REPORT: Lang, Jewell, Doyle Named Finalists

Dr. Bowers has cut the list to 3 as in-person interviews expected this week

When Dave Smith was relieved of his duties on March 10th, it was a fair assumption that Dr. Kristie Bowers would like to have a successor in place by the end of the month. Now that the transfer portal is open, there is more urgency to have your ducks in a row for roster retention purposes. RPI has already had 5 of its top players purged, specifically Felix Caron, Sutter Muzzatti, Will Gilson, Tyler Hotson, and Max Smolinski. The search has been kept incredibly quiet, but Ken Schott of the Daily Gazette and Mike McMahon of CHN have reported now that only 3 candidates remain. Let’s break it down.

The Finalists:

Eric Lang (AIC Head Coach):

We wrote about Lang extensively in our first article, dubbing him the “odds-on favorite” for the job at that time. That seems to still be true, and it is hard to argue with his record at AIC. He is very highly regarded in hockey circles, which I think is a strong indicator to potential success. His peers rave about the work he did with limited resources in Springfield, and it’s fair to assume that if RPI ups its support, he could replicate that work here. He obviously has a need for a job, and we are under the belief that he is incredibly interested in this opening.

His record at AIC does speak for itself. After a two-year ramp-up period prior to the transfer portal, he ripped off four consecutive Atlantic titles and six consecutive winning seasons. AIC was not considered an easy job in the slightest, so this is impressive work with such limited resources. They upset the #1 overall seed in St. Cloud State during the 2019 NCAA Tournament as well. All of this is incredibly impressive, but I have just two concerns that I will raise. I don’t like how their results tapered off the last 3 years, even though this year was explainable because AIC announced they would cut the program before the season. Second, Lang worked at Army before getting the AIC job, so he has no NCAA experience outside of Atlantic Hockey. It is reasonable to wonder how high his ceiling is at RPI when he has never competed for top-tier talent outside of the Atlantic. If he is hired, I would like to see him employ that young, personable recruiting specialist as an assistant, the way Nolan Graham was for Appert and Dan Jewell was for Smith. Brian Riley, whom Lang worked for at Army, raved about Lang’s work saying that he got them 3 guys from the USHL in his first year, which is practically unheard of for that program. So, perhaps we should have more faith in his recruiting abilities given better resources, but I would still love to see him add an assistant with that skillset.

In many ways the thesis to hire him is similar to what it was for Dave Smith, but his resume is simply better at this time. I feel that Lang could elevate the floor of RPI into the middle of the league pretty quickly, the question would then be can he get the level of talent to Troy needed to compete with the Quinnipiac’s and Cornell’s. For me, Lang was the baseline for candidates coming into this because it seemed like such a mutual fit. Now that I have seen the finalists, make no ifs ands or buts about it, Eric Lang needs to get this job. He is vastly more qualified than the other two candidates and boasts a resume where he has done “a lot with a little”. RPI has much more to offer than AIC, but it still doesn’t have the resources to compete with the top dogs in the East. Lang could turn this thing around pretty quickly, and RPI would be remised to miss this opportunity.

Dan Jewell (Merrimack Associate HC):

Speaking of Jewell, he has been listed as one of the three finalists. It is certainly an interesting option and would be quite the story if he is to land the job. Jewell deserves a lot of credit for the recruiting classes he helped construct during Dave Smith’s first two seasons at RPI. Think back to all the players we regret losing to the transfer portal and the rest of that core that stayed. Tristan Ashbrook, Simon Kjellberg, Zach Dubinsky, Ottoville Leppanen, Jake Johnson, Ture Linden and Owen Savory. The story goes that Jewell found Savory in a USHL camp and dug him out of the tiny GOJHL and the rest was history. Jewell can directly point to that group of guys in his interview, and say, “I had a large part in getting almost all of those guys here”. And he’s not wrong, he may not have stayed for the two best seasons under Smith and gotten to reap the benefits, but his fingerprints are all over those teams.

At Merrimack, he was there for their first tournament appearance in 12 years and has helped elevate their program under Scott Borek. Merrimack is a nearly impossible school to recruit to and succeed at when they have to compete with BC, BU, Providence, Maine and the rest of Hockey East every year. Therefore, there is a little more nuance required to evaluate his resume seeing as he took some challenging assistant jobs. Truthfully, I am not opposed to bringing Jewell back to Troy, and I am excited by his recruiting prowess. It is a little challenging to get excited if this were the hire knowing Eric Lang was available, but you could sell me on the upside Jewell provides.

Joe Doyle (Air Force Associate HC)

The last finalist is Air Force Associate Head Coach Joe Doyle. This is a head scratcher to say the least. Doyle played four years at Air Force and has spent nearly his entire college hockey career as an assistant there. He is originally from Massachussets, so perhaps he is looking to get back on the East Coast. Air Force has had some success during his time there, but it came almost entirely before COVID. Recruiting to the military academies is never easy, but this would be a massive change of scenery for him. I am curious as to how there weren’t better candidates to be considered in this final round. If you are going to reach into the Atlantic for a coach, I would much prefer the guy who won four consecutive titles as a head coach. With all due respect, this candidacy isn’t in the same ballpark as Lang’s.

Well, we are down to 3. Lang has always been the leader in the clubhouse, Jewell has the program ties, and Doyle is the surprise. People in hockey circles that we speak to rave about Eric Lang and think he is the right person for this job. Jewell has an interesting case to bring to the table, but make no mistake, it should be Lang’s to lose. Hopefully we will have our answer by the end of the week. Let’s go red.