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Tiger33 you sure do have an excuse for everything. But, I am not going to argue anymore because you were obviously not educated properly and for that I apologize.

Please people!!! I was enjoying this discussion until it turned to the usual public v. private debate. This isn't about wins and tourney appearances, it's about coaches, their knowledge of the x's and O's, motivational abilities, physiological prep, peaking, teaching, citizenry, and the overall experience of the athletes in their programs.

Hilltopper99 wrote:Please people!!! I was enjoying this discussion until it turned to the usual public v. private debate. This isn't about wins and tourney appearances, it's about coaches, their knowledge of the x's and O's, motivational abilities, physiological prep, peaking, teaching, citizenry, and the overall experience of the athletes in their programs.

If that is the criteria, than it is hands down, not a contest, Tom Ward, Prep Coach and director of hockey, Shattuck St. Marys.

Section 8 A would have to be either Bruce Olson or Dennis Fermoyle. Both coach at Warroad and both have state championship rings. The funny thing is that niether of them is the head coach, which is a shame. I don't know why they would have Coach Olson coach the JV squad. He should definitely look for a better job somewhere

Wally the Beerman you have had too much beer.
Those jokers couldn't coach a team out of a bag let alone a zone...wait maybe ring it out of the bag yeah thats it! Letcher for Hill or Woodburys guy are by far the best on the east side of the city. WBL Sager and Nitti not even in the top 100.

southernlakes29 wrote:

totaldominance wrote:1AA - KURT WEBER

agreed...

Are we talking about the same Weber that did not take his team to a holiday tournament this year so that he could watch his son in law aka Glen Perkins play baseball down in Florida! The guy lacks passion now that his kids are out of the program. 4 years of varsity for the both of them... youth C to Varsity. Puzzling!

JV State Champs wrote:Ken Pauly from BSM 6AA
Great motivator, phenominal coach and great person. He is always willing to give interviews to people like MY Fox Hockey and is always classy in doing so. He is a great promoter for High School Hockey as a whole.

I wish he would have coached my kid.

JV State Champs wrote:Ken Pauly from BSM 6AA
Great motivator, phenominal coach and great person. He is always willing to give interviews to people like MY Fox Hockey and is always classy in doing so. He is a great promoter for High School Hockey as a whole.

Have to agree with you on that.

CB00 wrote:7AA Sarsland hands down

I don't think sarslan should be considered in this discussion at all. I played against the guy and in my opinion he displays some of the worst sportsmanship in the state. I think as a coach he does a good job with his players and he has had some great seasons and NHL guys, but i think a coach needs to demonstrate respect and sportsmanship first before anything and to me, he doesnt do that, especially to centennial and the aus family who he should be thanking and those select few of you know why.

that being said, i think both the Aus' should be considered for their section. they have both brought their programs to be to of the elite teams in the state the last few years after being dark horses in years past. they both demand a lot from their players as far as work and respect and even tho they might not be huge fans of one another, the games between the two are always fun to watch.

Elvis wrote:

greatone wrote:Should we count recruiting into the equation?

Who gets the most out of what they have, and who runs the kind of program that kids want to play for, whether players are staying in their public school, or moving to a private?

Agreed Elvis. The coach who gets the most out of his players year in and year out because they respect and believe in him is a great coach imo.

gophermadman wrote:

ehshockey wrote:Giles 2AA

good but unproven

Trebil is the best coach arguably in the state.

My others that I think deserve mentions are:
Ken Pauly
Wes Bolin
Bill Lechner


I dont feel like breaking it down by section, these are coaches that stand out in my mind when I have watched them or played against them. For me, Trebil was the coach I feared against most because I always knew I was about to have my coach get slaughtered in matching up lines.

giles got out coached by aus in the cent game what does that tell you

gophermadman wrote:

greatone wrote:Should we count recruiting into the equation?

yes, or else we cant call Ikola and Saterdahlen good coaches

that is the biggest load of crap ive ever heard. i absolutely hate it whem people say that. they were great coaches and people shouldnt bad mouth them just because their teams were s dominant

I have to add that Lechner is one of the best. he is the first one in and the last one out. Always is thanking the arena staff and if the LR is not up to snuff, gets the boys off the bus and has them clean it.

My vote goes to Brian Urick and his staff at Minnetonka.

mulefarm wrote:My vote goes to Brian Urick and his staff at Minnetonka.

Really??? He took over a team that was already very talented. Ken Pauly built that program to what it is today. I would give him a few more years to see what he can do and then we can start calling him one of the best coaches in the state. Still a little early to tell if he is one of the best coaches in the state.

stmartin123 wrote:

mulefarm wrote:My vote goes to Brian Urick and his staff at Minnetonka.

Really??? He took over a team that was already very talented. Ken Pauly built that program to what it is today. I would give him a few more years to see what he can do and then we can start calling him one of the best coaches in the state. Still a little early to tell if he is one of the best coaches in the state.

stmartin123, If you look at the mnhockeyhub roster (four seniors of which 3 of them are first time varsity guys according to last years roster) it looks like only one kid on the current Tonka team ever played for Pauly so what are you talking about??

Factsmatter1 wrote:

stmartin123 wrote:

mulefarm wrote:My vote goes to Brian Urick and his staff at Minnetonka.

Really??? He took over a team that was already very talented. Ken Pauly built that program to what it is today. I would give him a few more years to see what he can do and then we can start calling him one of the best coaches in the state. Still a little early to tell if he is one of the best coaches in the state.

stmartin123, If you look at the mnhockeyhub roster (four seniors of which 3 of them are first time varsity guys according to last years roster) it looks like only one kid on the current Tonka team ever played for Pauly so what are you talking about??

There are actually 2 players on Tonka's roster that played for Pauly: Sam Coatta and Andrew Prochno. Brian Urick has done a phenomenal job coaching this team the last 2 years. This team lost 9 seniors from their stellar team last year who all saw significant ice time and played key roles in their success. My expectations for this Tonka team coming into the season were very bleak, I'd have never imagined they would be a contender for the state title. I give Brian Urick major credit for bringing his team together and getting his young players to step up and play.

I might give you Aus at Blaine because his players love to play for him, but the other Aus doesn't demand anything from his players. There is a reason the bantams are in the state tourney every year and the varsity isn't.

Interesting. Always the big teams coaches. I could coach them with the talent they have every year. What about the coaches who take less talented teams and mold them into a team that not only improves but does it with class. That's coaching. Not taking the cream of the crop players to state. They should with that talent. That talent comes to them from the hard work the coaches due at the squirt - pee wee - bantam levels. I want coaches wh o not only teach hockey but life in general. Enough of the same old AA big time coaches.

There are alot of coaches just as good if not better at the A or AA level that don't always have the talent but improve each year.

Looking @ what that Couture has done in Central MN over the last 15 years in Little Falls is pretty impressive. Took over a broken program and has guided the LF team to 3 state tournament appearances. I would say that is a good measurement of what a coach has done for a program over the long haul.

I think what Lechner has done over the years as well as his gutsy move this year with dismissing the 4 players is a testament to his coaching and team building abilities.

PR

Tom Vanelli. He took the Cadets from a 2 win season to State in 2 years, winning State the year after. People can say he recruits all they want but like what was said earlier, "good players will come to good coaches"

2A -- Hal Tearse

Factsmatter1 wrote:

stmartin123 wrote:

mulefarm wrote:My vote goes to Brian Urick and his staff at Minnetonka.

Really??? He took over a team that was already very talented. Ken Pauly built that program to what it is today. I would give him a few more years to see what he can do and then we can start calling him one of the best coaches in the state. Still a little early to tell if he is one of the best coaches in the state.

stmartin123, If you look at the mnhockeyhub roster (four seniors of which 3 of them are first time varsity guys according to last years roster) it looks like only one kid on the current Tonka team ever played for Pauly so what are you talking about??

He has done a good job with tonka this year, but i was looking at previous years to determine who the best coach is. I understand he has only been coaching for two years, but i would like to see how he does in future seasons to truly say he is a good coach.

Now I am not bashing him at all, he has done a tremendous job with tonka.(I picked tonka to win state) I would just wait a little bit before throwing him into the category of being one of the best coaches.

Pauly also turned the program around and reestablished a winning tradition. Urick stepped into a program that had a winning way. I think Urick has done a great job at keeping that winning tradition alive, but I think Pauly was the one to reestablish a winning tradition at tonka.

karl(east) wrote:

talkofthetown17 wrote:

ndirishfighting wrote:7A Hibbing Mr.Decenzo and in 7AA Duluth East Mr.Randolph

Thats a bold statement putting Randolph over someone who will possibly know as one of the top three coaches all time. He will be there in wins at least. THat man is Tony Sarsland he was a low key mellow guy you would pick him in a heartbeat he has had one losing season since 1993 or something like that

7AA has three very good candidates for this honor. LaRocque is almost unanimously praised for his efforts up in Rapids, Sarsland's record speaks for itself, and Randolph took a good-but-not-great program and turned it into one of the best in the state. He is also closing in on a rather major milestone (currently sitting at 399 career wins). He's stirred up his share of controversy, but the results are there.

Yea I would have to say the close friends Randolph and Sarsland are a toss up both will be legends for a long time