Momentum Building Around One Candidate in Gophers Men's Hockey Coaching Search

Gophers men's hockey parted ways with longtime head coach Bob Motzko on Wednesday, and Augustana head coach Garrett Raboin continues to be mentioned among the top candidates for the job. There are numerous reasons why a return to Minnesota could make sense for Raboin, and things could move fast.

Raboin is a native of Detroit Lakes, Minnesota, and he played four seasons of college hockey at St. Cloud State for Motzko from 2006 to 2010. He played professionally for two years in Europe before quickly returning to the Huskies as an assistant coach on Motzko's staff from 2012 to 2018.

Raboin followed Motzko to the Twin Cities, and he was an assistant for the Gophers from 2018 to 2022. He played a key role in recruiting the core of the 2023 national runner-up team that was led by future NHL stars Brock Faber, Logan Cooley, Matthew Knies, Jimmy Snuggerud, and Jackson Lacombe, among others.

Augustana University, located in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, officially introduced a Division I men's hockey program for the 2023 season, and Raboin was hired as their first head coach. He has quickly turned the Vikings into a competitive program in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA). They went 12-18-4 in their first season, 18-13-4 in 2024-25, and they're now firmly on the NCAA Tournament bubble this season with a 22-11-4 record.

Heading into this weekend with numerous conference championships, Augustana is No. 16 in the NCAA Percentage Index, which means it could be on the outside looking in for an at-large birth to the NCAA Tournament. They would need a few results to bounce their way across the country, but their postseason outlook could obviously impact Raboin's immediate availability as a head coaching candidate.

Raboin will turn 41 years old at the end of the month, and he makes a ton of sense to be the next head coach of the Gophers. He's young, he has head coaching experience, he's familiar with the program, and there's a good chance he'd be able to keep the majority of their roster and incoming recruits with the program through the coaching change.

If Augustana doesn't make the NCAA Tournament, Minnesota could move fast on a hire. Especially if they've identified Raboin as their guy.

With a younger head coach, the Gophers could get creative with the coaching staff around him. Former NHL veteran and Moorhead High School assistant Matt Cullen could maybe be a candidate to be the program's first general manager. Raboin could also help the Gophers retain Ben Gordon and Paul Martin as a top assistants.

Other candidates

Source: Lotta noise about the Gophers’ search for a new men’s hockey HC. I can confirm they’ve narrowed their search to 3 or 4 candidates, and interviews will continue throughout the weekend.

Conference championships this weekend, and the bracket on Sunday will impact the…
— Tony Liebert (@TonyLiebert) March 20, 2026

If Minnesota wants to make a long-shot run at Western Michigan head coach Pat Ferschweiler, he might not be available until mid-April. The Broncos are a lock to make the NCAA Tournament, and they could be a top-four seed.

If they continue to move down the list, Ben Barr will not be going to the NCAA Tournament as the head coach of Maine this season. Two more potential candidates are Reid Cashman at Darmouth and Nate Leaman at Providence, who are both expected to lead their teams into the postseason.

With the amount of talent currently on the roster, along with incoming recruits, it makes sense that Minnesota will move fast in its search. There's plenty of momentum building with Raboin, but some dominoes still have to fall. Saint Cloud State's Brett Larson and former Gophers star Grant Potulny are two other names to keep an eye on.

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