Damon Whitten’s rebuilding process for a sleeping giant at Lake Superior State

 

By @MichaelCaples –

Damon Whitten admitted that it was a little strange to be on the other bench at Munn Ice Arena.

After all, the Brighton native played four seasons for Michigan State and spent two years as the team’s director of hockey operations.

Now, however, Whitten was a visitor in East Lansing, leading his Lake Superior State Lakers into Munn with the goal of defeating his alma mater.

Mission complete, at least for Round 1. Whitten and the Lakers recorded a 4-2 road win over the Spartans during their Thursday night non-conference showdown on Oct. 22 – a big victory for a program who only had eight all of last year.

“It’s a big win for sure,” Whitten said the following morning. “We’re coming off that difficult first year, so I think anything early on here that helps us get a little more confidence and believing in what we’re doing moving forward is very positive. It’s a road game, which is big, and obviously a Big Ten opponent, and a well-known brand in Michigan State, so to come down here on the road and get the win was very important for our young team.”

The Spartans rebounded for a 3-0 victory the next night, but the statement win still stood out at the end of the weekend.

Whitten, 38, was the man chosen to rebuild the Lakers program during the summer of 2014. A tall task, considering the dormancy of what was once a national power. Lake Superior, a three-time NCAA national championship program, has posted only one winning season since 2007.

 

The new coach, however, is anxious for his team’s return to prominence.

“I think there’s a process in place for sure,” Whitten said. “It doesn’t happen overnight, unfortunately. We wish it could, but I think you’re seeing some of the things we hope to do. I think it starts with one of our goals over the short-term one or two years is to host home-ice in the WCHA playoffs. I think once you can do that, then obviously you’re in the picture of being an autobid but also getting to that WCHA Final Five. We’ve got to get back to the NCAA Tournament. That’s a goal over this short two to five year period here, and I think once you’re in the tournament, it doesn’t take a whole lot – you get some goaltending, you need to win a couple games…

“We want to get back to the NCAA Tournament. We have a lot of banners hanging at Taffy Abel, and we want to add our own.”

Whitten, who played a significant role in the rebuild of the Michigan Tech program before leaving for LSSU, said the passion for Laker hockey is still abundant in Sault Ste. Marie.

“For me, I love it,” Whitten said. “I love wherever you go that everybody wants to run your power play or tell you who to play or what the problem is. I’d much rather be in an environment like that than where hockey’s not on the forefront. We’re the big sport on campus, which is awesome. I think our guys appreciate that, so that’s really fun. To look up in our rafters, to look around in our locker room, for me to see Rick Comley and Ron Mason, Frank Anzalone, Jeff Jackson, these phenomenal world-class coaches is really good. For our players to see Doug Weight, Darrin Madeley, on and on down the list, it’s something we rely on quite a bit.

“Any time we have alumni in town, we bring them in. Ian Ward just got our distinguished alumnus award and he came and spoke to the team about the time he was on a national championship team and he was a championship and what this program means to so many people. We love it. The history and tradition is right up there with anybody in college hockey, especially for being only 50 years into it. It’s something we really celebrate and build upon and regrow.”

Those alumni are not allowed to suit up for the Lakers, however. Whitten would probably welcome it, considering his program has 18 freshmen or sophomores on the roster. A strong showing at the Icebreaker Tournament in Maine and then a victory over Michigan State certainly helps a coach get buy-in from his youthful roster.

“It’s huge. I think even going out to Portland and playing quality opponents, we weren’t overly disappointed with the games. We played pretty well against North Dakota, played pretty well against Michigan State. Obviously you don’t like the results.

“…To get a little confidence in life going, it’s made a big difference.

“We’re so young that they need some belief and some buy-in, and that does it. Again, to come into a building like this, I thought it was a good crowd in terms of the band and a very collegiate atmosphere, it was really important for us at this point of the season to get a little life heading into WCHA play.”

Similar results will come in conference play, if the Lakers continue to grow in Whitten’s system. While their first weekend of conference play didn’t go so well – two losses to Alabama-Huntsville – the scheme is in place for more success.

“We’re trying to play very up-tempo,” Whitten said. “I think this year we’re a step closer to it. It kind of mirrors quite a bit what we tried to build at Michigan Tech, even through that early process there last year. We know how we want to play, and we might not have been built totally for it last year but we said that’s what we’re going to play and that’s what’s going to help us through this transition quickly. We’re a very aggressive team, we forecheck hard, we’re trying to be a puck-possession team and play with skill.”

 

Rebuilding a recruiting base, however, is tricky. Players that Lake Superior State coaches will be interacting with this season weren’t around when the Lakers were a national force, which means building relationships is key. After all, college hockey recruiting is a far different beast than other NCAA sports, with coaches facing the necessity of talking to players at even earlier ages than those of football or basketball.

“It’s work and it’s non-stop,” Whitten said. “I think certainly you have your network of junior coaches and advisors that you’re constantly working on. For me as a head coach, I’d love to be out, I love the recruiting part of it, I miss that I don’t get it as much as I used to, but I think that was a real strength of mine, relating with kids and coaches and then evaluating. Rich Metro, Pete Aubry last year, and now Doug Holewa has come from the AHL and the New York Islanders’ organization, they’ve done a good job. They’re great communicators, they’re personable so they can really relate to kids, but I think that’s the key. You have to be able to relate to these young kids, find ways to have them trust you, and find ways to sell our vision of where we’re going with the program.”

Whitten’s high-energy approach, of course, keeps that non-stop mentality going, across all aspects of the program. A rebuild takes time, perhaps even more at a school outside of the NCAA’s ‘Power Five’ conferences. Whitten’s experience at Michigan Tech – a perfect model for LSSU’s necessary rebuild – is crucial, and, at least from one weekend’s worth of observation, he’s got his team skating in the right direction.