Dane Jackson named NCHC Herb Brooks Coach of the Year
· Yahoo Sports
Mar. 18—GRAND FORKS — When Dane Jackson was named head coach on the evening of March 29, he didn't have much time to enjoy the moment.
He inherited a decimated roster, and rival teams were working to get even more players in the portal.
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It looked bleak in the moment, but it didn't turn out that way.
Jackson revolutionized the way UND structures its coaching staff by turning one of his three assistant spots into a general manager. He retained key players like Jake Livanavage, Dylan James and Abram Wiebe, who had opportunities to sign professional contracts. He went to work in recruiting to build a competitive roster.
Then, Jackson's squad went out and won the National Collegiate Hockey Conference.
For his achievements, Jackson was named the NCHC's Herb Brooks Coach of the Year. Jackson beat out finalists David Carle of Denver and Anthony Noreen of Miami.
"How much Jax cares about this program, I think it shows a lot," Livanavage said. "It starts at the top and it definitely trickles down to the players. We can feel how much this place means to our staff and how much they want to win. I think it always starts at the top. They've done a great job setting an example for us."
UND surprised Jackson with the award on Wednesday morning at practice.
As the team took the ice, UND played a video on the center-ice scoreboard with the team's players talking about Jackson. Then, athletic director Bill Chaves walked onto the ice and handed Jackson the award.
UND's players banged their sticks on the ice in approval.
"Pretty special way to learn about it," Jackson said. "We have a special group here. I think everybody cares so much about our program between our administration, our staff and our players. It was pretty cool to see our players say some nice words."
UND is 27-9-1 and will head to the NCAA tournament next week as the nation's No. 2 team.
"I'm very happy for him," NCHC Rookie of the Year and UND forward Cole Reschny said. "He's taken this program to another level. Obviously, I didn't know too, too much about it. You hear a lot of things about the history. I think he's brought that North Dakota hockey style back here. I'm happy to have been part of it. To see how much work he puts in, and how much he cares, it's definitely special. I think we're all very, very happy for him."
Jackson built a staff that features associate head coach Matt Smaby, assistant coach Dillon Simpson, general manager Bryn Chyzyk and director of player personnel Jean-Philippe Lamoureux.
"They're all special people," Jackson said. "They're high-character guys who are really smart, sharp professional young guys. We talk about everything they're doing, but it's just a good back and forth. They put a ton of time in their craft and working at their position coaching or special teams. Even Bryn, on the road, he gets the names, then we all watch. We all talk together."
Jackson said the staff has been cohesive.
"I think we have a great collaborative kind of mentality," he said. "We all talk together. I've got to make some final calls, but I have so much trust and belief in these guys that I don't do a lot of telling them what to do."