{"id":9297,"date":"2015-03-04T08:32:41","date_gmt":"2015-03-04T14:32:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/?p=9297"},"modified":"2015-03-04T11:22:01","modified_gmt":"2015-03-04T17:22:01","slug":"new-chicago-steel-coach-learns-on-the-job","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/new-chicago-steel-coach-learns-on-the-job\/","title":{"rendered":"New Chicago Steel coach learns on the job"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Ryan Lund<\/p>\n

Dan Boeser had a lot to think about during the nearly nine-hour bus ride between Bensenville, Ill. and Lincoln, Neb.<\/p>\n

A former assistant coach with the United States Hockey League<\/a>\u2019s Chicago Steel<\/a>, Boeser was named the team\u2019s head coach and general manager on Feb. 11, after former coach Scott McConnell and the Steel mutually agreed to part ways, according to a statement released by the team.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was notified by ownership that I was taking over, didn\u2019t have any practice time and basically just hopped on a bus for Lincoln for a two-game road trip,\u201d Boeser said.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The Burnsville, Minn. native joined the Steel prior to the 2014-15 season after spending two years as an assistant coach at Burnsville High School, but his stint with the Steel is the 34-year-old\u2019s first experience as a head coach.<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t really expect to be in this position this year at all,\u201d Boeser said. \u201cI was hired as an assistant and was planning to spend three or four years in the USHL before getting an opportunity like this.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite Boeser\u2019s lack of experience, forward Robby Jackson is a fan of his new coach\u2019s performance thus far, which has translated into a 4-2 record for the 21-21-3 club.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe really knows his stuff and he\u2019s done a good job of coming in and letting us know that he\u2019s not just here to finish the year,\u201d he said. \u201cHe wants to win just as badly, if not more, than we do.\u201d<\/p>\n

However, Jackson said that McConnell\u2019s departure hit the team hard, and that the former head coach was well liked in the locker room.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe all loved coach McConnell. A lot of guys shed tears in the locker room when he told us,\u201d Jackson said. \u201cThat\u2019s how much he meant to us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Assistant captain Brendon Kearney said the team\u2019s leadership group stepped up to try and fill the void in the immediate aftermath of McConnell\u2019s departure.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe did your best to keep things going in the right direction,\u201d Kearney said. \u201c[We told the team] that everything was going to be OK and that we still had a job to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Assistant<\/a>
Assistant captain Brendon Kearney and the Steel’s leadership group have attempted to rally the team in the wake of the coaching change. (MJB Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

According to Kearney, McConnell\u2019s optimistic style endeared him to the young squad.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think coach McConnell was a really positive guy. He let the guys go out and play loose, play a certain way, and work hard for him and have fun,\u201d Kearney said. \u201cYou weren\u2019t really too worried about making mistakes.\u201d<\/p>\n

But despite the team\u2019s initial heartache, Boeser said the transition has been smooth.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey came back the next day and I talked to the group a little bit, and everybody understood that this is a business and things happen,\u201d he said. \u201cI gave them all a clean slate with me and we moved forward into the weekend on a fresh start.\u201d<\/p>\n

Boeser is now six games into his new role behind the bench, and while his unexpected promotion wasn\u2019t originally part of the plan, Boeser is embracing his new role with the Steel, one that includes more than just coaching.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a lot that\u2019s been put onto my plate, having to learn the GM side and taking over the team as a head coach,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

And while coaching changes are rarely an easy process, Boeser found himself shorthanded from the start.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe change was made when our other assistant coach happened to be out of town for two weeks,\u201d Boeser said. \u201cIt was tough just because of the timing of it.<\/p>\n

The coaching change was abrupt, but McConnell called for his team to embrace Boeser in his new role.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe told us if we had any respect for him that we would finish out the year strong, the way that we could,\u201d Jackson said. \u201cI think that guys have really harnessed that. Guys are really excited to play for coach Boeser.\u201d<\/p>\n

A veteran of the USHL, Boeser spent two years as a player with the league\u2019s Green Bay Gamblers from 1998-2000, before moving on to a four-year collegiate career with the University of Wisconsin.<\/p>\n

His background in the USHL and the NCAA has given Boeser a high degree of credibility with the team following his promotion.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou just know that he knows what it takes to get the job done,\u201d Kearney said. \u201cHe knows how to win in this league and get kids to the next level.\u201d<\/p>\n

Boeser said he is treating the unexpected promotion as a long-term commitment, regardless of the uncertain nature of the situation.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m just focused on doing my job at this point,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m trying to do what I can for these kids and put them in a position to succeed.\u201d<\/p>\n

McConnell\u2019s ouster has provided a Steel squad that has spent much of the season mired in the middle of the USHL\u2019s eastern conference with a new level of energy.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it was just a really big wakeup call for us to see coach McConnell leave,\u201d Kearney said. \u201cIt really was a shock to most guys and a wakeup call for most of us and it\u2019s given us the boost we need.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Steel knocked off the Lincoln Stars 3-1 on Feb. 13 in Boeser\u2019s first game as head coach, adding a 5-4 win in the follow-up.<\/p>\n

Home wins against Green Bay and Muskegon followed, before the Steel wrapped up Boeser\u2019s second weekend at the helm with a 5-2 loss to Madison.<\/p>\n

The Steel also dropped a 3-2 loss to Bloomington on March 1 after a rare weekend off.<\/p>\n

According to Jackson Boeser has been a major player in the team\u2019s recent success.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo far there\u2019s been a good balance of him being able to joke around with the guys a little bit, but not too much, and making sure that we stay dialed in and playing the way that we can,\u201d Jackson said. \u201cHe\u2019s done a great job so far.\u201d<\/p>\n

Photo at top: Former Chicago Steel assistant Dan Boeser was announced as the team’s next coach on Feb. 12 after the team parted ways with former coach Scott McConnell. (MJB Images)<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Ryan Lund Dan Boeser had a lot to think about during the nearly nine-hour bus ride between Bensenville, Ill. and Lincoln, Neb. A former assistant coach with the United States Hockey League\u2019s Chicago Steel, Boeser was named the team\u2019s head coach and general manager on Feb. 11, after former coach Scott McConnell and the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":86,"featured_media":9293,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31,243],"tags":[192],"class_list":["post-9297","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports","category-winter-2015","tag-promo"],"yoast_head":"\nNew Chicago Steel coach learns on the job - Medill Reports Chicago<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/new-chicago-steel-coach-learns-on-the-job\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"New Chicago Steel coach learns on the job - Medill Reports Chicago\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Ryan Lund Dan Boeser had a lot to think about during the nearly nine-hour bus ride between Bensenville, Ill. and Lincoln, Neb. 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