Ten years ago, new Rensselaer men’s hockey Head Coach Seth Appert was young, naïve, and uncertain about where he was going.
In a nutshell, he was a college senior.
His hockey days as a goaltender for Ferris State were over, so he was searching for something, but what, remained to be seen. Coaching seemed like as good an idea as any at the time.
The profession fit for Appert. He loved hockey, he loved connecting with people, and he came from a family of educators—a mother who taught and a father who coached youth sports for 20 years.
Still, Appert’s interest in coaching did not develop with a hard check to the boards or a slap shot to the head. Instead, it was an idea he fostered and grew. But after just one year as a student assistant under his former coach, Bob Daniels, at Ferris State, Appert knew this is where he belonged.
“I’m not sure if I helped them much that year [at Ferris], but I know they helped me,” Appert said. “I really enjoyed being around people and connecting with people.”
He is obviously good at it too.
Since he announced he was leaving Denver, Appert has received over 40 phone calls from past players and their families congratulating him and expressing their excitement for him, leaving him deeply touched.
“Seth is an unbelievable person with great hockey knowledge,” said Brett Skinner, a Denver defensemen from 2002-2005 who is currently playing for the Vancouver Canucks’ AHL affiliate. “He has a special connection with all of his players. He is a great guy who made me feel like part of his family as a recruit and as well as a member of the Pioneers.”
Statements such as those prove the impact Appert can have on players and on a program.
In nine years as assistant under Head Coach George Gwozdecky, Appert headed up recruiting, helping to bring in 2005-2006 Hobey Baker Award-winner Matt Carle, eight All-Americans, a WCHA player of the year, 22 All-WCHA picks, three WCHA Defensive Players of the Year, 17 NHL draft picks, and two WCHA Student-Athletes of the Year.
Gwozdecky put tremendous faith in Appert, and fellow assistant coach Steve Miller, allowing his wingmen to offer scholarships to perspective players before he had seen them play.
The assistant enjoyed the tremendous faith his mentor placed in him. Appert grew as a coach, but admitted it was still unnerving, especially when Appert asked to offer a player a scholarship while out on his first ever recruiting trip for the Pioneers.
“It was scary,” Appert said. “I was nervous, and I was tentative about it. I called George and said, ‘I like this kid,’ and he said, ‘Well, why don’t you offer him a scholarship.’ After that point you are just hoping like heck the young man turns out to be a good player.”
Fortunately for Appert, he did. His first scholarship player, Adam Berkhoel, was more than just good. Berkhoel, who played in 10 games for the Atlanta Thrashers this season, was the starting goaltender his senior year for the Pioneers 2004 national championship team.
“I’d say that turned out pretty well,” Appert said with a smile. Appert was particularly pleased with his first recruiting class at Denver, who chose the school when it was not the “fashionable” thing to do, and were rewarded as seniors.
Appert is hoping to convince recruits that RPI will develop into a championship program, like Denver, despite its recent struggles.
The new head coach plans to get out on the recruiting road as often as possible to develop relationships with recruits and their families. He wants to find kids with good core values, from families who value education and hockey the way he does.
He also wants kids who can skate—kids with speed, playmakers, and players who are good decision-makers on and off the ice.
There will, however, be challenges for the new coach, outside of those normally facing an inexperienced head coach taking over a struggling program. The academic requirements at RPI are tough, limiting his pool of potential players, but that is only adding to Appert’s excitement.
“We all know that Cornell is getting kids into an Ivy League school that are below the academic requirements RPI has,” Appert said. “It’s just part of the challenge.”
Appert said he hopes to develop a good relationship with admissions in an effort to get solid students in the school. He firmly stated he will not be trying to “slide anyone under” certain standards, but hopes some of his future recruits will not be kept out because of a single test score, citing the fact that RPI’s student athletes have outperformed the regular student body the last three years.
Recruiting is a future endeavor, minus the one scholarship defenseman and one walk-on defenseman Appert hopes to bring in. For now, Appert’s focus is on getting to know his players in the final two weeks before school finishes up. He want to develop personal relationships with them, so he can learn what “makes them tick.”
“I did pull a few aside during the relay,” Appert, who attended the Relay for Life with the hockey team, said. “The biggest thing right now is to get to know them as people. I’ll get to know them as hockey players next fall. I need to learn their mentality because that dictates how you are going to coach that kid, whether you can ride them or coddle them.”
The one thing Appert did notice in his first meeting with his new players was the spark in their eyes and the type of passion Appert wants to see in their hearts.
“I’m pretty pumped,” said senior Kirk MacDonald, who will be returning to the ice next season after sitting out this year with a medical redshirt. “He has a presence about him and is style of play is exciting. He doesn’t want us to just be robots out there.”
MacDonald admitted that motivation was a problem at times for the Engineers last season. RPI never had problems competing with the likes of Colgate and Cornell, but came out lackadaisical in games against Holy Cross, Princeton, and Quinnipiac.
That attitude, however, is already changing.
“You can already see the excitement in the guys,” MacDonald said. “The energy we need to be successful is here right now. We just have to find a way to maintain it through next season.”
And that is the million dollar question, one RPI hopes Appert has the answer to.
