Multiple sources are now reporting that current CCHA commissioner Tom Anastos will be named Michigan State's next head coach later this afternoon. This move comes as a huge surprise, as many expected former Alabama-Huntsville coach Danton Cole to get the job.
The initial reaction to the announcement hasn't exactly been positive. I'm less critical of the move than most people, but it's understandable where people are coming from. Anastos has zero head coaching experience at the college level, and hasn't been involved in coaching for almost 20 years now. Especially now that Michigan State will be in the Big Ten, there was a feeling that Michigan State could have made a safer pick. But Anastos is definitely a good coach and a guy that knows his hockey. From and X's and O's and motivational standpoint, it's a solid hire The big question, and the one that ultimately did in his predecessor, is how well will Anastos be able to jump back into the recruiting game?
Meanwhile, this can't be great news for the CCHA, who is now losing its conference commissioner in the middle of the conference's most tumultuous time, as it looks to lock down a scheduling agreement with the Big Ten Hockey Conference. Start writing your own jokes about how it's better to run one Big Ten team than eight CCHA teams. The CCHA will have to move quickly to find a replacement, and it will be extremely difficult to find one as good as Anastos.