Former North Star was NCAA title with Gophers
Tom Younghans
After compiling an 87-9-2 record in two years and the helping the Twin Cities Northern Lights capture back-to-back Minnesota Junior Hockey League regular season and playoff championships, head coach Erik Largen received offers to move up the ranks as expected.
In turn, the success meant that the 2013 Tier III National Tournament runner-up organization was once again looking to reload their staff.
For years, Twin Cities has consistently found a way to identify top coaching prospects with relatively little experience and preparing them to leave the nest for other opportunities. In only ten years, their veteran staff list includes highly successful coaches like Josh Hauge (current head coach with the USHL’s Tri-City Storm and former NAHL Championship with with Fairbanks), Eric Fink (a coach in the NAHL at Owatonna and in the USHL), Jason Dobes (NAHL Janesville Jets), AJ Degenhardt (NAHL Coulee Region Chill).
Largen now joins the group as an assistant coach with Hauge at Tri City.
His ascension followed a model built on bringing in younger coaches seeking an opportunity to earn a full time career in coaching; As noted above, the development program has produced strong results. During last season alone, 35 Northern Lights alumni were playing college hockey.
Additional Lights vets headed for college next season include Carter Purdy (F) University of Nebraska, Dylan Blankenship (F) Northern Arizona, Nick Kunes (F) Concordia University WI, Eric Shand (D) University WI Superior, Seth Gustin (D) Niagara University and Jonas Fredriksson (D) Saint Olaf.
The off-season has been a busy time for board members, including Ross and Stephanie Smith, as they have been spearheading the nation-wide search for the next bench boss and support staff.
Ironically the board’s search brought them back to Minnesota – several times over as the Lights have signed a power house staff with a wealth of experience and connections.
Former Minnesota North Star Tom Younghans has taken the reigns of the team, and he brings a wealth of knowledge on what it takes to work hard, moving up, work harder and win.
Younghans won an NCAA national championship with the University of Minnesota under Herb Brooks. After turning pro, he played six years with the North Stars and the New York Rangers including being runner up for the Stanley Cup. Younghans played three years on the United States National team and since then has invested decades mentoring aspiring players and leading clinics.
He is already out at the rinks scouting prospective players and is eager to begin personally investing into this year’s team. He’s especially pleased that he will lead the team oversees for two weeks during the Winter Olympics.
“Hockey created the opportunity for me to travel internationally and it opened my eyes to a larger world, expanding my horizons,” Younghans said. “I am excited about helping put these young men in a position to succeed as my mentors have done for me.”
Youngans will be assisted by Craig Shepherd, another Minnesotan with decades of expertise in systems coaching, power skating and off ice development.
After winning a Minnesota state high school hockey championship with Edina in 1984, and spending time in the USHL, he played at Michigan State and was a Frozen Four participant in both 1987 and 1989 before graduating with a Bachelors degree in Communications.
Shepherd then went on to play professionally for Dynamo Moscow and EVD in Duisburg Germany. He transitioned into competing in pairs figure skating which led to a coaching career in professional skating before becoming assistant coach with the Dynamo professional hockey team.
He has been mentored under the “who’s who” list in hockey like Jack Blatherwick, Bob Johnson, Lou Vario, Art Bergland and several Russian and Slovakian top hockey names. Most recently he has been the program director for DART (Dynamo Authentic Russian Training) and is a strong complement to Younghans style and skill set.
He too is excited about the Russia trip and will be a great resource for setting up the exhibition games surrounding the Olympic torch route. As with 2006 Torino and 2010 Vancouver trips, the league has graciously accommodated this large break for the Lights in February who will return just in time for a playoff run to defend their title.
Doug Hensom was also named to the coaching staff as an assistant.
In addition to the changes on the bench, the Northern Lights have also announced that Rob Shuman has joined the management side of the organization as Director of Hockey Operations.
Shuman is one of the founders /original owners of Athletic Performance Academy, has served as a scout for the Omaha Lancers (USHL) and administrated the Elite League.
He’s currently the League Administrator for District 6 and has been actively engaged in Minnesota Hockey’s (HEP) Hockey Education Program and other committee work. He’s eager to learn the nuances of the junior hockey business and has hit the ground running. He is eager to leverage his connections to bring youth hockey and business connections.
“These new connections have brought more billet families, new volunteers and new marketing possibilities,” said GM/President Ross Smith. “With six home games and home playoff games scheduled at Ridder Arena (University of Minnesota), and new staff eager to bring their ideas, we have a renewed energy that is already translating into positive administrative results. We’re looking forward to see the team this staff will assemble and what they will do to help the players develop.”
