NHL Power Rankings: Who is the best head coach in the league?

#19: Dave Hakstol

The Philadelphia Flyers made a bold decision when they thought outside the box by hiring Dave Hakstol, a head coach who had no NHL coaching experience, from the University of North Dakota. So far, that bold decision has paid off as Hakstol has done a solid job in his first season coaching a professional hockey team. His success could encourage more NHL teams to pursue college head coaches.

Hakstol has been far from perfect, but he has played a big role in the Flyers surprise season that has them as playoff contenders entering March 24th. He has been aggressive in the utilization of his roster. Hakstol had to make the unpopular decision of splitting up Claude Giroux and Jakub Voracek. It turns out that was the right move as now the Flyers have two strong forward lines instead of just one.

He has also done a great job in helping to develop the Flyers young players by putting them in situations where they are likely to have success and building up their confidence. Center Sean Couturier and defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere are two players who have benefited the most from that.

Couturier showed early that he was impressive in the defensive zone so Hakstol immediately utilized that ability and gave him strong line mates. Lo and behold, he’s having a fantastic season. His patience with Gostisbehere is paying off, as Hakstol gradually weaned the defenseman from being sheltered to playing over 20 minutes a night.

Next: #18: Bob Hartley