Flyers hire David Hakstol as head coach

[flyersfan4706]

 

[flyersfan4706]

Never heard of the guy but I am glad Hextall looked outside of the organization and went with a wildcard. Could be a nice diamond in the rough.

 

[flyersfan4706]

Oh my God this is exciting

 

[awaz]

who the eff is that!?

time to research.

 

[awaz]

U. North Dakota coach the past 11 years. One of the better NCAA hockey programs. Probably good with young guys at least. Coached Hextall's son at UND so they're probably pretty familiar.

NCAA straight to NHL, pretty rare move.

I think I'm excited.

 

[awaz]

also one of the writers joked that Hextall hired Hakstol to piss the media off. That could get confusing!

 

[lasgop8]

He coached Johnathan Toews , Matt Greene and TJ Oshie among 20 NHLers. Hope Hexy know what he's doing.

 

[awaz]

Bill's got some stuff: HockeyBuzz.com - Bill Meltzer - Flyers Hire Hakstol as Coach, IIHF Worlds Wrapup, QMJHL Finals, Alumni

 

[oaknightshockey1]

Hope you don't mind me chiming in...he's been a very solid college coach. I've heard nothing but good things about him at UND.

 

[cowboys5xsbs]

Huge UND hockey fan. I usually watch every game every year. I always dreaded the day Hakstol would leave and go to the NHL because he is a damn good coach. He gets a bad rap for losing big games in the tournament but he was the only head coach in college hockey to never have a losing season. I think his coaching style is better suited for the NHL though since when you are playing one and done hockey you can't make adjustments after losing your first game etc. Hak was very good at making adjustments so he always won the second game on a back to back. Anyways long story short the flyers got a steal here and I hope Hak wins a stanley cup to piss the naysayers off .

 

[awaz]

Thanks for chiming in gents! I expect he'll have a bit of an uphill battle to climb to win over the masses, but I think I like it. Off the board, good with young guys, highly structured.

Do either of you know what type of style he likes to play? Super aggressive, more defensive, heavy forecheck, that type of stuff?

 

[cowboys5xsbs]

Thanks for chiming in gents! I expect he'll have a bit of an uphill battle to climb to win over the masses, but I think I like it. Off the board, good with young guys, highly structured.

Do either of you know what type of style he likes to play? Super aggressive, more defensive, heavy forecheck, that type of stuff?

He is more of a defensive coach. One knock against him I had at times is he wouldn't be aggressive enough and other teams got chances to mount comebacks against us.

 

[Cobiemonster]

I'm glad the Flyers went off the board, just to piss the fans off

The fans are selective in who they want as coach and everyone wanted Babcock and when it didn't happen, they spewed their venom towards the new guy for no reason whatsoever

They should be thankful to have anyone other than the joke of a coach this team just had

At the end of the day, talent rules and they need to get lots and lots of more talent if they ever want to be serious about winning - the coach is only part of the solution

 

[awaz]

He is more of a defensive coach. One knock against him I had at times is he wouldn't be aggressive enough and other teams got chances to mount comebacks against us.

I'd say that will work in his favor a bit with the Flyers. Opening up the current d-corp to more pressure is a recipe for disaster I think.

Thanks for the heads up cowboys!

 

[petemily]

I really thought Babcock was going to end up in Philly, so this is great news! I can't believe the Philly front office finally did something smart.

I know there are only 60 NCAA Division 1 Men's College Hockey Programs but when you reach the Frozen 4 seven times in 11 years you are doing something great. If Philly has a large group of young players, maybe they need a coach that can relate to young players and the pitfalls they get into in order to get the best out of them. He's obviously worked with some great talent and North Dakota made the Frozen 4 again this year.

 

[lasgop8]

Hextall on hiring Hakstol: This was a gut decision, and I feel extremely comfortable with it | ProHockeyTalk

 

[flyersfan4706]

I fear that if we struggle even briefly Hakstol and Hextall are going to be slammed with the "No NHL experience" excuse.

Sure, it is a question mark. Every coach is flawed is some way. Ideally I'd like a guy with multiple cups, Olympic gold, great with kids, can handle our media, and has a system that can adjust on the fly. That will never happen. I am excited to give Hakstol time and see what he can do in the NHL. It seems like he has all the tools.

 

[lasgop8]

I fear that if we struggle even briefly Hakstol and Hextall are going to be slammed with the "No NHL experience" excuse.

Sure, it is a question mark. Every coach is flawed is some way. Ideally I'd like a guy with multiple cups, Olympic gold, great with kids, can handle our media, and has a system that can adjust on the fly. That will never happen. I am excited to give Hakstol time and see what he can do in the NHL. It seems like he has all the tools.

Compared to chief this guy Hakstol will look like a genius. I'm not worried as long as he brings the kids along and we are a cup contender hopefully within 2 years.

 

[JBM73]

 

[wbon22]

I was unsure...then annoyed and now...excited.

This is the most "out there" coach signing by the Flyers since Mike Keenan. Most likely more out there than Keenan was at the time.

By reputation the Flyer are getting a stickler for detail, a disciplinarian and a methodical strategist. AND...his name is not Babcock. The Flyer have a teacher, a communicator and a winner.

I really look forward to seeing how Cooter and Brayden Schenn...heck, Luke Schenn for that matter, develop under Hakstol. Never mind Morin, Ghots, Manning, Laughton and Cousins. This is a great opportunity for the Flyers to get young. This is the coach to get young with. This is so exciting.