It should come as no surprise the University of Denver Pioneers successful NCAA hockey head coach is taking his skills to the highest level.
DU hockey's head coach, Jim Montgomery, has officially taken the head coaching position for the Dallas Stars in the National Hockey League, sources confirmed with 9NEWS.
The Montreal, Quebec, native took the helm of the Pioneers on April 15, 2013, and departs after an overall 125-51-26 record through four seasons. In that time, the team has won a national championship (2017), had two Frozen Four appearances (2016, 2017), and won two Conference Tournament Championships (2014, 2018).
Since last season, there were numerous rumors that Montgomery would be taking his talents to the NHL. In late April of 2017, Montgomery interviewed for the head coaching position with the Florida Panthers. However, after the Pios' 2017 NCAA National Championship and a handful of talented players returning for another season (Troy Terry, Henrik Borgstrom, Tariq Hammond, Dylan Gambrell, and Tanner Jaillet), Montgomery remained with the Pioneers for one last season.
In his final season with DU, the Pioneers finished with an overall record of 23-10-8, after losing to the Ohio State Buckeyes in the Regional Final of the NCAA Tournament.
Sources told 9NEWS, the front-runner and internal candidate for Montgomery's position is 28-year-old assistant coach, Dave Carle. The knock on Carl is both his young age and his lack of experience as a head coach of an NCAA program or higher.
Carle coached as an assistant for the USHL's Green Bay Gamblers prior to joining the Pioneers as an assistant in 2014. As a player, Carle was recruited by the University of Denver, but was forced to retire from hockey in July of 2008 after being diagnosed with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy -- a heart condition known to cause sudden cardiac arrest in young people.
Montgomery will take over for the recently retired, Ken Hitchcock, in Dallas. After 22 seasons as a head coach in the NHL, the 66-year-old coaching veteran decided to step away from coaching and become a consultant for the Stars.
