to play here and have loyalty to the program."
There are also on-the-ice attributes Jackson wants.
"He can skate, he's competitive, he's a character guy," Jackson said. "Those are some of our big things we want."
UND has a second assistant coach position open. That one hasn't been posted yet.
"Once we get the first one done, we'd like to move to the next," Jackson said. "It's not quite as important to be in such a timely manner, because we'll have a few guys on staff to kind of work through this stuff. But I would hope maybe in the next few weeks."
In the meantime, Jackson and Simpson are trying to complete next season's roster.
"It's a big deal to try to stay connected with the guys we have, and then try to find some guys who fit what we just talked about," Jackson said.
Continue reading...
