While in Tampa for the NCAA men's basketball tournament last week, Michigan State athletic director Mark Hollis told reporters that he expects to announce the school's new hockey coach this week. Hollis has been searching for a new head coach ever since it came out in January that Rick Comley would retire at the end of the season. Since the Spartans' season came to an end a couple weeks ago when they were eliminated by Alaska in the CCHA playoffs, Hollis is free to announce a decision at any time.
Two of the people Hollis sought advice from while evaluating candidates to replace Comley were Steve Yzerman and Ron Mason. Yzerman, as you all know, is a former Red Wings player and member of the front office, and he now is the general manager of the Tampa Bay Lightning. Mason is MSU's former hockey coach and athletic director. He decided to hire Comley, which turned out to be a good move in the sense that MSU won a national title during his time in East Lansing. The last few years had been below average for MSU, though.
In addition to confirming he gave his take on some candidates to Hollis, Mason also confirmed that Danton Cole and Kelly Miller are in the mix for the opening. Both played under Mason while at MSU, and Cole is the person I said to keep an eye on when it was announced that Comley was going to retire at the end of the season. He is still my pick to get the job, and based on what Hollis said last week, we should find out shortly if my pick is correct or not.