Diving deeper into Harvard’s candidates
You can add another name to the list of interviewees at Harvard. Niagara coach Jason Lammers has been interviewed, per sources. In today’s newsletter, I take a deeper dive into the candidates at Harvard, including who I’d peg as my top target.
Also in today’s newsletter: Notes on how the NCAA baseball playoffs compared to NCAA hockey on ESPN. ... Tommy Bleyl will enroll at Michigan State in 2027. ... Who is still in the mix for Landon DuPont? ... Boston College is making some facility upgrades. ... A former Merrimack forward is a new head coach in the OHL.
This is issue #683 of the College Hockey Insider newsletter.
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Diving deeper into Harvard’s candidates
I reported on Harvard’s opening last week, noting that the Crimson interviewed former Boston Bruins assistant Jay Leach, Mike Ayers (Boston College), Jared DeMichiel (Michigan State), and Rob Rassey (Michigan). The New England Hockey Journal also reported that Juliano Pagliero (Penn State) and Jason Tapp (Dartmouth) interviewed.
You can add Niagara head coach Jason Lammers to that list as well. Lammers has a direct connection with Harvard Athletic Director Erin McDermott — they were together at Princeton about 20 years ago.
I didn’t go too deep into the candidates last week. If you’ve read my stuff for a while, you know that I don’t believe all head coach openings are created equal, largely because every program presents a different reality. I strongly believe that when hiring a coach, athletic directors need to target the best specific fit for their program. Identifying a candidate who has not only tasted success, but has achieved it at schools with a similar profile, should be the top priority.
In Harvard’s case, that means a candidate who has shown the ability to win at another Ivy League school or, at the very least, an institution with high academic standards.
At this point, I’m told Harvard is moving towards wrapping up its search. With the exception of Jay Leach, who was a candidate but took the Hartford Wolfpack (AHL) job last week, I wouldn’t say anyone is out just yet.
Let’s quickly run through the field.
