Carle For The win: Why David Carle is the Best Choice for the Blackhawks Head Coaching Position

Headed back to college this week: USA Hockey head coach David Carle. He will return to the University of Denver to continue defending their NCAA championship (the second college championship on his resume) after he helped the US win back-to-back World Juniors titles.

I get the sense that a fair amount of folks on here and in our social chats are under the impression that I’m on an island in my stance that the Blackhawks should hire this guy as their next permanent head coach. So here’s some of what Chris Peters at FloHockey wrote when describing a “generational coaching prospect.”

David Carle may be a generational head coaching prospect. After earning his head coaching job at the University of Denver at 28 years old, Carle has led the Pioneers to two national championships. In his first two trips to the World Junior Championship, he led Team USA to back-to-back gold medals, unprecedented in USA Hockey history. He just turned 35 years old.

He was already one of the top coaching prospects in the game and NHL teams have expressed interest before. That will not slow down now. In fact, it’s going to be unavoidable every time a new coaching opening comes up.

Winning is not easy. Yet, Carle has made winning consistently his hallmark.

Winning vs Experience (or… Both?)

Would a guy with previous NHL head coaching experience be a good idea? Absolutely. I am in no way dismissing that concept. If the right person is available, I’m here for the conversation. (To be clear: I do not believe Gerard Gallant is the right person.)

HOWEVER…

Looking at Carle’s resume, it reminds of of another guy who was hired in a relatively similar situation who had a comparable track record of success at non-NHL stops before he got his first NHL head coaching gig: Jon Cooper.

The year before Cooper arrived in Tampa (2011-12), a 21-year-old Steve Stamkos had 97 points. Martin St. Louis was their second-leading point producer at 36 years of age. The Lightning finished with a 38-36-8 record under Guy Boucher.

Cooper, meanwhile, won two titles in the NAHL. He then spent two years with the Green Bay Gamblers in the USHL — they won a championship the second season. He moved up to Syracuse in the AHL and… won a championship in his second season there. His third year as an AHL head coach he was promoted to take over the Tampa Bay Lightning.

I think many people would consider donating to the cause if the Blackhawks could get Cooper. What if Carle is the next Cooper?

When I wrote about Carle now exactly one month ago, I pointed out the amount of exposure he’s had to the Blackhawks’ existing pipeline. At the University of Denver, he won a national championship with Cole Guttman as his captain and is currently coaching Aidan Thompson (who is among the national leaders in points and goals right now). For USA Hockey, he’s coached Frank Nazar, Oliver Moore, Sam Rinzel and Gavin Hayes. In the NCHC he’s coaching against Sacha Boisvert, Dominic James and Adam Gajan this season. (And I’ll note he had AJ Spellacy in the camp before this year’s World Juniors as well.)

I know the more popular head coaching search on this site in the coming weeks and months will be that of the Chicago Bears. And certainly the Blackhawks are evaluating the job Anders Sorensen is doing as the interim head coach right now.

The Blackhawks organization isn’t in a place like they were when they replaced Denis Savard with Joel Quenneville; this roster is nowhere close to that and the placeholders will be gone in the next 1-3 years.

But I think everyone involved — the organization, players, fans — want the Chicago Blackhawks to get it right and find someone who is going to help the Connor Bedard Era of hockey in this city to go to another level.

In my mind, if he feels he’s ready to leave the college ranks, the Blackhawks would be crazy to not consider Carle a priority interview.