Michigan State's new hockey head coach, Tom Anastos, announced who is on his first coaching staff on Monday. He hired Kelly Miller and Mike Gilmore, who both played at Michigan State, and he retained assistant Tom Newton and video coordinator Adam Nightingale.
Miller and Newton will be full-time assistant coaches for MSU. Miller played at Michigan State from 1981-85 and is a cousin of Ryan Miller and Drew Miller. His brothers, Kelly and Kip, also played at Michigan State and in the NHL. Kelly Miller's NHL career spanned 16 seasons and saw him play in more than 1,000 games.
Newton being retained means he will be entering his 22nd season with the Spartans in 2011. He was originally hired by Ron Mason and was also an assistant under Rick Comley.
Gilmore will be a volunteer assistant coach who will mainly work with MSU's goalies. He played at MSU from 1988-92 and spent time with the ECHL's Erie Panthers and the AHL's Binghamton Rangers for three seasons after leaving MSU. From 1994-96, he was a volunteer assistant at Michigan State, so this will be his second stint as a volunteer assistant for the Spartans.
One thing is for certain about Anastos' coaching staff -- there are a lot of familiar faces that have been around the Michigan State hockey program for a number of years.