Dean Charles Blais (born January 18, 1951) is an American

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice h ...

coach. He was the head coach of the

Omaha Mavericks The Omaha Mavericks are the sports teams of the University of Nebraska Omaha. They participate in the NCAA's Division I and in The Summit League, except in ice hockey, where they compete in the National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC). Hist ...

, the men's team of the

University of Nebraska Omaha The University of Nebraska Omaha (Omaha or UNO) is a public research university in Omaha, Nebraska. Founded in 1908 by faculty from the Omaha Presbyterian Theological Seminary as a private non-sectarian college, the university was originally kno ...

, and also head coach of the

United States men's national junior ice hockey team The United States men's national junior ice hockey team represents the United States at the IIHF World U20 Championship. The team has won 5 world junior championships (2004, 2010, 2013, 2017, 2021). Many talented NHL prospects, such as John Ca ...

. He led Team USA to a gold medal in the

IIHF The International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF; french: Fédération internationale de hockey sur glace; german: Internationale Eishockey-Föderation) is a worldwide governing body for ice hockey. It is based in Zurich, Switzerland, and has 83 m ...

2010 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships The 2010 World Junior Hockey Championships (''2010 WJHC''), was the 34th edition of Ice Hockey World Junior Championship. The tournament was hosted by Saskatoon and Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada, from December 26, 2009, to January 5, 2010. Saskat ...

Saskatoon Saskatoon () is the largest city in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It straddles a bend in the South Saskatchewan River in the central region of the province. It is located along the Trans-Canada Yellowhead Highway, and has served as th ...

, Canada, held in late December 2009 through early January 2010. He is the former associate coach of the

NHL The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

Columbus Blue Jackets The Columbus Blue Jackets (often simply referred to as the Jackets) are a professional ice hockey team based in Columbus, Ohio. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference ...

. He led the

University of North Dakota The University of North Dakota (also known as UND or North Dakota) is a public research university in Grand Forks, North Dakota. It was established by the Dakota Territorial Assembly in 1883, six years before the establishment of the state of N ...

Fighting Sioux (

now Now most commonly refers to the present time. Now, NOW, or The Now may also refer to: Organizations * Natal Organisation of Women, a South African women's organization * National Organization for Women, an American feminist organization * 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 High School Hockey Championship.

Playing career

A native of

International Falls International Falls (sometimes referred to as I-Falls) is a city in and the county seat of Koochiching County, Minnesota. The population was 5,802 at the time of the 2020 census. International Falls is located on the Rainy River directly acro ...

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

, Blais played college hockey at the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public land-grant research university in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States. ...

from 1970 to 1973. He was selected by the

Chicago Blackhawks The Chicago Blackhawks (spelled Black Hawks until 1986, and known colloquially as the Hawks) are a professional ice hockey team based in Chicago. The Blackhawks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division i ...

in the 5th round (68th overall) of the

1971 NHL Amateur Draft The 1971 NHL Amateur Draft was the ninth NHL Entry Draft. It was held on June 10, 1971, at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal, Quebec. The last active player in the NHL from this draft class was Larry Robinson, who retired after the 1991� ...

, and played three seasons of pro hockey with the

’ development team in

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

. He also played for the United States national team at the 1973 ice hockey world championship pool B tournament.

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 –

– Assistant Coach *1977–1980 – Minot High School (

Minot Minot ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Ward County, North Dakota, United States, in the state's north-central region. It is most widely known for the Air Force base approximately north of the city. With a population of 48,377 at the 20 ...

North Dakota North Dakota () is a U.S. state in the Upper Midwest, named after the indigenous Dakota Sioux. North Dakota is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north and by the U.S. states of Minnesota to the east, So ...

) – Head Coach *1980–1989 –

– Assistant Coach *1990–1991 –

Roseau High School Roseau High School is a public high school in Roseau, Minnesota, United States serving students from grades 7 through 12. It is part of Roseau Community Schools, Minnesota ISD 682. The school's hockey program has matriculated several NHL and Olym ...

(

Roseau, Minnesota Roseau () (pronounced row - so) is a city in, and the county seat of, Roseau County, Minnesota. Its population was 2,744 at the time of the 2020 census. History A post office called Roseau has been in operation since 1895. The city took its na ...

) – Head Coach *1991–1994 – International Falls High School ( International Falls, Minnesota) – Head Coach *1994–2004 –

– Head Coach *2004–2006 –

(NHL) – Associate Coach *2006–2007 –

(NHL) – Player Development *2007–2009 –

Fargo Force The Fargo Force is a Tier I junior ice hockey team in the Western Conference of the United States Hockey League (USHL). The Force have won one league championship in 2018 and was awarded USHL Organization of the Year for 2008–09 and 2012–13. ...

(USHL) – General Manager/Head Coach *2009–2010 – Team USA U20 – Head Coach *2009–2017 –

– Head Coach *2012–present – Team USA U20 – Head Coach *1991-1992 - Assistant coach Olympic men’s ice hockey team

Head coaching record

Awards and honors

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Blais, Dean 1951 births Living people American ice hockey coaches Chicago Blackhawks draft picks Columbus Blue Jackets coaches Dallas Black Hawks players High school ice hockey coaches in the United States Minnesota Golden Gophers men's ice hockey players North Dakota Fighting Hawks men's ice hockey coaches Omaha Mavericks men's ice hockey coaches People from International Falls, Minnesota American men's ice hockey forwards Ice hockey coaches from Minnesota Ice hockey players from Minnesota