USA Hockey Names North Dakota's Dean Blais As Head Coach Of 2005 U.S. National Junior Team
March 19, 2004
ST. PAUL, Minn. - At a press conference here today USA Hockey announced that University of North Dakota Men's Ice Hockey Head Coach Dean Blais (International Falls, Minn.) will serve as head coach of the 2005 United States National Junior Team, which will compete at the 2005 International Ice Hockey Federation World Junior Championship. The tournament will be held Dec. 25, 2004-Jan. 4, 2005 in Grand Forks, N.D., and Thief River Falls, Minn., and features the best players in the world under the age of 20. This will mark the second occasion Blais has served as head coach for a U.S. National Junior Team after guiding the 1994 U.S. National Junior Team.
In addition, USA Hockey named the two assistant coaches for the 2005 U.S. National Junior Team: University of Minnesota-Duluth head coach Scott Sandelin (Hermantown, Minn.) and United States National Under-17 Team head coach David Quinn (Ann Arbor, Mich.).
The announcement was made by USA Hockey President Ron DeGregorio (Salem, N.H.); USA Hockey Executive Director Doug Palazzari (Colorado Springs, Colo.); USA Hockey Vice President & International Council Chairperson Tony Rossi (Chicago, Ill.); USA Hockey Senior Director, International Administration Art Berglund (Colorado Springs, Colo.); and Senior Director, Hockey Operations Jim Johannson (Colorado Springs, Colo.).
"USA Hockey is extremely proud to name these three individuals to the coaching staff for the 2005 U.S. National Junior Team, which will have the unique honor and challenge of defending a gold medal on home ice," said Palazzari. "Dean Blais is one of the most respected and successful coaches in all of college hockey, and a longtime member of the USA Hockey family. His association with the University of North Dakota, and the fact that the IIHF World Junior Championship is being hosted in Grand Forks, also makes for a special connection to the event."
"Being named head coach of the United States National Junior Hockey Team is a great honor," Blais said. "My experience with USA Hockey will help me prepare for the tournament with great anticipation and high expectations. Team USA is the defending gold medal champion, and we hope to excel against the best teams in the world."
Blais' extensive international coaching career includes being named an assistant coach with the 1992 U.S. Men's Olympic Team that took advanced to the bronze-medal game at the XVI Olympic Winter Games in Albertville, France, finishing fourth. Other USA Hockey assignments include serving as assistant coach with the 1987 and 1988 U.S. Junior National Teams, and the head coach in 1994. Blais also served as a coach at the 1990 and 1991 U.S. Olympic Festival. Also in 1991, Blais acted as an assistant coach for the U.S. Pravda Cup squads. In 1999 he coached the West Team at USA Hockey's Women's Summer Festival in Lake Placid, N.Y. After winning the 2000 NCAA Frozen Four with the Fighting Sioux, Blais headed to St. Petersburg, Russia, where he was an assistant coach for the U.S. Men's National Team, which competed in the 2000 IIHF World Championship.
Blais is currently the winningest active coach in NCAA Division I hockey, and is in his tenth season as head coach of the University of North Dakota men's hockey team. Blais has coached the Fighting Sioux to two NCAA National Championship titles, in 1997 and 2000, and a runner-up finish in 2001. He has led North Dakota to four Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) titles: 1997, 1998, 1999 and 2001. His three-year run as WCHA Champion tied the record for the most consecutive conference titles. Blais has compiled a 260-113-33 record for an NCAA-best .681 winning percentage among active coaches, and his 260 wins rank him second on North Dakota's all-time list. This season Blais has led the Sioux to a 28-6-3 record and a top seed in the WCHA Final Five.
In 2001 Blais was named WCHA Coach of the Year for the third time (1997 and 1999). On the national level, Blais was awarded the 2001 Spencer Penrose Award as the nation's top collegiate coach for the second time by the American Hockey Coaches Association, also earning the award in 1997.
Before signing on as the Fighting Sioux head coach, Blais served as an assistant for nine years. In his time as an assistant coach North Dakota won two NCAA titles, in 1982 and 1987, and posted a 239-130-11 record. In 1989 Blais became the head coach at Roseau (Minn.) High School, and coached the team to the Minnesota State High School title.
Blais played four seasons of Division I ice hockey at the University of Minnesota, where he was named Rookie of the Year in 1970 and was an NCAA All-Tournament selection in 1971. He played for the U.S. Men's National Team in 1973 before beginning a three-year career with the Chicago Blackhawks' affiliate in Dallas.
Scott Sandelin is in his fourth year behind the bench for the University of Minnesota-Duluth as head coach of the men's ice hockey program. Last year the Bulldogs registered their best overall record (22-15-5) and their best WCHA finish (fifth place). As of March 18, UMD owned a 25-11-4 record, and most recently defeated Minnesota State University-Mankato in a best-of-three series to advance to the semifinals in the WCHA Final Five.
Prior to joining Minnesota-Duluth, Sandelin served as Blais' assistant at North Dakota. During his tenure in Grand Forks, Sandelin helped the Fighting Sioux claim two NCAA titles, three WCHA regular-season championships and two WCHA playoff crowns.
Sandelin spent the 1993-94 season as head coach of the Fargo-Moorhead Junior Kings of the Junior Elite Hockey League, after serving as the head coach and doubling as the general manager of the American Hockey Association's Fargo-Moorhead Express.
Before becoming a coach, Sandelin spent four years playing NCAA Division I hockey at the University of North Dakota. In 1985-86, his senior season, he was named one of 10 finalists for the Hobey Baker Memorial Award, given to the most outstanding player in college hockey. He captained the Fighting Sioux squad that season and was an All-WCHA first-team pick and an All-American second-team selection. He was named North Dakota's Most Valuable Player to cap his senior season. Sandelin went on to play seven years of professional hockey, including NHL stints with the Montreal Canadiens, Philadelphia Flyers and Minnesota North Stars. He was the second-round pick of the Canadiens in the 1982 NHL Draft, and the 40th overall selection. Sandelin also skated for Team USA at the 1984 IIHF World Junior Championship, the 1986 IIHF World Championship and the 1989 Goodwill Games.
David Quinn is the head coach of the U.S. National Under-17 Team, which is part of USA Hockey's National Team Development Program (NTDP) based in Ann Arbor, Mich. Quinn is in his second year, and has guided the squad to a 30-22-7 overall record, including a 10-3-0 record in international competition and a 20-19-7 record against Junior teams.
Last year Quinn led the Under-17 squad to a 6-4-1 record in international competition. He guided the team to a second-place finish at the Four Nations Cup in Switzerland, and to a first-place victory at the Compuware Four Nations Tournament in Ann Arbor, Mich. Quinn also served as an assistant coach for the Under-18 Team at the IIHF World Under-18 Championship last April. For his efforts he was named USA Hockey's 2003 Developmental Coach of the Year.
Prior to his role with the NTDP, Quinn spent six seasons as the top assistant coach and head recruiter for the University of Nebraska-Omaha. Quinn helped establish the first men's Division I ice hockey program at the school. He joined the Mavericks in July 1996, prior to the team's inaugural season, held in 1997-98. Before his time at Nebraska-Omaha, Quinn was the top assistant at Northeastern University, where he was responsible for recruiting, off-ice conditioning, scouting, video coordination and game-night coaching.
Quinn has been involved with the USA Hockey coaching ranks since 1995, when he served as a member of the coaching staff for the 1996 U.S. Women's Select Camp. He also served as an assistant coach at the 1999 and 2000 IIHF Women's World Championships, earning a silver medal both times. He also acted as an on-ice assistant at the 2001 U.S. Women's Olympic Trials and as a coach at the 1995 and 1996 USA Hockey Select Festivals.
As a player, Quinn was a member of the U.S. National Junior Team that captured a bronze medal at the 1986 IIHF World Junior Championship, and was a candidate for the 1988 and 1992 U.S. Olympic Men's Ice Hockey Teams. He skated with Boston University from 1985 to 1988 as a defenseman, receiving All-Hockey East and All-Hockey East Tournament honors. Quinn also played two seasons of minor professional hockey after being selected in the first round, 13th overall, in the 1984 National Hockey League Entry Draft by the Minnesota North Stars.
Blais and the coaching staff will conduct a Player Evaluation Camp from Aug. 8-15 in Grand Forks. Seven members of the 2004 U.S. National Junior Team are eligible to return next season. Team USA posted a 6-0-0 record and earned the first gold medal for the United States in the 28-year history of the event at the 2004 IIHF World Junior Championship in Helsinki and Hameenlinna, Finland.
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