Mike Hastings will be directing games from behind the UNO bench for this weekend's series against Quinnipiac.

Maybe it foreshadows the future of Maverick hockey. And maybe it doesn't.

Earlier this month, UNO coach Dean Blais told a group of North Dakota hockey boosters that he likely has three years of coaching left before Hastings succeeds him.

That plan, though, isn't written in ink. Or even in pencil.

"Dean is a pretty pragmatic guy," UNO Athletic Director Trev Alberts said. "He's got three years left on his contract, and that's the way he approaches it. But we haven't had any substantive conversations about what the future looks like. Certainly he's our coach, and we'd like him to be our coach for a long time.

"We haven't had any formal or informal discussions about what the succession plan might look like."

Hastings, UNO's associate head coach, is leading the program this week with Blais away coaching the United States team in the prestigious World Juniors tournament.

Hastings, a Minnesota native who spent 14 years coaching the Omaha Lancers juniors team, would like to eventually become a head coach. Whether it's UNO or elsewhere, he said, is really out of his control.

And he doesn't want to spend much time thinking about it because that would distract him from his current responsibilities.

"My job, in theory and in reality, is to make sure that Dean Blais coaches at UNO as long as he wants to," Hastings said. "I can't control the future. Hopefully, Dean will be here for a long time."

Blais, 60, is in his third season as UNO's head coach. His celebrated coaching career includes 10 seasons and three national championships at North Dakota.

Hastings, 45, followed his tenure as the Lancers' coach with one season as an assistant at Minnesota. He was a candidate to replace Mike Kemp as the UNO coach before the job went to Blais, and then Hastings was hired as Blais' top assistant.

Have Hastings and Blais discussed Hastings replacing him one day?

"I suppose about as many times as he's talked about firing me," Hastings said, laughing.

Alberts said it's too early to start considering what could happen at an unspecified date, whether it's three years from now or later. The topic is too open-ended.

"I'm not comfortable or interested in talking about something happening that far in the future," Alberts said. "There's no question we're thrilled to have Mike Hastings on our staff. We've always felt like we have two head coaches with Dean and Mike, and a third with Mike Kemp (now an associate athletic director) in our administration.

"Our commitment to hockey is substantial. But more important is the working relationship that Dean and Mike have, and I think it's pretty remarkable. The two of them are a great team."

Hastings enjoys Omaha, but doesn't rule out leaving. He interviewed at Michigan Tech last March and seems likely to have other chances in the future.

"In this profession, you don't get to dictate what happens next," he said. "I'm OK with focusing on being as good as I can be for UNO. If you start to worry about what happens down the road, you can get lost as a coach."

Hastings can afford to focus on UNO because it doesn't take long to find former Blais protégés in high-profile head coaching positions — Scott Sandelin of defending national champion and top-ranked Minnesota-Duluth, Dave Hakstol at North Dakota, Mark Osiecki at Ohio State.

"There's no doubt I want to be a head coach," Hastings said. "Dean is supportive of that. Trev is supportive of that. Mike Kemp is supportive of that. ... And if you look at the history of guys who have worked with Dean, there's no question that if you do your best for him, he'll do his best for you."

Whether or not Hastings one day takes over at UNO, there is no timetable.

"Dean and I talk nearly every day, and we haven't talked about retirement," Alberts said. "We've talked about winning a national championship."

Contact the writer:

402-444-1027, rob.white@owh.com

twitter.com/RWhiteOWH

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