Athletic Director Graham Rossini
Opening Statement
“Good afternoon everybody. Thanks for the patience being here today. Obviously an unusual situation that led to this leadership transition, but I appreciate everybody being here this afternoon as we welcome coach Dave Hakstol. Thank you, Dave, for choosing Arizona State and for committing to our student athletes, this program and our university. We welcome you, Erin, Avery, and Brenden to ASU and Sun Devil Athletics. 11 seasons at North Dakota, 11 NCAA tournament appearances, seven Frozen Fours, a remarkable record of sustained success at one of college hockey’s most respected programs. And as the head coach of the Philadelphia Flyers and Seattle Kraken’s first ever head coach, along with time with the Toronto Maple Leafs and Colorado Avalanche, Dave brings 11 seasons of NHL experience and a deep understanding of player development, preparation, and the standards required to compete at the highest levels of the sport. We also thank Kroenke Sports and Entertainment, and Avalanche president Joe Sakic for their cooperation and support throughout this leadership transition. And so this will be an excellent opportunity for our student athletes to learn from somebody who understands both the college experience and the path to professional hockey. His experience directly supports our mission as a talent development organization. On behalf of Dr. Crow and our university community, we’re grateful for Dave’s belief in ASU and the future of Sun Devil Hockey. So please join me in welcoming the new head hockey coach of ASU, Dave Hakstol.” 

Head Coach Dave Hakstol
Opening Statement
“Thank you. It's great to be here. Thank you, Graham. I also want to thank President Crow, both of you for your leadership throughout the process and really enabling this to happen. For me, this is a tremendous opportunity, for myself professionally, as well as for my family. My wife Erin and son Brenden are here. My daughter Avery is not. She's off at school in a different city. But for me, a special opportunity to join this group of guys, and work towards a successful season this year, as well at the same time laying the foundation towards the future, and I'm excited to do that. So I'll keep my remarks to that, keep them very brief and open them up to questions for everybody here.”

On the decision to return to college hockey:
“When the opportunity arose, obviously, it's very unique timing, a difficult time of the year, but there was something about this opportunity that felt special, and I truly feel that way. I think of everything that's here at ASU as an institution, when I look at the foundation that has already been laid here within the program and the hard work of everybody previously involved with this program, including the alums, and then we look to the foundation of the future. I just think there's so much here. It's an exciting opportunity, and I truly mean that. I feel good about joining this group of players and we want our focus to be on this year, and everything we can do to make this a successful season, but also, with an eye to the future, as we become a full-fledged member of the NCHC. Everybody got a taste of that the past year and as we move into the future, there's a ton of challenges here, but way more opportunity to continue to grow and build this program into national prominence, and become a championship-level program on a year to year basis.”

On the whirlwind past few weeks:
“Tough to sum up at this point in time. I was actually trying to think back to where I was two weeks ago today, and I think we were back to back in Dallas and in Colorado. So it has been a bit of a whirlwind, but some amazing people have made the transition quite easy, to be honest with you. That starts with the players. I've got to mention the entire staff when I flew into Boston and into Lowell. Right away, the staff around the hockey program made my transition easy, and they continue to do that on a daily basis, so I've got a lot to catch up on, but we'll take that one step at a time. We can't do everything at once, so really just trying to simplify the process, do what we can each day, make sure we've got our focus on today, but also a bit of an eye on the future and I think we'll be okay. We'll catch up to things.”

On what defines the Dave Hakstol culture as a coach:
“Well, first of all, it's day by day. Let's have great respect for what's been built here in the past, right? When you look at the success that's already been put in place in the move to full Division One and entering the NCHC, the spotlight of being able to be a tournament team as an independent, there's been a ton of success that we can build off of. First of all, we're going to do the work day by day, and I truly mean that. You have to show up, you have to be prepared, you have to be detailed, you have to be ready to work, and you have to be ready to work together. So I got a lot of value in guys that are good teammates. I got a lot of value in guys that play extremely hard. I like intelligent players. I like skilled players. And the ability to mesh those things together is not an easy task, for any team, but we do it year in and year out. You rebuild that team concept year in and year out, with what the culture that has been laid dictates, and that's what we're going to do here and we'll do that a piece at a time. So, like I said, we're not going to do everything in one day. We don't need to do that, but I have some very specific mindsets in terms of the developmental path that we want to put in place for each individual player and how that connects to a consistent, team success that we want to have year in and year out. And we can talk about it all we want. It's not easy to do. It's not a given. We just have to do the work and put the thought into doing it. And I truly believe we'll be successful in achieving that.”

On what the staff was trying to accomplish during last week’s mini-camp:
“Different levels of what we were trying to accomplish. Number one, for myself as a coach and for Matt Greene coming in, joining the program, get to know our players, and I don't just mean get to know who they are on the ice, but also get to know them a little bit off the ice, get to know what their abilities are and try and understand that a little bit so we know how to apply that to our team game. And then coupled with that, lay the foundation of how we want to play systematically. So that's gonna take time, but truly a blessing really to have the weekend off where we could do that. We could take 5 days and just turn our focus completely inwards to what we want to be and how we want to do it. The guys worked extremely hard at it, mentally, physically. We made some really good progress. Now we have to continue to build that day by day. Those are things that you do over time, not over 5 days. So like I said, I think we made great progress. I believe that.Now we have to take that and apply it to a game week and then continue building.”

On the roles that his assistant coaches will have:
“We're gonna still continue to build our staff and we're gonna do that in a timely manner. There's no rush for that. We're gonna get it right. We're gonna do it right. We have very good staff members that work behind the scenes in terms of organizational work, recruiting work, putting us in a good spot moving forward. Jimmy Mullin obviously is staying. He’ll run the power play. He’s going to work with our forwards. He's gonna be integral in terms of recruiting, bringing Matt (Greene) in, Greener's gonna work with our penalty kill, work with our defense, and he's got such a wealth of knowledge, in terms of the steps necessary not only to win, but the steps also necessary individually to build your career to a National Hockey League career just based off of his experiences, both as a player as well as what he's done career-wise, that he'll be involved top to bottom in that as well.”

On what has changed since the last time he was coaching college hockey:
“A lot's changed. A lot has changed. A lot has stayed the same. The level of college hockey is amazing. I used to think it was amazing, even the year that I left. I remember, I think it may have been a year or two before I left college hockey. Our compliance department gave us permission to buy bagels for our guys for breakfast, but they had to bring their own cream cheese. So things have changed a little bit, right? Little things. The business of college hockey has changed and it’s ever-changing. So we’re prepared for that. I’ve continued to be a college hockey fan. I’ve continued to study the game. I've watched the business side of it closely. So now I’m back into it. I have to learn that firsthand. So I’ve got to do a good job of that, but with the changes, with player movement, with NIL payments, things like that, there’s a lot of positives there. There's a ton of positives there for the players. It creates challenges on other sides, in terms of building continuity with your roster and things of that nature, but it probably also drives us to make sure we're doing a great job for our players. That's the best thing you can do, right? The other side of it is college hockey's gotten better. As I've watched it, the level of play right now, when I watch it from a fan standpoint, it's spectacular. There are so many dynamic players in the game, and those dynamic players have always been there. I just think there's just a slightly higher level right now. I don't know how you put a percentage on that, but with a good friend of mine that coaches in the league, we talked about it over the summer and we're like, ‘I don't know, is college hockey 20% better? Is it 25% better than it was a couple of years ago with the opening of the CHL?’ There's just more talent available and that's raised the bar for everybody. So I love that developmentally for players in terms of their goal to reach the NHL. The level of college hockey is closer. It gets them a step closer. The competitive level from a fan standpoint is tremendous, so that for me is exciting.”

On coming back to the National Collegiate Hockey Conference:
“It is pretty special. I can remember the first couple of meetings where there was only a couple of us with a yellow legal pad, jotting things down as to where we were going to go. We knew there were stresses coming to our current league, with the advent of the Big 10 and Big 10 hockey, and that was going to change the landscape. So we were trying to look forward, we were trying to plan forward, and as we wrote things down, tried to formulate a plan, and it became, you know, kind of a daunting task. Some great people brought it together pretty quickly. The league got off to a great start, and I was part of it early on. I've watched it closely ever since, and the amount of success that the NCHD has had on a national level is amazing. I see nothing but that continuing in a highly competitive environment. Certainly it won't be easy to continue that into the future for the league, but there's a lot of really good people involved in the NCHC, at an administrative level and a ton of great hockey people involved at the hockey level. Those things are going to continue to drive the league and the league success.”

On his perspective on the players' emotional state, connectivity, and connectivity:
“I've found that the guys want to be coached, they are craving that. So the best thing that I can do is provide leadership, for whatever the day brings, provide leadership off the ice, provide leadership direction, and coaching on the ice. That's exactly what I've done. We haven't complicated that. We've dealt with it in a very straightforward manner. I'm aware of everything. I'm aware of some of the things that these players are possibly dealing with, yet I make no assumptions. We just kind of hit things head on on a daily basis. The overriding thing that these guys want is that they want to be coached. They want to find success, and they've done a great job of that in terms of what they've brought to the rink mentally and physically.”

On why Matt Greene the right person to join the coaching staff:
“I trust Greener [Matt Greene] with my life, with my family. So that is a pretty good place to start. If we're gonna do this, we've got, we've gotta go into that coach's room and we gotta believe in each other. So, number one, Greener, 100%. I know this guy in and out. He was my first captain at the University of North Dakota, my very first year as a head coach before he moved to the pro level. What I love about him in conjunction with that is his directness, honesty, and his ability to communicate. He's really dynamic, in terms of his ability to communicate with different personalities. When I look at his career path, he's a guy that, as a player, was rough around the edge. As a young guy he knew the right things to do and he was dedicated enough to do that to build an NHL career. From there, he was smart enough to understand what he needed to do to become a leader. He became a captain at the NHL level. Not only that, but he was an integral part of two Stanley Cup championships. So, when I look at who he is, what he is, I just think he's a real special addition. For the players in that room as a resource. These guys want to go where he's been, but that doesn't automatically make him effective. When I add in all the other intangibles about who he is as a person and how he operates, he's just, he's a great resource for us.”

On how to change the program to better support the development of players:
“Let's do that on a day by day basis, and that's part of what I spoke about. Let's really evaluate our developmental path. That's one of the next steps for our program. We'll work hard to make sure that this is a great players, a great place for players to choose, you know, to come and, and not only grow and develop and have an opportunity to play in the National Hockey League, but we want them to be able to be successful and win while they do that with a great group of people in the dressing room.”

On how to translate his NHL experience and knowledge to college hockey:
“It starts with your work, detail, and consistency to do that. Sometimes you have to do those things under less than perfect circumstances. That's also a big trade of being a pro. When our guys come into the program, they are not pros, but we want them to grow into that, both on and off the ice. Their organization and detail in their daily routines and what they do away from the rink, in the classroom, academically, are gonna impact who they are on the ice. That is going to carry into their consistency. Consistency, and their ability to be good at the rink on a daily basis. That's where it starts. There's a million details that we can talk about in terms of what the game is on the ice and what each individual is going to need to do. For the guys that come here, just in the past week since we've been back in town, and our guys that are drafted. I reach out to them, their NHL teams, whether it's their GM, assistant GM, or their player development staff. We work together in their development while they're here. That's the most effective way. So that everybody gets on the same page. Everybody has the same message, and we push forward with their development and make no bones about it. Becoming a National Hockey League player and playing at that level for a significant amount of time, that's no small endeavor. So, I don't want to make light of it. It's not an easy thing, but we want this to be a great pathway to the National Hockey League, and we want one of the reasons why we want players to choose ASU as the right place for them and their development.”

On what stood out about the facilities and resources at ASU:
“For me, it starts with the institution and that's the first thing I look at. I mean, the dynamic growth and depth of the different opportunities educationally at ASU and how that affects your long-term life in terms of connections that are gonna be with you for the rest of your life, it starts there. The facilities here at Mullett are amazing. There's going to be things that we want to look at just like every area of the program and just like every other area of the university, always looking for ways to improve, to build, to grow, to find something new that gives you a little edge that helps the player have maybe an edge in his development, and we'll continue to do. But the facilities are excellent. The arena, the bowl, there is excellent fan support, student support, fan base support, alumni support. I've been to college games here and the atmosphere is just tremendous. It's a great college atmosphere. We want to grow and build on that from the bottom up.”

On the captains stepping up and their leadership:
“As a group I can't say enough about them. I have walked in their shoes over the past few weeks. I’ve been with them for the past 12 days and I can tell you the quality and depth of them as human beings is pretty impressive. They’re good players and along with that they are better people. Leadership is not easy, being a captain on any pro sports team or college sports team, at any level, is not easy. It’s a great honor but nothing about it is easy. These guys have done a really good job. They speak to important things, things that matter to them. They’ve communicated well with me, and the real key here is they're a conduit, right? They've got to take messages from myself and the coaching staff back to the rest of the guys as well. They've got to bring things that I need to be aware of back to me and, in my short experience with them, they've done a really nice job.

On his message to hockey fans in the valley:
“We want them to be proud of what we are doing here and the best way I know how to do that is, you show you care every day on the ice. We do the work in practice, we do the work every day, but when the puck drops on Friday and Saturday night, in front of a full house, we got to show everybody who's here, who spent their hard-earned money, everybody that is spending their Friday or Saturday night that we care. It doesn't always end the right way, but when you show you care, when you play that way, I believe people take note of that. I think there is a really good hockey community here. There's a deep hockey tradition here, a ton of acumen and knowledge. I believe our crowd is a knowledgeable hockey crowd, and I believe that they're going to appreciate the effort and the care, and that's what we are going to bring every day. We want it to be fun, we want it to look fun, and we want to be a part of that and continue growing and building the tradition that is already here.”

On the decision to keep Jimmy Mullin on staff:
“I know people that have a deep history with Jimmy. Jimmy was in the league as a player when I was here. I believe he's the right guy for this position at this time. That's the bottom line, he's proved that everyday, and I'm not asking him to prove himself. I want him to do his job and do it really well for the players, and I truly believe that he's the right guy to do that for us.”

On conversations he's had with the players since joining the program:
“Ive been here 12 days, so my conversations are limited to that. Most of my conversations have been with the players, these guys are young men. They represent themselves. They speak very well for themselves. We’ve met collectively, we've met individually, and those have been productive.”

On how he knew ASU was the right place for him:
“Through my conversations with Graham, we had extensive conversations, obviously over a short period of time. I had all of those in my mind answered. Om pretty realistic, Im pretty black and white, but we got to all the issues and discussed everything that I felt was necessary, and I was very comfortable with those. Part of the draw was coming into the locker room with this group of players at this time. That's just something I felt. Through good conversations, it made it really clear to me that this was a great opportunity.”

On who he leaned on for information:
“In this situation, I lean on my family. One close friend, and myself and my knowledge of the game at all levels and of people involved. I listened really closely, I think I'm a pretty good evaluator of people, and that's truly what I relied on in this situation. I thought that was appropriate, given the situation. I thought that's the way it needed to be, and I was really comfortable with it.”