April 15, 2005
University of Notre Dame hockey coach Dave Poulin will be stepping down after 10 seasons as Irish head coach to take on a position in athletic administration at the University as special assistant to the senior associate athletic director for athletic development.
Notre Dame athletic director Kevin White made the announcement today, after Poulin informed his team of the change earlier this morning.
Poulin will work in the area of athletic development, assisting senior associate athletics director Bill Scholl with a variety of projects. In particular, he will be involved as the University works to identify prospective donors with the goal of renovating Notre Dame’s existing home hockey facility in the Joyce Center Fieldhouse.
“First and foremost, we are all very much appreciative of Dave’s devotion to Irish hockey,” said White.
“I could not be more excited about his transition to a very significant development role – most immediately as it relates to our plans to renovate the north dome of the Joyce Center and all that that will mean for our hockey program.”
A former National Hockey League star, Poulin finished his 10th season behind the Notre Dame bench in 2004-05. In 10 seasons, the 1982 Notre Dame graduate owns a 139-197-50 (.425) record and a 99-145-41 (.419) mark in Central Collegiate Hockey Association play.
“I’ve had a wonderful 10 years coaching hockey at Notre Dame,” said Poulin.
“Coaching hockey brought me to Notre Dame – and it has been tremendous both for me and my family. What stand out for me are the players I’ve coached and the relationships I’ve had.
“I’m very excited about the challenge ahead of me. I’m looking forward to being a big part of Notre Dame’s future.”
During Poulin’s tenure, the Irish advanced to Joe Louis Arena and the CCHA finals and Super Six in four of the last six seasons (2000, 2002, 2003, 2004). In 2003-04, Poulin’s squad turned in its best record (20-15-4) since the 1987-88 campaign and advanced to the NCAA tournament for the first time in the program’s 37-year history.
Two of Poulin’s former players — Mark Eaton (Nashville Predators) and Ben Simon (Atlanta Thrashers) — advanced to the NHL while 36 saw time playing professional hockey in North America or Europe.
Off the ice, 10 of Poulin’s players were members of the CCHA All-Academic team with Cory McLean (’05) receiving the league’s first Scholar Athlete of the Year honor in March. Five of those players went on to receive CoSIDA Academic All-America honors.
A three-time NHL all-star, Poulin returned to his alma mater in 1995 after 13 combined seasons with the Philadelphia Flyers, the Boston Bruins and the Washington Capitals. The winner of the 1987 Selke Trophy (as the league’s top defensive forward) and the 1993 King Clancy Trophy (for leadership on and off the ice), Poulin played in 724 NHL games with 205 goals, 325 assists for 530 career points.
In his four seasons at Notre Dame (1978-82), Poulin scored 89 goals with 107 assists for 196 points in 135 games. He remains tied for first in game-winning goals (13) and hat tricks (eight) with the Irish. His 89 goals rank him fifth on the all-time list, his assists rank him seventh and he is sixth on the all-time points list.
As coach of the Irish, Poulin recorded his 100th career win in Notre Dame’s 8-5 win at Western Michigan on Oct. 19, 2002. On March 15, 2003, at Miami (Ohio), he moved into second on Notre Dame’s all-time win list. He has 139 career wins with the Irish and trails only Charles “Lefty” Smith (his coach at Notre Dame), who is the all-time leader with 307.
Poulin and his wife Kim, a Saint Mary’s College graduate, are the parents of three daughters, 18-year-old twins, Lindsay and Taylor (freshmen at Notre Dame) and 14-year old Kylie.