Colorado Avalanche assistant Dave Hakstol has been named head coach at Arizona State while Greg Powers has left the program, the university announced Thursday.
Powers was placed on paid administrative leave last month after seven members of the Division I team asked the university to remove him pending an investigation into the collapse of defenseman Matthew Mayich during an outdoor workout on Aug. 20.
Per Robert Carey, the attorney for the Mayich family, the player is not expected to recover after exertional heat stroke reduced the flow of oxygen to his brain.
Powers said he had “mutually agreed to leave” his position in a statement provided by the university on his behalf. He has been the Sun Devils’ head coach all 12 seasons for which they have been a Division I team, posting a 165-183-25 record. He took ASU to the NCAA Tournament during the 2018-19 season.
Powers, 49, signed a five-year contract extension last year, when the university endowed the men’s hockey head coach position in his name.
“(Arizona State) reached a mutual agreement to part ways with hockey coach Greg Powers,” the university wrote in an email to the Arizona Republic. “The university and Sun Devil Athletics are grateful for Coach Powers’ work to establish ASU as a Division I hockey program and for his service over the past nearly two decades.”
Hakstol, 58, will be behind the Sun Devils’ bench for games on Friday and Saturday at UMass Lowell, the university announced.
“This is a special opportunity, and I couldn’t be more excited to return to college hockey and bring a winning culture to Arizona State Sun Devil Hockey,” Hakstol said. “Our goal is to grow a championship-caliber program, and we will.”
Hakstol spent 11 seasons as the head coach at North Dakota (2004-15) before serving as the bench boss for the Philadelphia Flyers (2015-19) and Seattle Kraken (2021-24). He has been an assistant with the Avalanche for parts of the past two seasons.
“We welcome Dave Hakstol and his family to Arizona State University. His success building championship-caliber programs, developing players for the highest level of the sport, and leading organizations in the NHL speaks to his knowledge of the game and his ability to develop talent,” Arizona State athletic director Graham Rossini said.
“We appreciate Dave’s belief in ASU and look forward to supporting him as we continue to build Sun Devil Hockey into one of the nation’s premier programs.”
–Field Level Media
