Best coach in the state?

[elliott70]

Lots of good coaches in Minnesota.

Best coach - Tony Couture of Little Falls.

[Flin Flon]

I agree with Elliott on this one. Lots of good coaches in Minnesota and way to hard to evaluate each of them for a "Best" honor. Sure Lechtner and many others having winning programs yr in and yr out. Hell even some have 3-4 division I players on a team each year. But does that make them great coaches? I would say no. These kids and Teams are made from when they were 8-9 yrs old. Do HS coaches really get the final stamp as saying they developed the talent? I say no it's a combo of good genes a drive by the player to become elite, parents who are willing to put in the time and a youth program that has nurtured them for 10 plus yrs. Yes some coaches do a better job of developing talent but their are so many other factors that go into it. I mean lets be honest a coach with no experience could have won a state championship in HS hockey with lets say the '1994 Bloomington Jefferson team. That team was Awesome all through youth hockey. Not just because Tom Satterdahlen was the coach. Yes some coaches do a great job and some do an OK job but look at the big picture. My point is don't just look at wins and losses and say that's a great coach. Maybe some coach in lets say for Elliots case Bagley Minnesota who has 13 kids on his Varsity roster and 4 of them are 9th graders wins 5 games this year. Maybe he is the best coach in the state?? my point is who knows? Maybe he wins a state title if he is coaching at ELK RIVER?

[karl(east)]

In REGION 7 they could never beat the Broncos.
Once in a a while they would pull an upset in Region 3 and beat the Section 8 loser.

They did beat the Falls in the Region 7 championship game twice. 1961 and 1964.

Story on the 1961 game: http://www.letsplayhockey.com/online-ed ... drome.html
In 64, the Falls went through Region 3 and got revenge on the Hounds at State, starting their run of 66 straight wins and 3 state titles.

For the most part, though, East's record against the Range teams in the 50s and 60s was pretty ugly. The years between that 60s run under Glenn Rolle and Randolph's arrival were pretty lean for postseason success, too.

As for the question, I'd struggle to name any one person. They all have their pluses and minuses, good years and bad years, and after a while, every coach has his share of ugly upset losses, especially if they're often favored. I don't think casual fans realize how much parts of big games slip out of coaches' control. That said, if you watch some of them at work for long enough, you do pick out certain tendencies and strengths and weaknesses that make each one unique.

Randolph is a prime example. He has some real strengths; he's a brilliant tactician, he teaches complex systems, there's an overarching plan to everything he does, and he pushes his players to the brink and fights to the end. But on the flip side, that intensity isn't for everyone, and he has been on the wrong end of some bad upsets over the years. (I will spare you my dissection of each of those losses unless you really want to hear it.) There's the man you see on the surface, but he also has some complexities underneath. I could probably write a whole book about him.

Plante has a pretty big resource advantage relative to most Class A competition, and you do have to wonder if his stance on STA started to become a distraction. But he's got to be one of the most beloved coaches by his players. There's never any dissent out of the Hawks' camp, and anyone who reads this forum for long enough knows how rare that is.

Esse has gotten some big upsets over the years, though it's been a few since a last one. Taylor has done a decent job of building up Eagan, and I think he's pretty strong tactically.

One guy who hasn't been mentioned yet is Bergland up in Thief River Falls. He seems to get a lot out of a very small program.

I'll certainly give the Vannellis credit for building up STA from nothing, and their personalities balance each other out nicely. You never see Cadets standing around and not moving their feet. AA playoffs are a whole new ballgame, though...I'm curious to see how they handle it.

Obviously every other coach in the state would kill to have Giles' feeder program, but I do think he has some real strengths. He line matches as well as anyone, gets his players to buy in, and runs a tight ship, and that isn't easy in a program like Edina, with all of the talented players' egos that he has to balance. I think he also learned from some of his errors in the Budish/Lee/Everson days, and hasn't repeated those mistakes.

There are a couple of newer coaches who've impressed me some, but I want to give them 4 or 5 years before I really start judging them.There's a long learning curve, and coaches change over time, too. Some are great with one style of team, but can't adapt. Others have shown that they can.

[Nostalgic Nerd]

I use to be a huge fan of Lechner. Was impressed with Hill's gradual improvement over the 2011-12 season before capsizing in the final. Then this year's final I felt like they weren't involved in the game till it was way too late. It seems his team's are bordering on dirty too.

I'd have to go with Giles of the really successful programs. He's brought them to the tourney every year for however many years straight, and it's not such an easy thing to do after several years. Yeah yeah he's got the talent, but after several years of doing so it eventually falls back to the coaching. He does now have two titles in four years, and I don't think he's done (duh!).

Obviously Randolph, but the third title seems to be awfully elusive.

[Nostalgic Nerd]

I will spare you my dissection of each of those losses unless you really want to hear it.

Sure, lets hear it.

[bleedblue]

Carr of Kittson Central. His team is ahead 22-0 after 2 periods. Most goals by a team (22 so far), most goals in a period (14), biggest goal differential by a team (22 so far), etc., etc. Incredible.

[bleedblue]

I know one coach that it isn't in the conversation- Coach of Kittson Central. 26-0 vs Bagley/Fosston. Incredible. Whats with that??!!

[east hockey]

I know one coach that it isn't in the conversation- Coach of Kittson Central. 26-0 vs Bagley/Fosston. Incredible. Whats with that??!!

You should know better than to trust Hockey Hub.

Lee

[bleedblue]

Good point. My bad.

[CB00]

Tony Sarsland. Best old school coach ever..

I second that! Miss the old man whistling, screaming and walking the front of the bench

[BodyShots]

what was Lechners record at Stillwater?

Similar to Mike Grants at Forest Lake before he went to EP. Really irrelevant though. Can't argue with success he has had, regardless if players are "recruited" or not.

BS

[MNHockeyFan]

BS

As in BodyShots?

(sorry, too obvious to resist)

[Sats81]

what was Lechners record at Stillwater?

Similar to Mike Grants at Forest Lake before he went to EP. Really irrelevant though. Can't argue with success he has had, regardless if players are "recruited" or not.

BS

What is?

[UpNorthMom]

Oscar Almquist . . . legendary coach and godfather of Roseau hockey. He coached 24 years and had 4 championship teams: '46, '58, '59, & '61 (not to mention several other state tournament appearances). His picture rightfully hangs in the center of the Wall of Fame at Roseau Memorial Arena.

Coach Almquist insisted that kids skate for free, and to this day, open skating and open hockey are free at the rinks.

[WarmUpTheBus]

I'm curious on people's opinions about who is the best coach (regardless of class) in the state. I'm not very knowledgable on any coaches that are not in Duluth, so I'm just curious on people's thoughts. I know Randolph is up there, but who do you guys think is THE best coach?

Tom Ward - Shattuck St Mary's

[Weakside-Bardown]

Pat Guyer, Greenway and MN Elite League Team North, is still one of the best in the business!!

[Doc Holliday]

I'm surprised Pauly hasn't been mentioned. I really dislike Benilde, but always have felt that they are a well coached team.

Urick seems to elevate the Tonka players when they get to the HS level. They may have lost in '10 with the most talent, but I've also felt they've overachieved in some years as well.

It's hard to analyze because talent is different from one program to another. It's easy to say Giles (or Mike Grant in FB) only win because of talent. But I also have a hard time believing that if you just traded Giles for another coach, Edina would have the same success.

[preferhockey]

Lots of good coaches in Minnesota.

Best coach - Tony Couture of Little Falls.

Good choice, look at track record, considering size of school and player pool.

Hard to pick a private school coach when they can get/have some of the most talented players. It is the coach that can get the most of players that can make this list.