New Hampshire’s Mike Souza was named head coach of the U.S. Collegiate Selects at the upcoming Spengler Cup in Davos, Switzerland. Souza served as assistant coach of the Selects at last year’s event.
Souza will be joined by Minnesota Duluth’s Scott Sandelin and Cornell’s Casey Jones, who will be the assistant coaches.
“To showcase college hockey in a professional tournament like the Spengler Cup is an absolute privilege,” Souza said via statement. “Every aspect of the tournament is a unique experience for all involved, most importantly the student-athletes.”
The U.S. Collegiate Selects will be made up of 25 players from all six NCAA Division I conferences. The competition runs from Dec. 26-31, with the six participating teams playing a minimum of two games apiece. Group Cattini consists of hosts and defending champions HC Davos, Frölunda HC and the U.S. Collegiate Selects, while Group Torriani features SCL Tigers, Adler Mannheim and Ilves Tampere.
The U.S. Collegiate Selects open play against Frölunda HC of Sweden before facing host HC Davos on either Dec. 27 or Dec. 28.
Souza is now in his ninth season as head coach at UNH. A native of Wakefield, Mass., Souza played at UNH from 1996-2000 totaling 66 goals and 90 assists for 156 points, as the Wildcats reached the national championship game in 1999. He went on to play professionally in the AHL and ECHL, before heading overseas to play in Switzerland, Germany and Italy. His coaching career began as an assistant at Brown (2011-13), before heading to Connecticut (2013-15) and eventually his alma mater as an associate head coach (2015-18).