Laker fan favourites
A change has been made.
A new guy will in charge.
But who will it be?
HockeyNewsNorth.com has conducted a random, unscientific poll of fans and sponsors connected to Lake Superior State University and come up with a list of the four most-popular choices to take over as new head coach of the hockey Lakers.
Without question, there has been a buzz about both sides of the International Bridge in the wake of the recent firing of Jim Roque as Lakers coach.
Roque was let go as LSSU coach after the Lakers failed to make the playoffs in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association this 2013-2014 season.
As a national search for a new coach at LSSU is underway, there have been no shortage of names mentioned as potential candidates to replace Roque, who had a below-average, nine-year run as the Lakers bench boss.
At any rate, without further ado, here are who we have been told are the top four choices of Laker followers to take over from Roque.
In order, they are:
Joe Shawhan, Rich Metro, Doug Laprade, Paul Jerrard.
A Michigan Soo native, Shawhan played for the Lakers and later served as a goalie coach and then full-time assistant at LSSU before moving to Northern Michigan University as an assistant in 2010.
Shawhan also had a prior, spectacular, eight-season run as a head coach in the North American Hockey League with the erstwhile Soo Indians.
Metro, like Shawhan, hails from the Michigan Soo.
He was an assistant coach at LSSU for four years before leaving in 2011 to take a pro job as a head coach in France.
A longtime resident of the Michigan Soo, Laprade played for the Lakers from 1987-1991 and has been a part-time assistant coach at LSSU the past three seasons.
In between, Laprade had a successful run as coach of the Sault High Blue Devils.
Jerrard played for the Lakers during their 1983-1987 glory years before a 10-year career in the American Hockey League.
He later was a Laker assistant coach for four seasons before moving up to the pro ranks which included a recent two-year gig as an assistant with the Dallas Stars of the National Hockey League.
Randy:
Do you think Rivermen Bench boss Tom Mccarthy may be a candidate for the LSSU job?
Personally I see him as a great fit . Tom has spent his coaching career working with teams that didn’t always consist of the top end guys yet found a way to win.
Seeing that LSSU isn’t a recruiting hotbed would someone with his pedigree be a fit in NCAA?
NorthernFan,
All Division 1, NCAA coaches must have a Bachelor’s Degree.
Since Tom does not have his BA, he would not be eligible to coach at LSSU.
Regards,
Randy