DETROIT – Former Ferris State University ice hockey player and
assistant coach Jeff Blashill, a 1998 graduate, has accepted an
assistant coaching position with the Detroit Red Wings of the National
Hockey League.
The Red Wings, which made an official
announcement Friday (July 8), will welcome both Blashill and Bill Peters
as new assistants on head coach Mike Babcock's coaching staff.
Blashill, who completed his first season as head coach at Western
Michigan University during the 2010-11 campaign, played at Ferris from
1994 to 1998 and later served as an assistant coach for the Bulldogs
from 1998 to 2001.
“Today is a very emotional day for me,”
Blashill said. “I am extremely excited for the opportunity to pursue a
lifelong dream to coach in the NHL with the best organization in sports;
the Detroit Red Wings. However, it is with extreme sadness that I step
down as head coach of the Western Michigan Bronco hockey team. My goal
when I became head coach was to bring the program to national prominence
and I am totally convinced that will happen very soon, regardless of my
leaving.”
At Ferris, Blashill compiled a 27-36-5 career mark
as a goaltender while registering a 3.89 goals-against average and a
.865 saves percentage in 78 appearances. Born in
Detroit and raised in Sault Ste. Marie, Blashill was chosen as FSU's
Rookie of the Year Award recipient for the 1994-95 season and was named
to the Central Collegiate Hockey Association's (CCHA) All-Academic Team
in the 1996-97 campaign. He went on to serve as a volunteer assistant
coach for the Bulldogs in the 1998-99 season and spent the next two
seasons (1999-00 and 2000-01) in an assistant coach capacity with the
program.
In his only season at Western Michigan, Blashill
coached the Broncos to a 19-13-10 overall record which also featured a
CCHA championship appearance and the program’s first NCAA Tournament
berth since 1996. As a result, Blashill was recognized as the national
coach of the year by U.S. College Hockey Online, Inside College
Hockey.com and College Hockey News along with being a finalist for the
CCHA Coach of the Year.
Before his arrival to Western
Michigan, Blashill was the head coach and general manager of the United
States Hockey League's Indiana Ice for the 2008-09 and 2009-10
campaigns. Under his direction, the Ice were crowned the USHL Clark Cup
champions in 2008-09 and produced a 39-19-2 overall mark as the season
victories total matched a franchise record.
Prior to his stint
at Indiana, Blashill spent six seasons (2002-08) at Miami University as a
member of head coach Enrico Blasi's staff. In those six seasons, the
RedHawks made four NCAA Tournament appearances which featured a pair of
Elite Eight trips in the 2006-07 and 2007-08 seasons. He also has been a
member of Team USA's coaching staff on three occasions – at the 2009
World Junior 'A' Challenge, the 2009 IIHF World Junior Championships and
the 2006 Under-18 Junior World Cup.
Blashill graduated from
Ferris in 1998 with a bachelor's degree in finance. His wife, Erica also
is a Ferris State alumnus. Blashill's younger brother, Tim Blashill, is
the varsity head coach of the Big Rapids High School boy's ice hockey
team and also serves as a pro shop/program coordinator at Ferris State.
"We’re all very proud of Jeff’s accomplishments," said Ferris State
head coach Bob Daniels. "I know Jeff wanted to be a NHL coach someday
and now he's been afforded this tremendous opportunity to be associated
with a class organization in the Detroit Red Wings. I'm confident he
will do just a good as job as he has done in his previous coaching
positions at Western Michigan, Miami (Ohio), and Ferris State.”
Jeff Blashill's Career at a Glance
