LetsGoDU can now report, based on reliable sources, that the University of Denver is prepared to announce David Carle as the new hockey head coach for the University of Denver. Carle was a favorite of outgoing head Coach Jim Montgomery and apparently for the search committee, too.
Carle now appears to have been the front runner all along as Denver players and fans speculated about Montgomery’s replacement. What was a surprise, was the announcement filtering out heading into a busy Memorial Day weekend. However, the move is certain to buoy fans spirits who wanted a continuation of the current approach and playing style.
Carle, a 2012 graduate of the University of Denver officially joined the Pioneers’ staff on Jan. 1, 2014, replacing departing long time associate head coach Steve Miller,
As a player, Carle was originally recruited to the University of Denver as a player, but was forced to retire from hockey in July of 2008 after being diagnosed with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy – which is best known as a leading cause of sudden cardiac death in young athletes and is a primary disease of the myocardium muscle of the heart.
Carle joined the Denver staff following a season as an assistant coach with the USHL’s Green Bay Gamblers. During his time with the Gamblers, Carle helped guide Green Bay to an overall mark of 37-23-4 and a second-place finish in the USHL’s Eastern Conference with a total of 78 points. In addition, the Gamblers set a franchise record for 15 consecutive victories on their home ice during the 2012-13 campaign.
The Anchorage, Alaska, native was a standout defenseman as a prep at Shattuck-St. Mary’s (Minn.) as he helped lead the Sabres to back-to-back national titles in 2007 and 2008.
The move makes Carle the youngest D1 hockey coach in the nation. While his age must have played a part in the ultimate decision, Denver got to see Carle develop and grow with Jim Montgomery and believe this move could be a great long-term call for the DU hockey program with what has now been coined ‘relentless Pioneer hockey’. And, as mentioned in an earlier LetsGoDU article, we believed that David Carle was an ideal candidate for the job.
David Carle will speak with the media on Tuesday, May 29 at 2:30 p.m. #DU1NATION pic.twitter.com/WRfVlt1R4a
— Denver Hockey (@DU_Hockey) May 25, 2018
Carle has a rich hockey tradition in his family as his brother Matt became Denver’s first Hobey Baker Award winner in 2006 and is a current member of the NHL’s Tampa Bay Lightning. His younger brother, Alex, 24, just completed his junior season at Merrimack.
Really happy for @DCarleDU and proud of him. He’s bright, talented and hard-working! I was fortunate to work with him and I can’t wait to watch @DU_Hockey https://t.co/ld57y9ZOkn
— Jim Montgomery (@StarsMonty) May 25, 2018
Awesome!
Ehhh…OK. Congrats to David Carle–a good guy. 1) Let’s hope that he is up for the job. 2) Let’s hope that DU saved 150-200K per year in hiring him vs. other more experience guys. 3) Let’s hope that if David is successful at DU, that he will stick around for a much longer than others would have. DU went out on a limb–it’s a very bold move for a top 5 program to hire a 28 year old coach. If the risk pays off, ALL credit goes to Gwozdecky, who honored David’s scholarship after the heart condition was discovered and got him started on the coaching path.
Good point on Gwoz. I think he saw someone special in David Carle. Not sure I have ever heard of a school standing by an athletic scholarship like DU did…It is a great story and speaks volumes about Gwoz, the athletic department and the administration. Now, if he can just give us 20-25 years of 20 win seasons, we’ll call it even.
Haha! That would settle things for sure.
Alex Carle just completed his junior season at Merrimack. He is almost 24 and you age out of juniors on your 21st birthday, if you want 4 years of NCAA eligibility. Also, his last junior team was a Texas team in the NAHL. Just saying…
Will update…in a bit of a rush to push the news out. Thx!
Alex suffered a number of injuries and missed the better part of 2 seasons before Merrimack.
Awesome!
Ehhh…OK. Congrats to David Carle–a good guy. 1) Let’s hope that he is up for the job. 2) Let’s hope that DU saved 150-200K per year in hiring him vs. other more experience guys. 3) Let’s hope that if David is successful at DU, that he will stick around for a much longer than others would have. DU went out on a limb–it’s a very bold move for a top 5 program to hire a 28 year old coach. If the risk pays off, ALL credit goes to Gwozdecky, who honored David’s scholarship after the heart condition was discovered and got him started on the coaching path.
Congrats to David Carle! Now one question–Is he going to bring brother Matt to coach the defense?
He’s bringing back Killer Miller to coach the D!
While I really like Steve Miller as a coach and as a person, I would actually be surprised if Carle brought back Miller for the following reasons:
1) Miller is the associate head coach at Ohio State. I doubt he would have that role at Denver, especially since Miller left DU under Monty.
2) Miller’s daughter, Alexis, will be a freshman soccer player at Bowling Green, precipitating the Miller family’s move to Ohio.
3) I am not sure Miller would want to be an assistant coach here again. He’s done it already.
4) I am not sure Carle wants coaches from the glory days under Gwozdecky.
5) I am guessing here, but he already has a much older assistant in Tavis. Does he want another older guy?
Good point on Gwoz. I think he saw someone special in David Carle. Not sure I have ever heard of a school standing by an athletic scholarship like DU did…It is a great story and speaks volumes about Gwoz, the athletic department and the administration. Now, if he can just give us 20-25 years of 20 win seasons, we’ll call it even.
Haha! That would settle things for sure.
Alex Carle just completed his junior season at Merrimack. He is almost 24 and you age out of juniors on your 21st birthday, if you want 4 years of NCAA eligibility. Also, his last junior team was a Texas team in the NAHL. Just saying…
Will update…in a bit of a rush to push the news out. Thx!
Alex suffered a number of injuries and missed the better part of 2 seasons before Merrimack.
Congrats to David Carle! Now one question–Is he going to bring brother Matt to coach the defense?
He’s bringing back Killer Miller to coach the D!
While I really like Steve Miller as a coach and as a person, I would actually be surprised if Carle brought back Miller for the following reasons:
1) Miller is the associate head coach at Ohio State. I doubt he would have that role at Denver, especially since Miller left DU under Monty.
2) Miller’s daughter, Alexis, will be a freshman soccer player at Bowling Green, precipitating the Miller family’s move to Ohio.
3) I am not sure Miller would want to be an assistant coach here again. He’s done it already.
4) I am not sure Carle wants coaches from the glory days under Gwozdecky.
5) I am guessing here, but he already has a much older assistant in Tavis. Does he want another older guy?
I think the Miller family is committed to moving to Ohio, Killer probably coached Carle on how to coach. Returning to Denver as an assistant–NOT..
My guess is he takes a former DU guy as his second assistant behind Tavis. Obviously, I’ll prob be wrong, but some choices could be Matt Carle, Grant Arnold or maybe Gabe Gauthier. Total speculation. I think Arnold would be a great fit.
I think the Miller family is committed to moving to Ohio, Killer probably coached Carle on how to coach. Returning to Denver as an assistant–NOT..
My guess is he takes a former DU guy as his second assistant behind Tavis. Obviously, I’ll prob be wrong, but some choices could be Matt Carle, Grant Arnold or maybe Gabe Gauthier. Total speculation. I think Arnold would be a great fit.
I think Swami’s right that having an assistant coach that played in the NHL would be helpful:
Here are a few Pics I would consider:
Derek Mayer (Ottawa Senators) – Derek played at DU in the late 80s, and spent most of his pro career in Europe. He was most recently an assistant coach for EHC Red Bull in Austria and is looking for new opportunities.
Brett Skinner (NYI): Former DU star from the 2004 and 2005 NC teams who just finished his pro career. Now an assistant coach in the USHL for former CC coach Scotty Owens in Sioux Falls.
Gabe Gauthier (LA Kings) – Former key forward for DU on the 04 and 05 title teams. Now a junior coach in Las Vegas.
I think Swami’s right that having an assistant coach that played in the NHL would be helpful:
Here are a few Pics I would consider:
Derek Mayer (Ottawa Senators) – Derek played at DU in the late 80s, and spent most of his pro career in Europe. He was most recently an assistant coach for EHC Red Bull in Austria and is looking for new opportunities.
Brett Skinner (NYI): Former DU star from the 2004 and 2005 NC teams who just finished his pro career. Now an assistant coach in the USHL for former CC coach Scotty Owens in Sioux Falls.
Gabe Gauthier (LA Kings) – Former key forward for DU on the 04 and 05 title teams. Now a junior coach in Las Vegas.
Leave it to DU athletic comms and external relations to release this on a Friday afternoon of a holiday weekend. The move is clearly inline with their strategy…..they know nothing about communications and properly executing news worthy events.
This initial buzz may have been muted somewhat by the odd Friday timing. But actually, releasing it on Friday afternoon was a very good move.
Here’s three reasons why:
1) The story goes from a 1-2 day story to 4-7 day story. They got the release buzz on Friday, plus three days of on-line anticipation before the Tuesday press conference. Then the post-press conference stories on Tuesday, Wednesday, etc. Plus feature stories later. Extending the story with more ‘legs’ is the goal of every PR pro.
2) Memorial Day weekend is a slow news time. They probably got more story play due to less competition.
3) The Friday release also was a pressure release after three weeks of coaching search. By the time the presser comes on Tuesday, everyone is more relaxed, but its still an event. The weekend also gives everyone more time to prepare for the press conference and enjoy the holiday, knowing that a popular coaching choice has been made.
Leave it to DU athletic comms and external relations to release this on a Friday afternoon of a holiday weekend. The move is clearly inline with their strategy…..they know nothing about communications and properly executing news worthy events.
This initial buzz may have been muted somewhat by the odd Friday timing. But actually, releasing it on Friday afternoon was a very good move.
Here’s three reasons why:
1) The story goes from a 1-2 day story to 4-7 day story. They got the release buzz on Friday, plus three days of on-line anticipation before the Tuesday press conference. Then the post-press conference stories on Tuesday, Wednesday, etc. Plus feature stories later. Extending the story with more ‘legs’ is the goal of every PR pro.
2) Memorial Day weekend is a slow news time. They probably got more story play due to less competition.
3) The Friday release also was a pressure release after three weeks of coaching search. By the time the presser comes on Tuesday, everyone is more relaxed, but its still an event. The weekend also gives everyone more time to prepare for the press conference and enjoy the holiday, knowing that a popular coaching choice has been made.
So when’s Dave’s first day? He needs to approve and finish the non-con schedule and get it posted. I’m once again hoping for a series with the Wolverines – as I have been for the last 16 years.And maybe we’ll see the Alaska teams again. I’d also like Alabama and the Spartans
Today is his first official day. I have heard from unofficial sources that Michigan was on the schedule and withdrew. I am assuming once they fill that hole they will release the complete non-con schedule. Right now – Road – AFA, UAA, UAH, Lowell, Merrimack and Wisconsin. Home: U of Alberta (EXH), Huntsville, USA U18 (EXH), Providence. No Boston Schools this season.
So when’s Dave’s first day? He needs to approve and finish the non-con schedule and get it posted. I’m once again hoping for a series with the Wolverines – as I have been for the last 16 years.And maybe we’ll see the Alaska teams again. I’d also like Alabama and the Spartans
Today is his first official day. I have heard from unofficial sources that Michigan was on the schedule and withdrew. I am assuming once they fill that hole they will release the complete non-con schedule. Right now – Road – AFA, UAA, UAH, Lowell, Merrimack and Wisconsin. Home: U of Alberta (EXH), Huntsville, USA U18 (EXH), Providence. No Boston Schools this season.
That is the worst non-conference schedule that I have ever seen for DU. Someone above was actually HOPING to see Alaska schools and Alabama on the schedule? At least that person is happy.
Normally, the schedule is out in public by now. I also heard that Michigan was scheduled to play at DU for the first time since 1980 this October, but pulled out at the last minute this spring. Not cool at all, as these schedules are made years in advance. Now DU is scrambling to fill that gaping hole and may have to move Homecoming to November if they can’t fill that date, as well as potentially moving a different league series date as well. Also, both Alaska schools have released their 2018-2019 schedules already and DU is not on either one, so that Alaska trip seems to be not happening, either….These are very complex problems — hard to solve when everyone else is locked in already.
That is the worst non-conference schedule that I have ever seen for DU. Someone above was actually HOPING to see Alaska schools and Alabama on the schedule? At least that person is happy.
Normally, the schedule is out in public by now. I also heard that Michigan was scheduled to play at DU for the first time since 1980 this October, but pulled out at the last minute this spring. Not cool at all, as these schedules are made years in advance. Now DU is scrambling to fill that gaping hole and may have to move Homecoming to November if they can’t fill that date, as well as potentially moving a different league series date as well. Also, both Alaska schools have released their 2018-2019 schedules already and DU is not on either one, so that Alaska trip seems to be not happening, either….These are very complex problems — hard to solve when everyone else is locked in already.
Awful non-conference home schedule for sure.
Awful non-conference home schedule for sure.
Now Why would U of M pull out? They still afraid of a “rematch”? They know they got away with one in 2002 and they know Denver still remembers?? LoL
We could beat those clowns anywhere, anytime and they know it. Fine….. see you in the regionals some day; I hope. Let’s go for Ferris State or the Goofers then.
Now Why would U of M pull out? They still afraid of a “rematch”? They know they got away with one in 2002 and they know Denver still remembers?? LoL
We could beat those clowns anywhere, anytime and they know it. Fine….. see you in the regionals some day; I hope. Let’s go for Ferris State or the Goofers then.