It did not take former Pittsburgh Penguins coach Mike Sullivan long to land on his feet. Less than a week after he was politely walked to the door, the New York Rangers snapped him up, but the Penguins’ coaching search has at least a few weeks, if not most of the next couple of months, […]
It did not take former Pittsburgh Penguins coach Mike Sullivan long to land on his feet. Less than a week after he was politely walked to the door, the New York Rangers snapped him up, but the Penguins’ coaching search has at least a few weeks, if not most of the next couple of months, still ahead.
Penguins general manager Kyle Dubas, who ultimately took responsibility for the “mutual parting” with Sullivan, is currently Team Canada’s GM at the World Championships in Sweden. While that might make some interviews more difficult, some interesting candidates will be close by.
Dubas promised that the coaching search would be exhaustive, with coaches from all backgrounds, including Europe. While New York thirstily leaped at Sullivan, tossing an industry-leading contract at him, the Penguins don’t have a locked-in candidate or an immediate short list.
Read More: Penguins Coaching Search: 5 Preliminary Favorites; 3 New Names to Watch
We certainly like the backgrounds of potential candidates Mitch Love, Drew Bannister, who lost his job in St. Louis only because Jim Montgomery became available, and former Ottawa coach D.J. Smith. Dubas’s connection to Smith from their time together in Toronto shouldn’t be overlooked. Nor should the overwhelming support Smith received on his way out of Ottawa be glossed over. A lot of people in the Ottawa organization, including core players, thought very highly of him, personally and professionally.
However, that “wide net” that Dubas is casting over the hockey world will extend beyond former NHL coaches looking for a second bite at the apple.
There are some under-the-radar names, including one that should get a lot more consideration than he has previously.
Leaman has built a hockey blue blood in the shadow of Harvard, Northeastern, Boston College, and Boston U. It has been a while since the Penguins selected one of Leaman’s players, the last being Kasper Bjorkvist in 2016, but there is a line of his products in the NHL, including Brandon Tanev and Noel Acciari.
In other words, Providence has produced some gritty hockey players.
His track record is solid. First, Leaman built Union College into a hockey power. Then he did the same at Providence, where he’s been since 2011. He won the 2015 National Championship and guided Team USA to the 2021 World Juniors gold medal.
He’s now 52 years old. Industry sources said he’s been very selective when speaking to NHL teams, but it might be now or never.
Leaman self-describes his preferred style as hard, physical play with a mix of speed and skill. That’s not necessarily the Penguins’ DNA, but that’s winning hockey.
The immediate drawback to Pratt is that he’s never been a head coach. He went from player to AHL assistant to NHL assistant in short order.
Pratt, 49, oversees the Colorado Avalanche defensemen, which hasn’t always been an easy task. The team hired the assistant in 2016 with new head coach Jared Bednar, and he’s been there ever since, keeping some sketchy bluelines intact.
Read More (Colorado Hockey Now): How Pratt Helped Turn Defense Into an Organizational Strength (+)
Not every coach needs to be a rock-jawed, rah-rah type or a task master. Perhaps Pratt is a lifer on the side of the bench, or perhaps it’s his time to shine. Every head coach needs a first job, and Pratt has paid his dues.
While in Sweden, Gronborg is worth a serious conversation. Coach Francis Anzalone (who coaches internationally and runs the prestigious Total Package hockey school) quickly brought up Gronborg’s name on our recent Penguins Live Chat.
Gronborg is currently with Tappara in the Finnish Liiga and is formerly the head coach of Sweden’s National team, where he guided Sweden to the 2012 World Juniors gold medal (a huge upset) and a few silver medals. Gronborg also earned three World Championship gold medals and the 2024 Liiga championship and was named Liiga coach of the year.
Gronborg played college hockey at St. Cloud State and is a U.S. citizen, so the adjustment from there to here wouldn’t be as great as one might initially fear.
You may very well remember his name. He was an assistant coach with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins from 2010 to 2015. Thus far, his only NHL head coaching experience was a half season as the interim boss with the New Jersey Devils in the short-circuited 2019-20 season.
After a 20-year playing career, which includes five seasons with the Penguins and WBS Penguins, Nasreddine has been an assistant coach for 10 years under Jon Hynes and Lindy Ruff in New Jersey, and now Pete DeBoer in Dallas.
In 2020, NHL coach Mike Yeo told the USA Today, “There are certain players that you coach that you know if that’s the path that they choose down the road, that they have the tools for it. He was one of them,” said Yeo who coached Nasreddine at the WBS Penguins. “He was a natural leader. I say that in respect to this, he knew what to do and when to do it, but he also had the presence and commanded the respect of his teammates.”
Nasreddine is old enough (49) to lead the veterans and young enough to relate to youngsters. With Dallas, Nasreddine is overseeing the defensemen and the penalty kill.
A commanding presence with the Penguins seems to be a must, and that certainly describes Nasreddine.
The former Detroit Red Wings coach hung on through the worst of the Detroit rebuild. GM Steve Yzerman was quite high on Blashill and, as a result, probably kept him a year or more too long.
That much losing takes a toll on the room, and the depleted Red Wings, who were rebuilding after Nicklas Lidstrom, Pavel Datsyuk, and Henrik Zetterberg, did a lot of losing.
Yet Yzerman was always a supporter of his coach.
“Blashil is a (Spencer) Carbery-like person. He coached college hockey, he worked in the American League, and he worked as an NHL assistant,” Anzalone told PHN. “He’s gone to relearn his craft under Jon Cooper (Tampa Bay), who is one of the best coaches to work under because he’s ‘got the stuff’ and he lets his assistant coaches coach.”
Blashill’s resume has plenty of entries. He spent 10 years as an assistant in college hockey, first at Ferris State, then Miami of Ohio. His first head coaching job was the GM/head coach of the Indiana Ice of the USHL from 2009-2010. He went back to the college ranks to coach Western Michigan for a year before getting the call to be the assistant coach of the Red Wings in 2011 under Mike Babcock.
He spent three years as the coach of the Grand Rapids Griffins of the AHL, then replaced Babcock in 2015. Blashill has assisted under Cooper for the last three seasons, but is only 51 years old.
1/15 SU football NIL golf tournamentCharlie Miller Syracuse, N.Y. — John Lally put the challenge out to those gathered at a dinner following a day of fundraising and golf at Bellevue Country Club on Syracuse’s west side to benefit Syracuse Football NIL. About $750,000 was raised by donors in the room. If you purchase a […]
1/15
Syracuse, N.Y. — John Lally put the challenge out to those gathered at a dinner following a day of fundraising and golf at Bellevue Country Club on Syracuse’s west side to benefit Syracuse Football NIL.
About $750,000 was raised by donors in the room.
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Story Links Springfield, Mass. – June 10, 2025 – Springfield College Athletics finished 65th nationally in the final overall standings of the 2024-2025 Division III Learfield Directors’ Cup. This marks the 16th consecutive year that the Pride finished ranked inside the top-100 schools across the nearly 440 Division III athletic programs from […]
Springfield, Mass. – June 10, 2025 – Springfield College Athletics finished 65th nationally in the final overall standings of the 2024-2025 Division III Learfield Directors’ Cup. This marks the 16th consecutive year that the Pride finished ranked inside the top-100 schools across the nearly 440 Division III athletic programs from across the country.
The Learfield Directors’ Cup scoring is created by counting a maximum 18 sports, while men’s and women’s basketball and men’s and women’s soccer are the four scores that must be counted for each institution. Additionally, up to 14 other scores may be counted, regardless of gender, in the final score. Springfield’s 313 points allowed the Pride to be the third ranked program among institutions from the New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference (NEWMAC), behind MIT (6th) and Babson (50th). In total, 12 programs represented Springfield on the national stage this year.
Emory University became just the seventh different institution to take home the Learfield Directors’ Cup in Division III history, capturing first this year with 1,198.75 overall points, while Johns Hopkins took second (1147 points), Tufts took third (1069 points), Washington University took fourth (1044.75 points) and Middlebury rounded out the top five (971.75 points).
In the fall, Springfield’s football program, coached by Associated Press (AP) Division III National Coach of the Year Mike Cerasuolo, advanced to the NCAA Division III national quarterfinals for the first time since 2000 after capturing the team’s fourth consecutive NEWMAC title, while women’s volleyball earned an at-large berth to the national tournament for the tenth time under the direction of Moira Long following a 22-7 season.
In the winter, six programs represented Springfield College on the national stage including men’s gymnastics, men’s and women’s swimming and diving, men’s and women’s track and field and wrestling. The winter season was highlighted by NCAA All-America honors from Nina Lamb (Killingworth, Conn.), Jacob Deguire (Schenectady, N.Y.), Katherine DeFosse (Worcester, Mass.) and Samantha Paul (Albany, N.Y.).
The spring season was highlighted by a national runner-up finish by the Springfield College men’s volleyball program in Salem, Virginia after barreling through the national tournament with wins over Mount Union, Carthage and California Lutheran as well as the softball program’s first NCAA tournament appearance in since 2017. Individually, the Pride were represented by men’s and women’s track and field at the NCAA outdoor national championships.
For the latest on Springfield College Athletics, follow the Pride on social media on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Be sure to tune into all Springfield College Athletic events by subscribing to FloSports.
BUFFALO, N.Y. — Rising sophomore Will Horcoff of the University of Michigan hockey team continues to raise his stock for the approaching 2025 NHL Draft after his performance at the 2025 NHL Scouting Combine this past week (June 2-7) in Buffalo, N.Y. Horcoff set a combine record in the horizontal jump, clearing 124.8 inches — […]
BUFFALO, N.Y. — Rising sophomore Will Horcoff of the University of Michigan hockey team continues to raise his stock for the approaching 2025 NHL Draft after his performance at the 2025 NHL Scouting Combine this past week (June 2-7) in Buffalo, N.Y.
Horcoff set a combine record in the horizontal jump, clearing 124.8 inches — surpassing the previous record of 123 inches. It was also 6.5 inches farther than the next-best mark among this year’s invitees.
“Our strength coach Joe (Maher) and our coaching staff have been dialed in on making me stronger, faster and a more complete player from day one,” Horcoff said. “They push me every day and I’m thankful for everything they’ve done to help me get to this point.”
Additionally, Horcoff finished in the top 15 in six other fitness tests. They include: first in no-arm jump (22.84 inches), fourth in pro agility left (4.23 seconds), seventh in pro agility right (4.29 seconds), 10th in right-hand grip (161 lbs), 13th in vertical jump (22.29 inches), 15th in wingspan (78.50 inches) and 15th in left-hang grip (150 lbs).
“It’s no surprise Will performed as well as he did,” Michigan hockey strength and conditioning coach Joe Maher said. “His accomplishments are a direct result of his work ethic, focus, determination and competitiveness. Will takes pride in his training and has a willingness to learn, which is a great combination for a hockey player. We are proud of him and look forward to his bright future.”
The youngest player in college hockey this past season, Horcoff is projected to be a late first-round selection. He had interviews with 31 of the 32 NHL programs at the combine.
Horcoff’s father, Shawn, played 15 seasons in the NHL and is currently the assistant general manager of the Detroit Red Wings.
Incoming freshmen Cole McKinney, Asher Barnett, Malcolm Spence and other potential Michigan signees were also invited. Barnett finished in the top 25 in horizontal jump, VO2Max, pro agility left and right, mean power output, peak power output, vertical jump and bench press. McKinney finished in the top 25 in VO2Max, pro agility right (25th), peak power output, bench press, right-hand grip and pull-ups. Spence finished in the top 25 in horizontal jump, mean power output, peak power output and vertical jump.
The NHL Draft will be held June 27-28 at L.A. Live’s Peacock Theater in Los Angeles.
Michigan has at least seven players eligible for this season’s draft, including rising sophomore Dakota Rheaume-Mullen, and incoming players Drew Schock and Aiden Park.
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“Call Her Daddy” host Alex Cooper opened up about years’ worth of alleged sexual harassment that she experienced from Boston University soccer coach Nancy Feldman. Before Cooper became a sex and dating podcaster and media mogul, she was a Boston University soccer player. A decade after playing for her D1 team, Cooper shared the sexual […]
“Call Her Daddy” host Alex Cooper opened up about years’ worth of alleged sexual harassment that she experienced from Boston University soccer coach Nancy Feldman.
Before Cooper became a sex and dating podcaster and media mogul, she was a Boston University soccer player. A decade after playing for her D1 team, Cooper shared the sexual harassment she faced from her female coach in her new Hulu docuseries “Call Her Alex.”
In the two-part Hulu series, the podcaster said she noticed Feldman “really starting to fixate on me, way more than any other teammate of mine, and it was confusing,” during her sophomore year of college.
She added that her coach leveraged field time in exchange for stories about Cooper’s sex life and dating history. Cooper claimed she also made specific comments about her body and “always wanted to be alone with me.”
She also alleged in the documentary that…
WASHINGTON — T.J. Oshie, who scored four shootout goals for the U.S. to beat host Russia at the 2014 Sochi Olympics and helped the Washington Capitals win the Stanley Cup in 2018, announced Monday he is retiring after playing 16 NHL seasons. Oshie shared his news in front of hundreds of fans gathered at the […]
WASHINGTON — T.J. Oshie, who scored four shootout goals for the U.S. to beat host Russia at the 2014 Sochi Olympics and helped the Washington Capitals win the Stanley Cup in 2018, announced Monday he is retiring after playing 16 NHL seasons.
Oshie shared his news in front of hundreds of fans gathered at the fountains at Washington Harbour in Georgetown, seven years to the day of one of the most memorable Cup celebrations in hockey history when he and several teammates jumped into the fountains and took a dip.
President of hockey operations Brian MacLellan, general manager Chris Patrick, coach Spencer Carbery and longtime teammates Nicklas Backstrom and John Carlson came out to support Oshie as he called it a career.
“My only contribution was that this could be a good day and place to have (the ceremony),” Oshie said, adding, “I can’t thank the Caps enough. Another first-class move by them to have my retirement here, invite all the people out. It really made this day special.”
The announcement had been expected for quite some time, with Oshie’s contract expiring. The 38-year-old did not play this past season because of a nagging back injury that sidelined him off and on, going on long-term injured reserve instead.
Oshie said in the spring of 2024 he would only return to the Capitals if he found a permanent solution or fix to the issue. His final game was at home on April 28 last year against the New York Rangers, a 4-2 loss in the first round that eliminated Washington in a sweep.
“I was fully prepared that could be my last game: I got the pictures taken of me taking off the skates to prove it,” Oshie said. “I hadn’t thought too much about (the end), honestly, besides that moment. Even before that moment, knowing how tough it was on really the whole team with me, what I was going through, actually saying the words out loud at the podium with my family in front of me and the Caps organization, my teammates, all my close friends, it was emotional.”
Taken 24th in the 2005 draft by St. Louis, Oshie played 1,116 regular-season and playoff games in the league with the Blues and Capitals since making his debut in 2008. He had 336 goals and 428 assists for 764 points, including 21 points during Washington’s Cup run.
Oshie made an international name for himself at the Olympics, earning the nickname “T.J. Sochi” for going 4 for 6 in shootout attempts against Sergei Bobrovsky during the U.S.-Russia preliminary round game in that tournament.
“I like to think that when I was playing, that I was playing for my teammates, for my coaches, for my family, for my fans. I rarely thought about my own accolades,” Oshie said. “To be remembered (as a ‘warrior’ type of player) is a huge honor because that was my goal and the way I played the game.”
In the NHL, his biggest impact came after he was traded from the Blues to the Capitals in 2015. Oshie took on an immediate leadership role as a key addition to the core of Alex Ovechkin, Backstrom and Carlson, helping the team make the playoffs in eight of his nine seasons in the nation’s capital.
“I’ll be the first to give credit to my teammates, because without them, I was nowhere near good enough to do it without a group like that,” Oshie said.
Oshie’s 76 power-play goals in D.C. are the fifth most in franchise history. He scored 49 times in the shootout, tied for third all-time since it was implemented in 2005.
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