When most people wake up in the morning, they’ll rub their eyes, begrudge the sound of their alarm clock and snag a cup of coffee before getting ready for the day.
By his own admission, Tom Anastos’ routine is a little different.
When the MSU head coach’s feet hit the floor, his focus — aside from amorous thoughts of his wife Lisa and his five children along with his extended hockey family — remains on selling.
Selling himself to a new batch of recruits and convincing them of the merit of attending MSU to restore the former glory of his playing days.
Selling his current players on their own abilities and setting team expectations bound on exceeding them. Selling his program to an anxious fanbase and patiently waiting as they turn out at Munn Ice Arena in greater numbers.
That’s the challenge of a first-year head coach.
But as the dust settles on an unexpectedly successful season, and the team moves on after the departure of the largest senior class in more than three decades, Anastos’ greatest challenge no longer is changing a culture but redefining it altogether.
“It’s going to be an ongoing process as we try to implement a new culture here that we want,” Anastos said on Monday. “We want them to have the expectation that we’re going to compete for a championship every year within our league and be in the mix in the NCAA’s. Some years, our team will be better than others, but every year we want to be in the mix.”
With low expectations following two of the last three seasons finishing near the bottom of the CCHA, the Spartans rose up and finished with a record of 19-16-4 in Anastos’ first year. The record was good enough to earn the team the No. 5-seed to the CCHA Tournament and a berth in the NCAA Tournament — its first since appearance since the 2008 season.
However, the demons of a team lacking size and leaving much to be desired in the way of skill were exposed in postseason play. The Spartans were swept out of the CCHA Tournament by Miami (Ohio) and saw their season come to an end against eventual Frozen Four participant No. 1-seed Union.
As far as this team’s goal of having postseason success, the Spartans failed. But Anastos has sold many on what he’s building.
The road ahead will be difficult. The Spartans lose the senior leadership of Brett Perlini, Trevor Nill and Brock Shelgren, among others, and will force the leftover players into more prominent roles. Not to mention, the Spartans will be without their junior captain Torey Krug, who signed a contract with the NHL’s Boston Bruins in March.
Transfers R.J. Boyd from Sacred Heart and Nick Gatt from Alabama-Huntsville along with a talented group of incoming recruits will fill roles of the 10 departing players and help maintain competitiveness on the ice.
With the talent left on the roster and much of the same principles in place, this program will have long term success with the foundation that has been laid in Anastos’ first season.
Anastos sold everyone on the program before with success, charm and a little luck. Now the challenge ahead is to do it again.
Dillon Davis is the hockey reporter at The State News. He can be reached at davisdi4@msu.edu.
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