Dean Blais

Dean Blais
Born	(1951-01-18) January 18, 1951 International Falls, MN, USA
Height	6 ft 1 in (185 cm)
Weight	185 lb (84 kg; 13 st 3 lb)
Position	Forward
Shot	Left
Played for	Dallas Black Hawks (CHL)
NHL Draft	68th overall, 1971 Chicago Blackhawks
Playing career	1973–1976

Dean Blais (born January 18, 1951) is an American ice hockey coach. He is currently the head coach of the Omaha Mavericks, the men's team of the University of Nebraska Omaha, and also head coach of the United States men's national junior ice hockey team. He led Team USA to a gold medal in the IIHF 2010 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships in Saskatoon, Canada, held in late December 2009 through early January 2010.

He is the former associate coach of the NHL's Columbus Blue Jackets. He led the University of North Dakota Fighting Sioux (now Fighting Hawks) men's hockey team to NCAA Division I championships in 1997 and 2000. Blais also has two other appearances in the Frozen Four, the semifinal round of the NCAA tournament—with North Dakota in 2001 (losing in the championship game) and Omaha in 2015 (losing in the semifinals). Blais also led the 1990 Roseau Rams to a Minnesota State Hockey Championship.

Playing career

A native of International Falls, Minnesota, Blais played college hockey at the University of Minnesota from 1970 to 1973. He was selected by the Chicago Blackhawks in the 5th round (68th overall) of the 1971 NHL Amateur Draft, and played three seasons of pro hockey with the Chicago Blackhawks’ development team in Dallas.

In popular culture

On March 10, 2009 and May 14, 2010, a photograph of Blais was shown on the Late Show with David Letterman for a segment called, "Guys who look like Dave."

Career

• 1976–1977 – University of Minnesota – Assistant Coach
• 1977–1980 – Minot High School (Minot, North Dakota) – Head Coach
• 1980–1989 – University of North Dakota – Assistant Coach
• 1990–1991 – Roseau High School (Roseau, Minnesota) – Head Coach
• 1991–1994 – International Falls High School (International Falls, Minnesota) – Head Coach
• 1994–2004 – University of North Dakota – Head Coach
• 2004–2006 – Columbus Blue Jackets (NHL) – Associate Coach
• 2006–2007 – Columbus Blue Jackets (NHL) – Player Development
• 2007–2009 – Fargo Force (USHL) – General Manager/Head Coach
• 2009–2010 – Team USA U20 – Head Coach
• 2009–present – University of Nebraska Omaha – Head Coach
• 2012–present – Team USA U20 – Head Coach

Head coaching record

Season	Team	Overall	Conference	Standing	Postseason
North Dakota (WCHA) (1994–2004)
1994–95	North Dakota	18–18–3
1995–96	North Dakota	19–18–1
1996–97	North Dakota	31–10–2
1997–98	North Dakota	30–8–1
1998–99	North Dakota	32–6–3
1999–2000	North Dakota	31–8–5
2000–01	North Dakota	29–8–9
2001–02	North Dakota	16–19–2
2002–03	North Dakota	26–12–5
2003–04	North Dakota	30–8–3
North Dakota:		262–115–34
Omaha (CCHA) (2009–2010)
2009–10	Omaha	20–16–6	13–12–3–2	6th
Omaha (WCHA) (2010–2013)
2010–11	Omaha	21–16–2	17–9–2	3rd	NCAA First Round
2011–12	Omaha	14–18–6	11–12–5	9th
2012–13	Omaha	19–18–2	14–12–2	7th
Omaha (NCHC) (2013–present)
2013–14	Omaha	17–18–2	13–9–2–1	3rd
2014–15	Omaha	20–13–6	12–8–4–3	3rd	NCAA Frozen Four
Omaha:		111–99–24
Total:		373–214–58
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

Awards and honors

Award	Year
All-NCAA All-Tournament Team	1971

External links

• Dean Blais's career statistics at EliteProspects.com
• Dean Blais's career statistics at The Internet Hockey Database

Awards and achievements
Preceded by Bruce Crowder Joe Marsh	Spencer Penrose Award 1996–97 2000–01	Succeeded by Tim Taylor Tim Whitehead
Preceded by Don Lucia Craig Dahl Don Brose George Gwozdecky	WCHA Coach of the Year 1996–97 1998–99 2000–01 2010–11	Succeeded by Craig Dahl Don Brose George Gwozdecky Mel Pearson
Preceded by first	Fargo Force Head Coach 2007–2009	Succeeded by Steve Johnson