After a month-long search, Flyers general manager Ron Hextall has found his guy.
The Flyers on Monday named Dave Hakstol from the University of North Dakota as their 19th head coach in franchise history replacing Craig Berube.
Two sources told CSNPhilly.com's Tim Panaccio that the Flyers did not ask to speak with Red Wings head coach Mike Babcock, but did interview Todd McLellan at the world championships before hiring Hakstol.
“Dave brings a wealth of head coaching experience and success to the Philadelphia Flyers organization,” Hextall said in a statement. “He’s a proven winner and we are pleased to have him become part of the Flyers family.”
Hakstol comes to the Flyers with no NHL experience, but he’s spent the last 11 years coaching at UND, where he coached several NHL players. Among those are Jonathan Toews, Zach Parise, T.J. Oshie, Drew Stafford, Travis Zajac and Matt Greene, as well as Hextall’s son, Brett Hextall.
The 46-year-old leaves North Dakota with a 289-143-43 record in 475 games. He made the NCAA tournament every year he was there, with seven Frozen Four appearances. Last season, North Dakota made the Frozen Four, but lost to Boston University. North Dakota went 29-10-3 in the regular season last year.
Under Hakstol, North Dakota has produced 20 NHL players and 46 have played professionally. He coached Chris VandeVelde, who has played 90 games with the Flyers the last two seasons, and Derek Forbort, who the Kings drafted when Hextall was the assistant general manager in L.A.
