Sacred Heart assistant Kirtland leaves Pioneers for same role with Yale

Paul Kirtland has served as an assistant coach at Sacred Heart for the past two seasons (photo: Sacred Heart Athletics).

Paul Kirtland has joined the Yale staff as an assistant coach after spending the last two seasons as an assistant at Sacred Heart.

“We are excited to add Paul Kirtland to our coaching staff,” said Yale head coach Keith Allain in a statement. “He has been extremely successful wherever he has coached and is one of the brightest young minds in college hockey. Paul will spend lots of time developing our defensemen and working on the penalty kill, but his contributions won’t stop there. He is an excellent skills coach and has experience working in all facets of the game. Each one of our players will benefit from his presence on our staff.

“His hiring represents our deep commitment to the development of our people as we relentlessly pursue championships.”

“I am excited about the opportunity afforded to me by Coach Allain and the Yale University men’s hockey program,” added Kirtland. “I look forward to being part of a program with such prestigious history and am eager to work with the players and staff in order to contribute to the attainment of our goals, both individually and collectively.”

A 2013 Ohio State graduate, Kirtland skated in 49 games with the Buckeyes, registering three goals, before playing in the ECHL with three teams during the 2012-13 season. He started his NCAA coaching career in 2016 as an assistant with Trinity, and has also coached with the NAHL’s Fairbanks Ice Dogs and USHL’s Dubuque Fighting Saints.