Walt Kyle
Born (1956-06-11) June 11, 1956
Waterloo, Iowa, U.S.
Height 5 ft 9 in (175 cm)
Weight 179 lb (81 kg; 12 st 11 lb)
Position Center
Played for NCAA
Boston College Eagles
Northern Michigan Wildcats
WHA Draft 206th overall, 1974
Vancouver Blazers
Playing career 1976–1981
Biographical details
Alma materBoston College
Northern Michigan University
Playing career
1973-1974Waterloo Black Hawks
1974-1976Austin Mavericks
1976-1978Boston College
1978-1979Waterloo Black Hawks
1979-1981Northern Michigan
Position(s)Center
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1981-1982Northern Michigan (graduate assistant)
1982-1992Northern Michigan (assistant)
1991USA U20 Team (assistant)
1992-1993USA U20 Team
1992-1994Seattle Thunderbirds
1993Team USA (assistant)
1994-1995San Diego Gulls
1995-1996Baltimore Bandits
1996-1998Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (assistant)
1998-2000Hamilton Bulldogs
2000-2002New York Rangers (assistant)
2001Team USA (assistant)
2002-2017Northern Michigan
2006USA U20 Team
Head coaching record
Overall265–263–68 (.502) (college)
Tournaments0–1 (.000)

Walt Kyle (born June 11, 1956) is an American ice hockey coach. He is the former head coach of the Northern Michigan Wildcats, a position he held from June 2002 to March 2017.[1]

Career

Kyle started his college career with Boston College, spending two seasons with the program before leaving after the Eagles lost the 1978 title game. He spent a year in the USHL while transferring to Northern Michigan and once he got back into the college ranks he found himself a runner-up for a second time in 1980.

After finishing his eligibility in 1981 Kyle turned to coaching with his alma mater first as a graduate assistant and then a full-time assistant. In the early 1990s Kyle started working as a coach for USA Hockey as both an assistant and head coach for the World Junior Team. While coaching the national program Kyle left his position at Northern Michigan to become a head coach, first for the Seattle Thunderbirds in 1992. Kyle was an assistant coach, under Ron Wilson, for Team USA at the 1994 Men's World Ice Hockey Championships held in Bolzano, Italy.[2] By the late '90s Kyle worked his way up to the NHL as an assistant with both the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim and New York Rangers sandwiched around a short stint with the Hamilton Bulldogs.

In 2002 Rick Comley, the only coach the program at Northern Michigan ever had, left the university.[3] A few months later Walt Kyle returned to Marquette, Michigan to become the second head coach for the team.[4] Kyle's early results with the Wildcats were good, winning 20+ games in each of his first four seasons, but over the course of his 15-year tenure the club slowly declined both in the standings and in relevance. Kyle was never able to win either a conference or tournament title in his time behind the bench and only made one NCAA tournament appearance in 2010.

Towards the end of his time with Northern Michigan Kyle got into trouble off the ice. He was put on administrative leave in January 2015[5] and just over two years later he was arrested on fraud charges.[6] While prosecutors ultimately dismissed the charges[7] the rumors surrounding the charge contributed to his firing at the end of the 2017 season.[8]

Head coaching record

College

Statistics overview
Season Team Overall Conference Standing Postseason
Northern Michigan Wildcats (CCHA) (2002–2013)
2002–03 Northern Michigan 22–17–214–13–1t-5thCCHA third-place game (win)
2003–04 Northern Michigan 21–16–413–13–27thCCHA third-place game (loss)
2004–05 Northern Michigan 22–11–717–7–43rdCCHA Quarterfinals
2005–06 Northern Michigan 22–16–214–12–2t-4thCCHA third-place game (loss)
2006–07 Northern Michigan 15–24–210–17–110thCCHA Quarterfinals
2007–08 Northern Michigan 20–20–412–13–36thCCHA third-place game (win)
2008–09 Northern Michigan 19–17–511–12–5–36thCCHA third-place game (win)
2009–10 Northern Michigan 20–13–813–9–6–34thNCAA West regional semifinals
2010–11 Northern Michigan 15–19–512–13–3–06thCCHA first round
2011–12 Northern Michigan 17–14–611–11–6–36thCCHA first round
2012–13 Northern Michigan 15–19–49–15–4–110thCCHA first round
Northern Michigan: 208–186–49136–135–37
Northern Michigan Wildcats (WCHA) (2013–2017)
2013–14 Northern Michigan 15–21–213–14–17thWCHA first round
2014–15 Northern Michigan 14–18–611–13–47thWCHA first round
2015–16 Northern Michigan 15–16–712–11–55thWCHA first round
2016–17 Northern Michigan 13–22–410–15–3–18thWCHA first round
Northern Michigan: 57–77–1946–53–13
Total:265–263–68

      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

References

  1. ↑ "Walt Kyle Year-by-Year Coaching Record". USCHO.com. Retrieved July 1, 2017.
  2. ↑ "Walt Kyle - Northern Michigan University". www.nmuwildcats.com. Archived from the original on April 2, 2015.
  3. ↑ "Comley Named New MSU Coach". USCHO.com. March 24, 2002. Retrieved July 1, 2017.
  4. ↑ "Kyle Named New NMU Coach". USCHO.com. June 13, 2002. Retrieved July 1, 2017.
  5. ↑ "Northern Michigan puts Kyle on administrative leave; assistants to take charge". USCHO.com. January 21, 2015. Retrieved July 1, 2017.
  6. ↑ "Former Northern Michigan coach Kyle arrested on fraud charges". USCHO.com. March 12, 2017. Retrieved July 1, 2017.
  7. ↑ Pietila, Alissa (April 13, 2017). "Prosecutor dismisses charges against Walt Kyle". Upper Michigans Source. Negaunee, MI: WLUC-TV. Retrieved July 1, 2017.
  8. ↑ "Kyle out after 15 years as Northern Michigan head coach". USCHO.com. March 10, 2017. Retrieved July 1, 2017.
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