A day after Miami head coach Anthony Noreen told ESPN Tri-Cities he would transition into a partial-ownership role with his former USHL team, he said it’s now unlikely he will be able to accept that title with Tri-City.
“That’s something that they graciously offered, (but) I don’t think, now going through things, that it’s going to be able to work,” Noreen said. “It was more just a gesture on (Tri-City’s) part. Obviously I’m grateful for them offering it, but it doesn’t look like it’s going to work out from a compliance/university/NCAA end.”
Regardless of Noreen’s level of involvement with Tri-City following his full-time move to Miami, he said the rate of commits secured from his former team won’t necessarily increase.
“It’s not going to be a Tri-City thing, it’s going to be a USHL thing, and I like to believe those trusting relationships I’ve built — whether coaching with those guys at times or getting to know people through GMs’ meeting or coaches’ meetings or things like that — they’re going to know that if they send us a player, he’s going to be in good hands,” Noreen said.
A number of fans and alumni expressed trepidation about Noreen even completing the season as head coach of Tri-City. Those concerns augmented when he told ESPN Tri-Cities he was shifting into an ownership position on Thursday, meaning he would potentially commit more of his off-season focus on his former program.
“Today is my first official day of employment (with Miami), and I can tell you that my phone has not left my hand since 5:30 a.m., and it probably won’t leave my hand until the last call I can make of the night,” Noreen said on Friday. “I am fully two-feet in could not be any more all-in at Miami, and I was incredibly lucky these past weeks that I had an unbelievable staff…in Tri-City that really picked up a lot of the slack while I was going through the transition and wearing multiple hats at the same time. I told (my staff), listen: I’m going to give you guys everything I have, but I’ve got to do right by Miami as well, and I’ve got to be all-in on that at the same time.”
“Anyone who knows the way I work, it’s two-feet in, full-steam ahead, and exciting things, exciting stuff going on (with) recruiting, exciting stuff going on with getting a staff together — I’ve never been more fired up.”
Noreen said typically the most depressing week of the year is when the team he is coaching is eliminated from the postseason.
“But to be able to get up today, and it’s like ‘let’s go’, now it’s Miami, and it’s building these things,” Noreen said. “(Now), really there’s nothing else to worry about other than Miami hockey. It’s been awesome, and my fire has never been stronger than it is to get this thing going.”
Next on Noreen’s checklist is acquiring assistant coaches, and Troy Thibodeau — a Dartmouth assistant who coached under Noreen for three years at Tri-City — is supposedly in the running, although Noreen wouldn’t comment on that.
“I can just tell you this: When the staff comes together, it’s going to be extremely clear what the direction Miami hockey — from a staff perspective — is going,” Noreen said. “We’re going to be out (recruiting), they’re going to be present, they’re going to have (juniors) relationships, and we will not be outworked. I’m going to tell you that right now. And we are going to be in the fight for all the top players. We’ve had some guys on campus already and we’ve got a busy couple of weeks. Once we get through the (NCAA) convention, there’s a lot of guys coming in on visits that we’re really excited about that we think are marquee players that we think we’re going to build this program around. And listen: We’re also really excited about some of the guys that are already sitting in that room and that maybe we think we can get some more out of.”
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