Carvel Looks Forward To 1st Season as Head Coach
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Tara FreemanGreg Carvel was co-coach with Mike Hurlbut for the 2011-12 season
An association which began in his early teens has turned into the opportunity to be one of only 58 NCAA Division I head coaches in the sport of college hockey for former St. Lawrence captain Greg Carvel. And Carvel, who entered the college coaching ranks just last August after a 15-year career coaching professional hockey, has a great vision of where he wants to take his program.
"Joe Marsh has had an incredible influence on my hockey life," said Carvel. "He came to town when I was in my early teens, he looked after me and my friends and served as an inspirational mentor. We created a lasting relationship and I doubt many Division I players have ever had a head coach they know so well. He gave me the opportunity to come back to St. Lawrence as an assistant and let me institute some new things and then when he took his medical leave, I had the opportunity, along with great assistance from Mike Hurlbut, to run the program."
"It is my intention to carry on Joe's legacy...to continue to strengthen the St. Lawrence hockey tradition while at the same time making my own personal imprint," Carvel said.
Carvel's professional resume includes assistant coaching positions with the Ottawa Senators and the Anaheim Ducks of the National Hockey League. He has coached in two Stanley Cup finals and the list of pro players he coached would make an impressive all star team...Paul Kariya, Daniel Alfredsson, Jason Spezza, Teemu Selanne, Erik Karlson and Sergei Fedorov to name just a few.
"I came in with ideas on how I thought a team should be coached. I want to combine the structure and systems I have learned through coaching in the NHL with the atmosphere and emotion that Joe's teams always played with," Carvel explained. "It took some time to get things in place...perhaps a little longer than we expected...but this year was a good one for creating a foundation. Going forward the guys realize that there needs to be more commitment to the program. They gave a lot and I was really impressed with the attitude and work ethic, but I think they realize they have more to give. It is our job as coaches to continually challenge them, while still making it an enjoyable experience. If we can do that...follow a blueprint for success and get a little better each day...it will lead to more success."
Carvel ‘s vision for the Saint program should be an attractive one for future recruits. "We have a beautiful campus, a rink with tremendous character and atmosphere and great support from the student body. We are a full scholarship school with NHL-caliber coaching. For a quality hockey player looking for a first-rate education in a small school setting, he would be hard-pressed to find a better place to play his college hockey.
"St. Lawrence hockey is a diamond in the rough in today's college hockey landscape. St. Lawrence's academic and national reputation has really taken off over the past decade. We play our games in Appleton Arena, the "Fenway Park" of college hockey rinks. We play in the prestigious ECAC, a conference with a tremendous hockey history as well as a reputation for strong academics. We are a small University and that allows everyone to truly feel like part of a family and that is why our alumni are so loyal.
"Both Mike and I understand what it takes to get to the NHL and we look forward to helping good young players get to the next level while continuing the tradition of producing the highly competitive and exciting college hockey that St. Lawrence is known for," Carvel added.