Walt Kyle

Last updated

Walt Kyle
Born (1956-06-11) June 11, 1956 (age 66)
Waterloo, Iowa, U.S.
Height 5 ft 9 in (175 cm)
Weight 179 lb (81 kg; 12 st 11 lb)
Position Center
Played for NCAA
Boston College Eagles
Northern Michigan Wildcats
WHA Draft 206th overall, 1974
Vancouver Blazers
Playing career 1976–1981
Biographical details
Alma mater Boston College
Northern Michigan University
Playing career
1973-1974 Waterloo Black Hawks
1974-1976 Austin Mavericks
1976-1978 Boston College
1978-1979 Waterloo Black Hawks
1979-1981 Northern Michigan
Position(s) Center
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1981-1982 Northern Michigan (Graduate Assistant)
1982-1992 Northern Michigan (Assistant)
1991 USA U20 Team (Assistant)
1992-1993 USA U20 Team
1992-1994 Seattle Thunderbirds
1993 Team USA (Assistant)
1994-1995 San Diego Gulls
1995-1996 Baltimore Bandits
1996-1998 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (Assistant)
1998-2000 Hamilton Bulldogs
2000-2002 New York Rangers (Assistant)
2001 Team USA (Assistant)
2002-2017 Northern Michigan
2006 USA U20 Team
Head coaching record
Overall265–263–68 (.502) (college)
Tournaments0–1 (.000)

Walt Kyle (born June 11, 1956) is an American ice hockey coach. He is the former head coach of the Northern Michigan Wildcats, a position he held from June 2002 to March 2017. [1]

Contents

Career

Kyle started his college career with Boston College, spending two seasons with the program before leaving after the Eagles lost the 1978 title game. He spent a year in the USHL while transferring to Northern Michigan and once he got back into the college ranks he found himself a runner-up for a second time in 1980.

After finishing his eligibility in 1981 Kyle turned to coaching with his alma mater first as a graduate assistant and then a full-time assistant. In the early 1990s Kyle started working as a coach for USA Hockey as both an assistant and head coach for the World Junior Team. While coaching the national program Kyle left his position at Northern Michigan to become a head coach, first for the Seattle Thunderbirds in 1992. Kyle was an assistant coach, under Ron Wilson, for Team USA at the 1994 Men's World Ice Hockey Championships held in Bolzano, Italy. [2] By the late '90s Kyle worked his way up to the NHL as an assistant with both the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim and New York Rangers sandwiched around a short stint with the Hamilton Bulldogs.

In 2002 Rick Comley, the only coach the program at Northern Michigan ever had, left the university. [3] A few months later Walt Kyle returned to Marquette, Michigan to become the second head coach for the team. [4] Kyle's early results with the Wildcats were good, winning 20+ games in each of his first four seasons, but over the course of his 15-year tenure the club slowly declined both in the standings and in relevance. Kyle was never able to win either a conference or tournament title in his time behind the bench and only made one NCAA tournament appearance in 2010.

Towards the end of his time with Northern Michigan Kyle got into trouble off the ice. He was put on administrative leave in January 2015 [5] and just over two years later he was arrested on fraud charges. [6] While prosecutors ultimately dismissed the charges [7] the rumors surrounding the charge contributed to his firing at the end of the 2017 season. [8]

Head coaching record

College

Statistics overview
SeasonTeamOverallConferenceStandingPostseason
Northern Michigan Wildcats (CCHA)(2002–2013)
2002–03 Northern Michigan 22–17–214–13–1t-5th CCHA third-place game (win)
2003–04 Northern Michigan 21–16–413–13–27th CCHA third-place game (loss)
2004–05 Northern Michigan 22–11–717–7–43rd CCHA Quarterfinals
2005–06 Northern Michigan 22–16–214–12–2t-4th CCHA third-place game (loss)
2006–07 Northern Michigan 15–24–210–17–110th CCHA Quarterfinals
2007–08 Northern Michigan 20–20–412–13–36th CCHA third-place game (win)
2008–09 Northern Michigan 19–17–511–12–5–36th CCHA third-place game (win)
2009–10 Northern Michigan 20–13–813–9–6–34th NCAA West regional semifinals
2010–11 Northern Michigan 15–19–512–13–3–06th CCHA first round
2011–12 Northern Michigan 17–14–611–11–6–36th CCHA first round
2012–13 Northern Michigan 15–19–49–15–4–110th CCHA first round
Northern Michigan:208–186–49136–135–37
Northern Michigan Wildcats(WCHA)(2013–2017)
2013–14 Northern Michigan 15–21–213–14–17th WCHA first round
2014–15 Northern Michigan 14–18–611–13–47th WCHA first round
2015–16 Northern Michigan 15–16–712–11–55th WCHA first round
2016–17 Northern Michigan 13–22–410–15–3–18th WCHA first round
Northern Michigan:57–77–1946–53–13
Total:265–263–68

      National champion        Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion        Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion      Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

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References

  1. ↑ "Walt Kyle Year-by-Year Coaching Record". USCHO.com. Retrieved July 1, 2017.
  2. ↑ "Walt Kyle - Northern Michigan University". www.nmuwildcats.com. Archived from the original on April 2, 2015.
  3. ↑ "Comley Named New MSU Coach". USCHO.com. March 24, 2002. Retrieved July 1, 2017.
  4. ↑ "Kyle Named New NMU Coach". USCHO.com. June 13, 2002. Retrieved July 1, 2017.
  5. ↑ "Northern Michigan puts Kyle on administrative leave; assistants to take charge". USCHO.com. January 21, 2015. Retrieved July 1, 2017.
  6. ↑ "Former Northern Michigan coach Kyle arrested on fraud charges". USCHO.com. March 12, 2017. Retrieved July 1, 2017.
  7. ↑ Pietila, Alissa (April 13, 2017). "Prosecutor dismisses charges against Walt Kyle". Upper Michigans Source. Negaunee, MI: WLUC-TV . Retrieved July 1, 2017.
  8. ↑ "Kyle out after 15 years as Northern Michigan head coach". USCHO.com. March 10, 2017. Retrieved July 1, 2017.
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