Denver head coach George Gwozdecky, who was rumored to be the frontrunner to replace Ron Mason as MSU head hockey coach, announced Tuesday that he intends to sign a long-term contract extension to stay with the Pioneers.
Terms of the contract were not disclosed, but Gwozdecky, 48, told a press conference that he plans to be at Denver for “a long time.”
He was thought to be Mason’s first choice to take over the Spartan program and also a possible candidate to fill the coaching vacancy at Wisconsin.
“I want to reconfirm to my current players and future players that I will be here to see them graduate,” Gwozdecky said from Denver. “It’s my sincere hope that the distraction concerning my future will be eliminated and we can focus entirely on our goals.”
Gwozdecky was an assistant coach at MSU from 1984-89 before becoming head coach at Miami (Ohio). He moved to Denver in 1994 and has been there since. The Pioneers (24-5-1) are the top-ranked team in the nation in this week’s USCHO.com poll and are in first place in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association.
Mason, who is slated to become MSU athletics director July 1, is in charge of selecting his successor. With Gwozdecky apparently out of the picture, here’s a look at other possible replacements:
Brown played for MSU from 1981-85, accumulating 202 career points, and was an assistant coach with the Spartans from 1986-90. He also spent two seasons as the head coach of Michigan Tech.
In the NHL, he has been with the Blue Jackets since July 2000 and has also been an assistant coach with the Anaheim Mighty Ducks and Chicago Blackhawks. He also worked as a head coach in the Detroit Red Wings’ minor league system.
Jackson graduated from MSU in 1977 and coached Lake Superior State to national championships in 1992 and 1994. He has coached the Storm, of the Ontario Hockey League, for the last two years.
McAuliffe is in his 10th season as a Spartan assistant coach after playing for Mason from 1986-90. He also spent two years as a graduate assistant at Western.
Miller played for MSU from 1981-85 and is tied for 24th on MSU’s all-time points list with 164 (82 goals, 82 assists). He played 15 years in the NHL for the New York Rangers and Washington Capitals and joined the Islanders staff in August. He was also the inaugural coach and general manager of the Capital Centre Pride Junior A team, based in Lansing.
Newton is in his 12th season as a Spartan assistant and has also been an assistant at Western Michigan and head coach at Kent State.
He played collegiately at Bowling Green.
For more information on this article, see Wednesday’s edition of The State News.
