For one, it’s the start of a new journey in college hockey. For the other, the journey comes full circle.

You don’t need me to tell you that Friday night will be David Carle‘s first game as Denver’s head coach, or that at 28, he’s the youngest coach (by three years) in Division I.

And you probably have heard that Pioneers captain Colin Staub, a one-time Air Force recruit who could not get into the school because of a degenerative eye condition and a man just four years Carle’s junior, will begin his senior season in his hometown of Colorado Springs.

For whatever reservations Pioneers fans might have about the program’s prospects this season after they sustained substantial losses due to NHL departures and graduations, you should know they’re in good hands with two young men who met physical misfortune head on and have made the best of it to find themselves leading roles for DU.

The job candidate

The minute Jim Montgomery announced he was taking the NHL’s Dallas Stars up on their offer to be their head coach, advancing to a new level that was well deserved and somewhat expected given his coaching trajectory, Carle immediately became part of the conversation to replace him.

And why wouldn’t he? He was undeterred after a rare and potentially devastating heart condition was discovered at the 2008 NHL Entry Draft combine that ended his playing career. Denver and then coach George Gwozdecky honored his scholarship and kept him on as a student assistant coach. After a stint as an assistant with Green Bay in the USHL, Montgomery hired him as a DU assistant on New Year’s Day 2014.

Numerous DU players over the years have told me how gifted of a teacher – and recruiter – Carle is. The numbers bear that out.

Look at the amount of Pioneers who have gone on to the highest levels of the game. Montgomery was quick to tell me last year that Carle and Tavis MacMillan deserve the credit for getting those players.

Then note Denver’s year-over-year improvement on defense. Tanner Jaillet is one of the program’s all-time best goaltenders, and what did he tell me every time we talked the past three years? The defense made him. The defense cleared out shot lanes. The defense cleaned up the trash after shots. Who coached the defense? Carle.

Clearly he was ahead of the curve in his methods and clearly he possesses the intelligence and interpersonal skills to thrive, and Denver’s search team picked him after a three-week process that was wide-ranging and included conversations with dozens of the top minds in the game, including one they’ll face tonight.

Game on

Carle’s approach to Friday’s game is no different than how it would be if he was still lacing ’em up.

“I’m excited and looking forward to it,” he said. “It will be different once the game starts, your instincts and emotions take over.

“But there will be some jitters prior to it. Jitters come from a good place. That nervous excitement is always a good thing. You always want that in your belly as a player and a coach. It shows you’re part of something special.”

Staub is relishing the opportunity as well, but he was quick to deflect attention away from himself.

“It’s fun to play (at Cadet Arena), especially knowing so many of the players and coaches,” he said. “It’s a tough arena to play in. As an athlete, to be able to play in that kind of atmosphere is really fun. We know they’re going to bring high intensity, they’re going to bring a hard work ethic, they’re going to be difficult to play against.”

While we’re at it, those are descriptions that would apt to use to describe the Pioneers’ captain.

Homecoming

Being selected a captain at Denver, and debuting as such at Air Force Academy no doubt holds a special place in Staub’s heart as well.

He grew up playing in Colorado Springs and was a standout for the Pikes Peak Miners program. From there he went to the North American Hockey League for three full seasons. He matched his production from his first two seasons in this third one and the Falcons pounced, the first program to offer him a college scholarship.

Then came the call that Falcons coach Frank Serratore has since said is one of the roughest he’s ever made. One day before basic training was to begin in summer of 2015, the coach learned Staub could not be admitted because of Keratoconus, a degenerative eye disease that blurs the chalkboard when he sits in the back of the classroom. He left Staub a voicemail and asked him to come to the Academy as soon as could.

The weighty news could have ended Staub’s D-I aspirations, but Serratore went to work, calling everyone he could think of in a rolodex that rivals any in the college hockey world.

He found an interested party just up Interstate 25.

“Frank was great,” Staub said. “As soon as he told me he couldn’t get me in, he was talking to schools.

“I have a great relationship with Frank. When the process started with DU he was obviously on the phone with their staff, and whatever he said, it was good enough that DU wanted to give me a chance.

“I owe a lot to Frank. I don’t know how else to say it. Not only is he a really good coach, he’s a really good person.”

Serratore also has been a resource for Carle, who will will stand behind the opposing bench for his debut .

“I talked to Frank this summer, and he’s a great man and a great coach,” Carle said. “I have a ton of respect for what he’s done in our sport. Really, he’s just a guy you can call any time, throw ideas off of and share insights. I appreciate him and his relationship in college hockey.”

Carle also has benefitted from having experienced help on his staff, starting with MacMillan, who has been a college head coach and NHL scout, and Dallas Ferguson, who has led college and major junior teams.

“They’ve helped a ton,” Carle said. “When I was interviewing people to replace myself as an assistant, I knew it was important to get someone with experience. As the year goes on, I’m going to appreciate the two of them even more. I appreciate the perspective and the knowledge. They’ve seen things I haven’t.

“It’s great to be able to lean on them and bring up ideas.”

Future coach?

For all of the transitions Carle and Staub have had to make (remember Logan O’Connor was the Pioneers’ captain until the Colorado Avalanche signed him this summer), there has to be some benefit of going through it together.

“Colin has been like a fourth coach,” Carle noted. “We’ve put young guys on his line and he’s really helped them along. He’s been a teacher, which has been nice to see and not surprising to see.

“He’s really owning this captaincy. It means a lot to him. He talks a lot about what Grant Arnold, Will Butcher and Tariq Hammond meant to him, and how he wants to live up to that standard.”

Carrying on that legacy will begin at the place it nearly ended for Staub. But he and his new coach are resolute in writing their next chapters.

©First Line Editorial 2017-18