Jim Montgomery is the head coach the Dallas Stars need
By C.L. Kohuss
Reports are circulating that the Dallas Stars may have found their new head coach in Jim Montgomery. While many are likely wondering who that is, we’re here to break down why this is the best move the team can make.
On May 1, Chris Dilks from SB Nation sent out a tweet suggesting that the Dallas Stars were on the verge of hiring University of Denver head coach Jim Montgomery to replace Ken Hitchcock. Hitch retired after the Stars missed the playoffs for the third time in the last five seasons.
News was slow to come, but it appears now that these rumors are holding all kinds of water.
Multiple outlets have Dallas set to make an announcement sometime this week.
The only question now will be: Is this the right move for the Stars? We won’t know that with any certainty until the end of next season or even a few years beyond. What we can tell you, though, is that Montgomery is bringing a winning pedigree to a team that has lacked any postseason success for the better part of a decade. That alone should have fans excited.
Dallas fans, we’re about to hype you up, so get ready.
Montgomery is making the move to the NHL after five seasons with the UD Pioneers, a team he coached to an outstanding record of 125-57-26. They made the NCAA Tournament in all five, and won the National Championship just last year. He won two titles in the USHL. Oh yeah, did we mention he also won a National Championship as a player with the University of Maine? He captained that team in 1993 and also garnered MVP honors.
The guy knows how to win. Yet these awards really mean nothing if Montgomery isn’t able to come in and add to the culture of the team. Logan Stark wrote up a great piece detailing how this move will affect the Stars. It’s everything fans should want. Most notable is how Montgomery loves for his teams to play fast and hound the puck. He also demands his group form a bond that carries over onto the ice.
If being strong on the forecheck and looking out for your teammates sounds familiar, that’s because it’s pretty much all Hitchcock talked about this past season. In fact, it’s likely still ringing in these players’ ears.
But don’t be mistaken in believing that general manager Jim Nill is simply swapping Hitch for a guy who’s a carbon copy. The biggest reason to be excited for this move is the player development. Montgomery coming to the NHL only a season or two removed from a national championship speaks volumes about what Nill hopes the Pioneers head coach can do for not only the young guys already on the roster, but for the draft picks who’ve yet to see much time in the big leagues.
It’s no secret that Nill loves for his draft picks to be, as he says, “overripe” in the minors. But he’s changing his thought process. Here’s an excerpt from an interview with Mike Heika:
"“I’ve always talked about ‘overripe’ and I truly believed that, but you look around the league and teams are starting to go to their players at a much younger age, and those players are handling the pressure very well,” Nill said. “So now we need to consider how we’re using players and whether or not they might be ready earlier than we thought.”"
That quote coupled with this hiring should be exciting for Dallas. A big reason for the Stars having remained pretty stagnant has been the underdevelopment of their youth. Specifically, picks from four or five seasons ago are either just now making it to the NHL or haven’t seen ice at all except in the AHL or OHL. It may not change if Nill doesn’t pick quality, but at least we’re getting a clear signal that he’s ready to trust a head coach to better develop his club, instead of having them waste valuable seasons spinning their collective wheels in the farm system.
Considering Dallas has excellent pieces waiting in the wings (Miro Heiskanen, Jake Oettinger, Jason Robertson, Denis Gurianov and Roope Hintz to name a few), this should give fans hope that a full rebuild isn’t needed. We simply have to find someone who can blend a NHL style of play with a process that gives young guys an opportunity to excel. Sounds easier said than done, of course. But to us, this move is looking like the right one.
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