Photo: (Sportsnet)
Dave Hakstol, who spent eight years as an NHL head coach and 11 seasons with North Dakota, was named Arizona State’s new head coach on Thursday after the university announced it mutually agreed to part ways with former head coach Greg Powers, per The Athletic’s Katie Strang.
Powers had been on paid administrative leave since Sept. 30, nearly two months after second-year defenseman Matthew Mayich suffered critical heatstroke-related brain injuries in an unauthorized workout.
Hakstol won 289 games with North Dakota, the second-most in program history, and two conference coach of the year awards (2009, 2015).
“This is a special opportunity,” Hakstol said. “I couldn’t be more excited to return to college hockey and bring a winning culture to Arizona State Sun Devil Hockey. Our goal is to grow a championship-caliber program, and we will.”
The Sun Devils new head coach led North Dakota for 11 seasons, including two in the NCHC–something athletic director Graham Rossini said was a priority for him when searching for a new coach.
Hakstol led the Fighting Hawks to the NCAA Tournament in all 11 seasons he was at the helm. In those 11 appearances, North Dakota went to seven NCAA Frozen Fours, including a national runner-up finish in 2004-2005, Hakstol’s first season.
Following his tenure in college hockey, Hakstol served as head coach of the Philadelphia Flyers and the Seattle Kraken. In his seven seasons as an NHL head man, the Alberta, Canada native made the NHL playoffs three times, though his teams only made it past the first round once.
After he was fired by the Kraken in 2024, Hakstol was hired as an assistant coach for the Colorado Avalanche, where he used his expertise as the team’s power-play specialist. However, in the 2025-2026 season, the Avalanche finished 27th in the NHL in power-play percentage with 17.1%.
Powers’ departure opens a 15-day transfer portal window, allowing any current ASU player to enter. However, if a player does choose to transfer to another school, he would have to sit out the entire season.
Hakstol is joined by former North Dakota defenseman and 12-season NHL veteran Matt Greene, who is reportedly set to join Hakstol’s staff as an assistant coach, per Brad Schlossman. Greene won two Stanley Cups with the Los Angeles Kings and most recently worked as an assistant coach on their interim coaching staff.
Greene played at North Dakota from 2002 to 2005, serving as the program’s captain in 2005 – Hakstol’s first year coaching the team.
The announcement comes 16 days after seven Sun Devil players requested that Powers and his entire coaching staff be put on leave in a letter to ASU President Michael Crow on Sept. 28.
Hakstol’s addition as head coach isn’t the only change on ASU’s bench. It was reported last Thursday that associate head coach Alex Hicks would not be with the Sun Devils for their home-opening series against Holy Cross, leaving just Mike Corbett and Jimmy Mullin on the ASU staff–along with “volunteer coach”, as listed on ASU’s media notes, Taylor Pyatt, who played 14 NHL seasons, including three for the Phoenix Coyotes.
Following that home-opening series split, Corbett was placed on paid administrative leave, leaving Mullin as the only coach who began the season on ASU’s bench. The Sun Devils play at UMass Lowell on Friday, a quick turnaround with a virtually brand-new coaching staff.
“We welcome Dave Hakstol and his family to Arizona State University, ” Rossini said. “His success building championship-caliber programs, developing players for the highest level of the sport, and leading organizations in the NHL speaks to his knowledge of the game and his ability to develop talent.
“We appreciate Dave’s belief in ASU and look forward to supporting him as we continue to build Sun Devil Hockey into one of the nation’s premier programs.”
