CATCHING UP: Shyiak enjoying life at St. Cloud State

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This article was published 01/09/2022 (1311 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

There’s no rest for a college hockey coach during the offseason.

Just ask Brandon’s Dave Shyiak.

While most people are trying to figure out their summer vacation plans, the associate head coach for the St. Cloud State Huskies is in rinks to watch players that could end up playing for the NCAA Division I program in the future.

“It’s quite a bit different than what you see in major junior where the coaches just coach and they have a lot of scouts in different places that help to bring in talent,” Shyiak said. “Here, we are full-time coaches and scouts and we have three guys (Shyiak, head coach Brett Larson and assistant coach R.J. Enga) who are covering the world in terms of recruiting.

“When the season starts, you are really juggling both of those roles, but we are fortunate that there’s a lot of junior camps going on in June and then USA Hockey usually has the top under-15 and under-16 players at their camps in July. We’re usually tied up for those two months … but we’re able to sneak in some family time as well.”

While things get sometimes get hectic for the 55-year-old, he wouldn’t have it any other way.

“I love what I do, especially when you are in a great environment and you are involved with some great young adults that are part of our program,” Shyiak said.

“We have a ton of support from the institution and the community, which gives us the necessary recourses that are required to help develop our players to have success not just on the ice, but in the classroom.”

This season will mark Shyiak’s third campaign with the Huskies, who he joined in 2020 after a six-year stint as the associate head coach for the Western Michigan Broncos.

He’s been involved in coaching roles in the NCAA since 1995, as he was an assistant and associate head coach for the Northern Michigan Wildcats until 2005 and then had an eight-year run behind the bench for the Alaska-Anchorage Seawolves.

“St. Cloud is a little bit like back home,” Shyiak said. “It’s a really friendly environment and there’s a genuine love for hockey here that’s similar to small town Manitoba. Everyone gathers at the rink for a game.

“The entire state of Minnesota is a great hockey market. Everyone follows the Wild, there’s six (the Bemidji State Beavers, Minnesota Golden Gophers, Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs, Minnesota State Mavericks, St. Thomas Tommies) NCAA Division I teams and the state is one of the producers of talent across the board.”

Shyiak’s first season with the Huskies was a memorable one, as the program reached the national championship game for the first time.

Their quest for a title would come up one win short, however, as they dropped a 5-0 decision to the UMass Minutemen on April 10, 2021, in Pittsburgh.

“To get to that stage is unbelievable, but it doesn’t happen without great people,” Shyiak said. “We had great leadership and a good buy-in from everyone on the team, which helped set the stage for that special run.

“With that being said, we’re still aiming for that first national title here. You are never happy as a coach until you play your last game of the season and come away with a win. We’ve built a good environment for cusses here and I feel like we’re getting close.”

St. Cloud State qualified for the fourth straight Frozen Four tournament last season, but ended up being knocked out of the opening round in a 5-4 loss to the Quinnipiac Bobcats season.

According to Shyiak, this year’s roster is one of the program’s youngest in recent years, as they welcome a class of seven freshmen – which includes West St. Paul product and Nashville Predators draft pick Adam Ingram along with Steinbach Pistons forward Jack Rogers — to the squad.

With a squad that’s made up of players from Canada, Czechia, Finland and the United States, the Huskies staff brought everyone to campus for two weeks during the summer for an off-season training session, which has become very common for NCAA teams to do.

“A big benefit from that week is that our new guys get to meet the veterans and they already feel welcome and at home when they come back for the start of the school year,” Shyiak explained.

“Then when they return, we’re able to get into a lot more of our systems and concepts as we prepare for the start of the season on Oct. 1.”

Shyiak also noted that more and more players elect to come to St. Cloud during the summer to do their off-season training on campus.

He says that wasn’t a common scenario during his playing days at Northern Michigan, which culminated in 1991 as he captained the Wildcats to a national title.

“Even when I started coaching, a lot of guys would head home for the summer, have a job where they made some extra cash and they would go and workout at the local YMCA,” Shyiak said.

“Now everyone is working with a trainer and a skills coach … and the benefits that they get from that are apparent when they arrive in the fall.”

While the Huskies are once again gunning for another run at a national title, Shyiak knows that there will be challenges early on as the young squad competes in the National Collegiate Hockey Conference, which has won five out of the last six Frozen Fours.

“Our league is very tough and there are four or five teams that make it to the tournament in any given year,” Shyiak said.

“We’re taking things one day at a time right now, but I like the energy that this group has and we have some good depth. We know it’s going to take a little bit to get everyone settled in, but we should be in good shape once everyone gets rolling.”