The Utah State University Hockey Club is hitting the ice for its first home game Thursday — and they have a new head coach.
At the back of the George S. Eccles Ice Arena sits the USU Hockey Club’s locker room. New Head Coach Jeff Volkman stood in the center of the room looking down at various training regiments, with nameplates of last year's team stacked on the table next to him.
For new fans to the team, the Aggies have had a different head coach at the start of the last five seasons. Volkman takes over for former Head Coach Rob Girard who quit halfway through last season after the team failed to win the Beehive Showcase, a tournament just before the season's mid-point.
At the time, Volkman was preparing for training camp, which took place in August. His objective was to build a well-rounded team, not one based on raw talent.
“You can outwork talent when talent doesn't work hard,” Volkman said. ”It's very true in the sport, you can win a lot of hockey games because you just outwork teams that aren't disciplined enough to work hard.
Volkman has over 27 years of coaching experience and two earned All-American head coach awards during his time at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
He expects his team to show “relentless aggression” on and off the puck and a high pace of play.
When the first day of training camp ended, he had much to consider after seeing what the 30 potential players had to offer.
“We really wanted them to play within their strengths,” Volkman said. “We're not looking for 27 guys with highlight reels. The game is 99% doing the hard stuff and developing plays. And I think we saw some of that today.”
This message from the coach intrigued Nolan Mulneax, a veteran defenseman returning for his fourth season with Utah State.
“I really like him,” Mulneaux said. “I think he likes to impose really core values as like hard work, moving your feet, and always giving 100%. That's how I like to play the game and I think if a coach reinforces that, it just helps the team that much more.”
The Aggies wrapped up a long stretch on the road and have earned a record of 2-2-1. Fans can catch the team in person for their first home series of the season, this week on October 3, 4, and 5 at the George Eccles Ice Arena.