April 15, 2005
University of Notre Dame hockey coach Dave
Poulin will be stepping down after 10 seasons as Irish head coach to
take on a position in athletic administration at the University as
special assistant to the senior associate athletic director for
athletic development.
Notre Dame athletic director Kevin White made the
announcement today, after Poulin informed his team of the change
earlier this morning.
Poulin will work in the area of athletic development,
assisting senior associate athletics director Bill Scholl with a
variety of projects. In particular, he will be involved as the
University works to identify prospective donors with the goal of
renovating Notre Dame's existing home hockey facility in the Joyce
Center Fieldhouse.
"First and foremost, we are all very much appreciative of
Dave's devotion to Irish hockey," said White.
"I could not be more excited about his transition to a very
significant development role - most immediately as it relates to our
plans to renovate the north dome of the Joyce Center and all that
that will mean for our hockey program."
A former National Hockey League star, Poulin finished his
10th season behind the Notre Dame bench in 2004-05. In 10 seasons,
the 1982 Notre Dame graduate owns a 139-197-50 (.425) record and a
99-145-41 (.419) mark in Central Collegiate Hockey Association play.
"I've had a wonderful 10 years coaching hockey at Notre
Dame," said Poulin.
"Coaching hockey brought me to Notre Dame - and it has been
tremendous both for me and my family. What stand out for me are the
players I've coached and the relationships I've had.
"I'm very excited about the challenge ahead of me. I'm
looking forward to being a big part of Notre Dame's future."
During Poulin's tenure, the Irish advanced to Joe Louis Arena
and the CCHA finals and Super Six in four of the last six seasons
(2000, 2002, 2003, 2004). In 2003-04, Poulin's squad turned in its
best record (20-15-4) since the 1987-88 campaign and advanced to the
NCAA tournament for the first time in the program's 37-year history.
Two of Poulin's former players -- Mark Eaton (Nashville
Predators) and Ben Simon (Atlanta Thrashers) -- advanced to the NHL
while 36 saw time playing professional hockey in North America or
Europe.
Off the ice, 10 of Poulin's players were members of the CCHA
All-Academic team with Cory McLean ('05) receiving the league's
first Scholar Athlete of the Year honor in March. Five of those
players went on to receive CoSIDA Academic All-America honors.
A three-time NHL all-star, Poulin returned to his alma mater
in 1995 after 13 combined seasons with the Philadelphia Flyers, the
Boston Bruins and the Washington Capitals. The winner of the 1987
Selke Trophy (as the league's top defensive forward) and the 1993
King Clancy Trophy (for leadership on and off the ice), Poulin
played in 724 NHL games with 205 goals, 325 assists for 530 career
points.
In his four seasons at Notre Dame (1978-82), Poulin scored 89
goals with 107 assists for 196 points in 135 games. He remains tied
for first in game-winning goals (13) and hat tricks (eight) with the
Irish. His 89 goals rank him fifth on the all-time list, his assists
rank him seventh and he is sixth on the all-time points list.
As coach of the Irish, Poulin recorded his 100th career win
in Notre Dame's 8-5 win at Western Michigan on Oct. 19, 2002. On
March 15, 2003, at Miami (Ohio), he moved into second on Notre
Dame's all-time win list. He has 139 career wins with the Irish and
trails only Charles "Lefty" Smith (his coach at Notre Dame), who is
the all-time leader with 307.
Poulin and his wife Kim, a Saint Mary's College graduate, are
the parents of three daughters, 18-year-old twins, Lindsay and
Taylor (freshmen at Notre Dame) and 14-year old Kylie.
