A busy off-season of news stories in college hockey has continued with a few more high profile coaching changes and last minute additions to rosters taking place. Providence associate head coach Kris Mayotte is leaving the Friars to join Mel Pearson’s coaching staff at the University of Michigan, New England Hockey Journal learned on Thursday. Mayotte, a Union...
A busy off-season of news stories in college hockey has continued with a few more high profile coaching changes and last minute additions to rosters taking place.
Providence associate head coach Kris Mayotte is leaving the Friars to join Mel Pearson’s coaching staff at the University of Michigan, New England Hockey Journal learned on Thursday.
Mayotte, a Union alum, who previously was an assistant at St. Lawrence, is a great hire for the Wolverines. He’s a former goaltender, who has learned under Nate Leaman and current UMass head coach Greg Carvel when the ladder was an assistant at SLU.
Leaman is now tasked with replacing Mayotte less than two months prior to the start of the 2019-20 college hockey season. Leaman will have to bring in an assistant coach with goaltending expertise or also find a volunteer assistant who can fit that need.
Some logical candidates inside the college hockey coaching circle include Union associate head coach Jason Tapp or Maine associate head coach Alfie Michaud. It's unclear if either would make the jump or if Leaman would have interest, but both have somewhat of a connection. Tapp played in Hockey East at Boston University and was the volunteer goaltending coach at Union when Leaman was the head coach. Michaud was the Most Outstanding Player of the 1999 Frozen Four when the Black Bears won their last national championship. Leaman was a graduate assistant for Shawn Walsh that season.
Also searching for a new assistant coach is Harvard head coach Ted Donato following Rob Rassey leaving the Crimson to take a job as an amateur scout with the Detroit Red Wings. The frontrunners are believed to be Brown assistant coaches Jason Guerriero or James Marcou.
If Guerriero or Marcou make the jump to Harvard, Brendan Whittet could look to the prep school ranks to fill the opening. Potential candidates include Albany Academy head coach Steve Needham and Tabor Academy head coach Matt Harlow, a Brown alum.
Harvard is also minus a defenseman it could have had back for the 2019-20 season. It was announced this week that John Marino has signed a two-year, entry level contract with the Pittsburgh Penguins. The North Easton, Mass., native would have been the top returning blue liner for the Crimson. Originally a draft pick of the Edmonton Oilers, his rights were recently traded to the Penguins.
UMass lost recruit Jaakko Haarti, a ’99 left-shot defenseman from Finland, who signed a pro contract this week. The Minutemen moved quickly to fill the void for next season by adding ’00 right-shot defenseman Matt Kessel, who had previously been committed to Miami. Kessel is a mean, reliable defender with USHL experience.
