Now in his seventh season as the head coach at the University of North Dakota, Dave Hakstol has established himself as one of the most accomplished and well-respected bench bosses in NCAA hockey.

Already a five-time finalist for the prestigious Spencer Penrose Award as the national coach of the year, Hakstol guided the Fighting Sioux to the NCAA Frozen Four in each of his first four seasons and in 2008-09 led UND to a MacNaughton Cup championship as Western Collegiate Hockey Association regular season champions. Last season, Hakstol and the Sioux added another piece of hardware to UND's championship lore with a Broadmoor Trophy as the WCHA Final Five champions, the second Broadmoor Trophy of Hakstol's distinguished tenure.

In 2009-10, Hakstol led the Sioux to a 25-13-5 overall record and a 15-10-3 WCHA mark, landing an eighth straight NCAA postseason appearance, the third-longest streak in the nation. In the process, Hakstol surpassed Rube Bjorkman (1968-78) as the third-winningest coach in Sioux history. Only the legendary John "Gino" Gasparini (392 wins) and Dean Blais (262) won more games at UND thank Hakstol's 155 entering the 2009-10 season.

Through his first six seasons, Hakstol has compiled a 155-84-24 (.635) overall winning percentage and a 92-58-18 (.601) WCHA record.

The Fighting Sioux went 24-15-4 overall and 17-7-4 in conference play in 2008-09 en route to their WCHA-leading 14th league championship. Hakstol was also recognized as WCHA Coach of the Year for the first time in his career.

Hakstol joined rare company when he took the Sioux to the Frozen Four in his first four seasons as a collegiate head coach, joining Jack Parker and Doug Woog as the only three coaches to accomplish that feat.

In Hakstol’s first season (2004-05) as head coach, he led a team with nine seniors to the Frozen Four. In his second season (2005-06), he led a team with 13 freshmen and just two seniors to the Frozen Four.

In his third season, Hakstol took UND to the Frozen Four yet again, and sophomore forward Ryan Duncan won the Hobey Baker Memorial Award as the best player in college hockey.

In 2007-08, his fourth season, Hakstol led UND to a 28-11-4 overall record and 18-7-3 WCHA mark (second place).

A key in Hakstol’s success has been surrounding himself with an outstanding coaching staff. His first two seasons, he was joined by associate head coach Brad Berry and assistant coach Cary Eades. Eades has won championships on every level at which he has played or coached.

Berry’s outstanding work at UND resulted in him accepting an assistant coach position in the NHL’s Vancouver Canucks organization in the summer of 2006.

To fill the vacancy created by Berry’s departure, Eades was promoted to associate head coach and Hakstol hired former Sioux and NHL player Dane Jackson as an assistant coach.

Jackson, who had an 11-year career as a professional hockey player, has became an integral part of the coaching staff by working individually with each Fighting Sioux player on developing their skills.

The trademark of the Fighting Sioux during Hakstol’s first six seasons has been UND’s ability to play its best hockey at the most crucial time of the year – in the playoffs.

During his first six years, Hakstol has led the Sioux to an overall postseason record of 30-14 (.682) that includes a 21-8 WCHA playoff record and 9-6 NCAA playoff mark. UND’s 30 NCAA and WCHA playoff wins the last six seasons are more than any other WCHA team during that time.

UND has developed a reputation for doing an outstanding job in preparing players for professional hockey careers and careers beyond hockey. Last season, fourteen former Sioux played in the National Hockey League, highlighted by a former Hakstol All-American, Jonathan Toews, who captained the Chicago Blackhawks to their first Stanley Cup championship since 1961.

Additionally, Chris VandeVelde and Darcy Zajac, UND's lone graduating seniors in 2010, made their American Hockey League debuts immediately following the end of UND's season.

In 2008-09, 17 former Fighting Sioux played in the National Hockey League, the program's most since the 1993-94 season. Thirteen of those players were coached by Hakstol during his nine seasons on the UND staff.

In the last four seasons alone, seven of Hakstol's former UND players have debuted the NHL the year after completing their collegiate careers. In 2008-09, T.J. Oshie and Chris Porter of the St. Louis Blues and Taylor Chorney of the Edmonton Oilers made their NHL debuts in the year following their departures from UND.

In 2007-08, Toews  made the jump directly to the NHL’s Chicago Blackhawks after playing two years at UND. He was a finalist for the NHL’s Rookie of the Year Award and in the summer of 2008 was named the captain of the Blackhawks, becoming the third-youngest captain in NHL history. Toews was 20 years and 79 days old when he assumed the role as Chicago’s captain.

Defenseman Brian Lee debuted with Ottawa in 2007-08 after playing two seasons for UND. Two players who completed their Fighting Sioux careers in 2005-06 – Travis Zajac and Drew Stafford – made their NHL debuts the very next season (2006-07).

In the last six seasons, 29 UND players have been selected in the NHL Entry Draft, including six in both the 2007 and 2008 NHL Drafts, and several Sioux are expected to be selected in the 2009 draft.

UND men’s hockey players are also outstanding students. In each of the last two seasons, 11 Fighting Sioux were named to the WCHA All-Academic team. Last year, five individuals were also named WCHA Scholar-Athletes. In 2008-09, junior defenseman Chay Genoway, was named to the ESPN the Magazine Academic All-America third team.

In 2007-08, 10 UND men’s hockey players earned WCHA All-Academic honors, most in the league. In 2006-07, 11 Fighting Sioux were named to the WCHA All-Academic team, tying for the WCHA league high.

Hakstol, 35 years old when he was named UND’s head men’s hockey coach on July 9, 2004, is just the 15th head men’s hockey coach in school history and only the fourth Fighting Sioux head coach in the past 36 years. Hakstol, a Sioux player from 1989-92, is also just the fifth former UND player to also become head coach at North Dakota.

Taking over a tradition-rich program that is synonymous with the word “excellence” was no small task, but Hakstol’s background prepared him for the challenge. Prior to taking over as UND’s head coach, the former Sioux captain was a member of Dean Blais’s coaching staff for four seasons and in that stint helped coach the Sioux to a 101-47-19 (.662) overall record and 63-33-16 (.634) WCHA record.

During Hakstol’s four years under Blais, UND won two WCHA titles, made three NCAA appearances and finished as the 2001 national runnerup.

Named a UND assistant coach on July 1, 2000, Hakstol was elevated to associate head coach in December 2000, and he served as the team’s recruiting coordinator in his four seasons working under Blais.

In that capacity, Hakstol played a vital role in helping attract top-caliber student-athletes to UND. Eleven UND players or recruits were drafted by National Hockey League teams while Hakstol and former associate head coach Brad Berry were Sioux assistants.

Prior to joining the UND staff on July 1, 2000, Hakstol spent four seasons (1996-2000) as the general manager and head coach of the Sioux City Musketeers of the United States Hockey League, posting winning seasons in his last three seasons. Overall, Hakstol had a 101-109-13 record with the Musketeers. He was named the USHL Coach of the Year in 1997-98, when he led Sioux City to a 32-21-3 record.

While coaching at Sioux City, Hakstol also coached the 1998 USA/USHL hockey team at the IIHF Four Nationals Cup in Oslo, Norway, and he was the head coach of the Central District team (USA Hockey) at the National Select 16 Festival in Ann Arbor, Mich., in 1998.

Before beginning his coaching career, Hakstol played professional hockey with the IHL’s Minnesota Moose from 1994-96, serving as team captain for two years, and with the IHL’s Indianapolis Ice from 1992-1994, serving as team captain for one season. In five professional seasons, Hakstol played in 250 games, scoring 12 goals and recording 37 assists. He also accumulated 455 penalty minutes.

As a defenseman on the Sioux hockey team from 1989-92, Hakstol was a three-year letterwinner and served as team captain from 1990 to 1992. He played in 107 games for UND, scoring 10 goals and adding 36 assists for 46 points. He had 77 penalties for 191 minutes.

Hakstol and his wife, Erinn, have two children: daughter Avery and son Brenden.

Dave Hakstol's Coaching Record at UND:

Year	WCHA	Win%	Finish	Playoffs	Overall	Win%	NCAA Tourn.
2004-05	13-12-3	.611	5th	3rd	25-15-5	.611	Runner-Up
2005-06	16-12-0	.571	t4th	1st	29-16-1	.641	Semifinals
2006-07	13-10-5	.554	3rd	2nd	24-14-5	.616	Semifinals
2007-08	18-7-3	.696	2nd	3rd	28-11-4	.698	Semifinals
2008-09*	17-7-4	.679	1st	4th	24-15-4	.605	Regionals
2009-10	15-10-3	.589	t4th	1st	25-13-5	.640	Regionals
Totals	92-58-18	.601			155-84-24	.635

* - indicates WCHA Coach of the Year

Years at UND: 6
NCAA Appearances: 6
NCAA Frozen Four Appearances: 4
NCAA Championship Appearances: 1
WCHA Final Five Appearances: 6
WCHA Final Five Championships: 2
WCHA Final Five Championship Appearances: 3
WCHA MacNaughton Cup Championships: 1