GopherSports.com recently sat down with new men's hockey Associate Head Coach Mike Guentzel. Coach Guentzel played for the Gophers for four years and was also an assistant coach at Minnesota for 14 years. He was an assistant coach at Nebraska Omaha last season before returning to Minnesota.
GS: How does it feel to be back?
MG: I am excited. We have a lot of work to do, but the response from former players and from alumni has been really good. People are excited and passionate about our program. It is fun to be part of a program that people want to see do well. They want us to have success and that is an exciting part for me.
GS: You are not just back at a school where you have coached before, but you are also back home. That has to be nice after being in three different places during the last three years.
MG: I know this area so well. I grew up in northern Minnesota and came to the University of Minnesota in 1981. That was the first big move of my life and I have basically been in the Twin Cities ever since. I consider it home. My sons grew up in this area and they understand everything they need is in this area and know the area really well. There is a certain comfort level here. I don't have to count down the days knowing that I am going to be away for 30-40 days now. I know I am going to be home. I can go to my son's games now and do things as a parent that I want to do.
GS: You know this program so well, having been here 18 combined years as a player and a coach. What does Gopher Hockey mean to you?
MG: For me it means tradition. There are so many great players who have played here. Obviously, our facilities, our access to talent and resources, the commitment to the program from our athletic department are all very special as well. Gopher Hockey is a large thing. I never grew up watching the Gophers because I was in northern Minnesota, but once I came here I realized how special it is and how much the community is behind the program. People are passionate about it. We have our own fan base and our own niche in the hockey community. Like I said, it is a big deal. The history, tradition, pride and passion is something that really sticks with you once you experience it.
GS: You and coach Lucia have had a lot of success together. How does it feel to work with him again?
MG: I am excited. Don and I worked together for nine years and won two national titles together. We won league and playoff championships and developed National Hockey League players. We also developed guys who graduated and went on to be successful in the business world.
GS: Additionally, Grant Potulny was a player at Minnesota when you previously coached here. Now he is on the staff with you.
MG: Grant was a major part of our success as well. He was the leader of that group and was the guy who basically knocked down the barrier that was built for so long around the program where "We are going to do it with just Minnesota players." Grant took on that challenge coming from Grand Forks and helped allow us to have his brother, Danny Irmen, Thomas Vanek, Kellen Briggs and other players who were critical to helping us win league and national championships.
GS: You have been on the job for a few weeks now. What have you been up to?
MG: First and foremost I had to get caught up with the technology here. Then it is about recruiting and trying to figure out who the next wave of players are going to be. I have also gotten to know our current players, particularly the defensemen.
GS: You know some of the current defensemen because you helped recruit them to Minnesota when you were previously here.
MG: When I was here three years ago I helped recruit Seth Helgeson and Nate Schmidt when they were in high school. You build relationships with them and their parents and help let them know why they should come to the University of Minnesota. The next phase will be to get to know everyone else and then get on the ice with them and work with them on a day-to-day basis.
GS: You have also been on the road a bit as well, right?
MG: I was in Rochester, N.Y., watching a lot of the top players. I was there as a coach and as a parent because I had a son playing. You go to those events and the USHL camps and the USA Hockey festivals and that is your recruiting base. You try to familiarize yourself with those players because that is the next wave of players. Every year there are 300 players who move on to our level and you need to know who is coming next and figure out when you would need certain players and who is going to fit into the puzzle here.
GS: So what are your goals, both now and in the future?
MG: The short term goal is to see what is going on with strength and conditioning coach Cal Dietz and the players in the weight room. We are building a foundation. In the summer you build your foundation of work ethic and team chemistry in the weight room. Guys are around each other and supporting each other. They are building that family relationship by being around each other and working hard. That is very critical. Then we the coaches get them in September and at that point you begin to build your relationships where you are developing your players as hockey players. Everything they did in the summer helped them get bigger, faster and stronger. Now we have to show them how understand the game better and make them better hockey players. We want all of them to reach the next level of their game and have success while they are here. For us, we want to get that competitiveness and that winning attitude back where we expect to win every night.
