Report: Mel Pearson To Be Hockey Coach Comment Count

Brian

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From John Buccigross himself so likely to be accurate:

Everyone reading this likely has at least a vague idea of who Mel Pearson is, but the Cliffs Notes: long, long time Red Berenson assistant who left to be the head coach at Michigan Tech, his alma mater, several years ago. Michigan immediately dropped off and Tech got a lot better. A lot. In 2015 the Huskies got their first bid to the NCAA tournament since 1981(!), and Tech was a two-seed. They went again this year by winning their conference tourney.

It's a bit hard to tell exactly how much Tech's newfound success comes from Mel and how much is the radical reshaping of Western college hockey occasioned by the creation of Big Ten hockey. The WCHA went from the most powerful league in the country to a mid-major, and Tech's rise is partially due to that.

On the other hand, Tech was top five in ES Corsi the last three years. Mel Pearson can coach, and he knows his way around Ann Arbor. It might work out. From a year ago:

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I was going to put a vertical line on the chart when Mel left for Tech and then I realized it was already more or less there. It's the blue uptick and red downtick in 2012. Pearson got Tech in the tourney for the first time since 1981 last year. This year the Huskies won their first conference title since 1976. (I realize this WCHA is not the old WCHA but when you're Tech hockey any hardware is a miracle.) They've currently scrapped their way onto the bubble again. Pearson immediately made Tech much better and now that it's his program they're at a level they haven been at since Pearson was playing in Houghton.

Yes, he's a bit older than is ideal at 57. On the other hand, Red was 57 in 1997. He won a national title the year before and the year after. Michigan has the raw tools to win a national title every year; there need be no building phase. Even if Pearson does retire at around 65, you get almost a decade out of him. That decade is immediately productive. He is obviously a top-level coach who was a linchpin of Michigan's success under Red.

I'd have preferred one of the younger slam dunk guys but the first person to compare this hire to Brady Hoke gets ejected into space.

Comments

Dylan

April 23rd, 2017 at 7:09 PM ^

Not as happy as I would have been with one of the young guys from the elite "hockey-only" type schools, but happy nonetheless.

Maizen

April 23rd, 2017 at 7:29 PM ^

This is a good hire. Like some have said Michigan didn't overthink this one. I'm with Brian in that I would have preferred a younger coach like Leahman or Bazin or Hakstol, but out of all the "Michigan Men" Mel is by far the most qualified and it's not particuarly close. Looking forward to seeing what he can do. His staff and recruiting are going to be big keys moving forward.

Maizen

April 23rd, 2017 at 10:28 PM ^

I wonder if Warde and Red came to an understanding that if Red retired this year Mel would be next in line, but if he waited then that ship would sail so to speak. Red has always wanted Mel to be his replacement, so it does make some sense.

kyeblue

April 23rd, 2017 at 7:59 PM ^

i think that this is a common sense hire. Mel should've got this job five years ago and is well positioned to take M hockey back to where it belongs.

kehnonymous

April 23rd, 2017 at 8:12 PM ^

Disclaimer:  I'm 95% hockey-ignorant, so apologies in advance if this is a pants-on-head stupid question, but regarding recruiting, what should the immediate expectations be regarding the incoming class?  Is Michigan traditionally and/or *still* a blue-blood hockey program that can essentially recruit itself?

stephenrjking

April 23rd, 2017 at 10:53 PM ^

Bucci called Michigan a top three job in the sport, and even skeptics have to grant that we're top five. We have a fanbase exceeded in numbers by only a couple of schools, a bottomless supply of cash, a good facility, a history that is second to nobody, the greatest brand in college sports... you name it, we have it.

 

Everyone Murders

April 24th, 2017 at 10:04 AM ^

TO HELL WITH NOTRE DAME!

Like Brian, I think it might have been cool to get some of the younger hot candidates, but Pearson will give us a decade plus of superior coaching, and if he brings Muckalt along, that could put is in a great position moving forward (assuming Muckalt continues to develop and takes the reins in an appropriate time).

This is a great hire - sometimes the obvious choice is the best choice.