Following two seasons as an assistant coach at the University of Michigan, Kris Mayotte will get his first head coaching opportunity.
At just 38, Mayotte will continue his quick rise through the coaching ranks and take over at Colorado College, where he will be one of the youngest head coaches in the sport.
“I am honored and humbled to become the next head coach at Colorado College and continue the historic tradition of Tiger Hockey,” Mayotte said in a statement. “I am energized by all that CC has to offer and the vision for the program and look forward to being a visible leader on the campus and in the community. The addition of Robson Arena is a game changer and we have all of the pieces in place to build a championship program. I look forward to continuing the high standard of excellence, on and off the ice, at Colorado College.”
Mayotte has all the tools to be a successful head coach, but he will have his work cut out for him. The Tigers are coming off an abysmal 4-17-2 season and fired their coach on March 20. Mayotte will have to rebuild this program from the ground up, and it won’t be easy playing in the National Collegiate Hockey Conference. The NCHC features the likes of North Dakota, Minnesota Duluth and St. Cloud State University — the latter two of the group made the Frozen Four this year.
After playing goalie in college, Mayotte’s coaching specialties have focused around defense and penalty kill. This season, he guided Michigan to the number one scoring defense in the Big Ten — allowing just 1.96 goals per game.
Mayotte also played a crucial role in recruiting for the Wolverines. He helped put together Michigan’s stud recruiting class this past season and was primarily responsible for bringing freshman forward Matty Beniers to Ann Arbor.
Prior to coaching for the Wolverines, Mayotte served on the coaching staff for Providence College for four years and was part of the 2015 team that won a National Championship. In addition to coaching in the collegiate ranks, Mayotte served as an assistant coach for the U.S. National Junior Team this past winter and won a gold medal.
Mayotte will hope to bring his winning ways to Colorado College, a program that hasn’t been to the NCAA tournament since 2011 and hasn’t won a championship since 1957.