LAS VEGAS — During his playing days, North Dakota coach Dane Jackson got some excellent advice from his mother on coaching.
“That’s something my mom told me,” said Jackson. “You can always learn something from every coach.”
Jackson has played under some venerable bench bosses like John Tortorella (Rochester Americans), Bruce Boudreau (Manchester Monarchs), Ted Nolan (Buffalo Sabres), and Gino Gasparini (North Dakota).
“I was really fortunate to be influenced by a lot of great coaches,” said Jackson. “Each has a little bit of a different emphasis.”
Jackson has blended what he experienced as a player to come up with his own coaching style. In his first year as head coach, Jackson now has the Fighting Hawks in the Frozen Four for the 23rd time and gunning for their ninth NCAA championship. North Dakota squares off against Wisconsin Thursday for a spot in Saturday’s title game.
“It’s definitely something that kind of put in my mind when I was named head coach, was I think you got to have your own identity,” he said. “Be true to who you are, but you definitely take a lot of experience from small things you learn.
Tortorella — who coincidentally now coaches the Vegas Golden Knights, the NHL team lending its home ice to this year’s Frozen Four — was particularly tough on the minor leaguers in Rochester, Jackson said.
“But you knew he cared for us,” Jackson said. “He wasn’t just yelling at us, he wanted to get the team better, to prepare you to be an NHL player.”
Boudreau and Nolan shared a lot in common, including their enthusiasm for coaching and their passion for the sport.
“Bruce was a sharp guy, but cared about us a lot, made it fun, was always kind of teaching from the positive aspect,” Jackson said. “We’d always have really good success because he never got tired of coming to the rink.”
As a UND player, Jackson starred under Gasparini from 1988-91, scoring 103 points in 150 career games. Drafted in the third round by Vancouver, Jackson followed up his UND time with a pro career that spanned 11 seasons. He was drafted in the third round (44th overall) by Vancouver in the 1988 NHL Entry Draft.
“Gino really cared about his players and was a great role model,” said Jackson. “I learned about how to motivate players and how important the little things can be.”
Combine all that experience as a player and some coaching stints in the pro ranks, and you have a coach building his own philosophy based on his experiences.
It’s clearly working, with the Fighting Hawks two wins away from their first NCAA championship since 2016.
“I think everybody is a little bit different,” said Jackson. “I definitely try to take a little bit of things I appreciated from all those guys, then put your own kind of flavor on it. You’ve got to be true to who you are. I’ve been extremely fortunate.”