Eaves Named As Badger Men's Hockey Coach
March 19, 2002 | Men's Hockey
Mike Eaves, an all-American at Wisconsin who went on to play and coach in the National Hockey League, has been named the Badgers' new head men's hockey coach, UW Director of Athletics Pat Richter announced.
Eaves, who returns to Wisconsin after spending the past two seasons as head coach of USA Hockey's National Team Development Program, succeeds Jeff Sauer, who retired from the position effective at the end of Wisconsin's 2001-02 season. The National Team Development Program is designed to accelerate the development of elite under-20 American hockey players. The program represents USA Hockey at international events, such as the World U17 Challenge, the World U18 Championship and the World U20 Championship. The program also plays a variety of games against college, junior and international competition.
'I was very pleased with the quality of applicants we received for this position and I was especially impressed with the former Badger alums who have gone on to successful coaching careers,' Richter said. 'We believe Mike Eaves is the best person to build upon the past successes the program has enjoyed under coaches John Riley, Bob Johnson and Jeff Sauer. Mike's enthusiasm, energy and knowledge of the game will be great assets to our program.'
Eaves gained a wide range of coaching experience during the 1990s, including assistant coaching positions with the NHL's Pittsburgh Penguins and Philadelphia Flyers, and head coaching posts with the Helsinki Finnish Elite League, Shattuck (Minn.) St. Mary's High School and the Hershey Bears of the American Hockey League. He also spent one season apiece as a collegiate assistant coach at St. Cloud State and UW-Eau Claire after coaching for one season as an assistant with the NHL 's Calgary Flames.
Eaves played eight seasons in the NHL for the Minnesota North Stars and Calgary Flames, accumulating 226 points (83-143) in 324 games from 1978-79 through 1985-86. He was the North Stars' rookie of the year in '79-80 and was the Flames' 1984-85 nominee for the NHL's Bill Masterton Award, given annually to the player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to the game.
In addition to his role with USA Hockey over the past two years, Eaves has represented the U.S. in international competition both as a player and coach. He skated as a forward for Team USA at the 1981 and 1984 Canada Cup tournaments and was a member of the 1976 and 1978 U.S. National Teams at the International Ice Hockey Federation World Championship. As a coach, he served as an assistant under Bob Johnson for Team USA at the 1991 Canada Cup and was an assistant coach for the 1991 U.S. National Team at the IIHF World Championship in Finland.
Prior to beginning his professional career, Eaves was a standout student-athlete at Wisconsin from 1974-78. A first-team all-American as a junior and senior, Eaves is the UW's career scoring leader with 267 points (94-173) in 160 games. He helped lead the Badgers to the 1977 NCAA title by scoring 28 goals and adding 53 assists for 81 points. Eaves was a three-year team captain for the Badgers. He earned Wisconsin's Big Ten Conference Medal of Honor in 1978 and is a 1992 inductee into the UW's athletic hall of fame. Eaves was the WCHA's MVP in 1978 and is eighth on the league's career scoring list. This season he was named one of the WCHA's 'Top 50 Players in 50 Years' as part of the league 's celebration of its 50th anniversary.
Eaves, a native of Denver, Colo., and his wife, Beth, are the parents of two sons (Ben, who just completed his sophomore year as a hockey student-athlete at Boston College, and Patrick, who played for his father on the U.S. Under-18 Team and will attend Boston College on a hockey scholarship next year).
