USA! USA! What we learned from all the things Dave Hakstol has 'liked' on Twitter
Dave Hakstol is on Twitter, and he's liked a bunch of tweets, so we learned some stuff.
For a few months now, we've suspected that this Dave Hakstol Twitter account is really, actually Flyers head coach Dave Hakstol. But there was no way to know for sure.
On Monday, however the Flyers retweeted a tribute from that account -- it was Hakstol honoring WCHA referee Butch Mousseau, who tragically passed away this weekend after falling on the ice during warmups of a game a few weeks back.
It is a privilege to have called Butch a friend. He was one of those rare people who have an impact on everyone he meets.
— dave hakstol (@hakstol2) March 28, 2016
We need to continue supporting Butch's family. He would it for each of us.
— dave hakstol (@hakstol2) March 28, 2016
Donate: https://t.co/y7qBXqI22m or https://t.co/OTE7RscxFs
#ButchStrong #Sioux @UNDHockey #Flyers #NHL #NCHC
— dave hakstol (@hakstol2) March 28, 2016
You should absolutely donate to that cause if you are able. By all accounts, Mousseau was a fantastic person and a wonderful member of the college hockey family.
On a much lighter note, though -- apologies for the awkward shift in mood here -- the Flyers' retweet of that account means we now that we know this is Hakstol's account, so we took a peek at the tweets he's liked. There's a lot to unpack in here.
Maybe he likes the USA more than his birth country?
Hakstol is a dual citizen of the United States and Canada. He's spent his entire hockey career in the States, though, from the time he was a player at the University of North Dakota through his coaching tenure there to his current job in Philadelphia. Back in November, he was quoted as being firmly on the fence on his national identity:
Not usually one to spark laughter in interviews, here’s Flyers coach Dave Hakstol, noting he’s a dual Canadian-American citizen, when asked if he planned to hold a team practice on our Thanksgiving Day: "I’m like 51 percent–49 percent, but I just can’t decide which is which. I guess it depends which country wins the gold medal."
But in March 2014, on the day the United States and Canada faced off in the semifinals of the Paralympic sled hockey tournament, he liked this tweet from ESPN's John Buccigross:
"@USAHockeyScores: There is no doubt that the Russian fans in attendance are rooting for Canada."---Screw 'em
— John Buccigross (@Buccigross) March 13, 2014
Hmm. Maybe Hakstol is as red blooded and American as the rest of us.
He really, really loves the North Dakota Fighting Sioux
... and yes, we say the Fighting Sioux instead of Fighting Hawks because despite the NCAA-mandated name change, it's evident that Hakstol -- like most North Dakota hockey people -- is a fervent supporter of the old name.
More than anything though, he's still really invested in his old team and the college game in general. Here are some tweets he's liked:
@SchlossmanGF @UofHockeyBlog @TheREA @chnews @hakstol2 Go Fighting Sioux !!! Loving Cincinnati pic.twitter.com/xLj9mv2pHd
— james hanley (@jmtljhanley) March 28, 2016
Took a semi-deep dive into @GopherHockey recruiting, and the changing #mshsl hockey scene. https://t.co/TCT0vW03yL
— Jess Myers (@JessRMyers) November 23, 2015
Yeah, baby! Sam Roscoe (https://t.co/BAr27594aS…) and Nick Schmaltz (pic.twitter.com/DANu45Siu7) BOTH make tonight's ESPN #SCtop10! #UNDproud
— Jayson Hajdu (@UNDSID) March 5, 2016
Amazing. https://t.co/SP4UJujSdx
— Brad E. Schlossman (@SchlossmanGF) November 30, 2015
(That really is amazing facial hair.)
Catch up on all you rmissed from our standout Conference Tournament coverage ... https://t.co/OPeRwJ20Mb
— College Hockey News (@chnews) March 21, 2016
About half of the tweets he's liked are about college hockey -- North Dakota or otherwise. Can't blame him for keeping an eye on the team that's both his alma mater and the one he coached for a decade. And hey, I personally know this all too well ... when you catch the college hockey bug, there's no going back. You're a fan for life.
(PS -- sorry, Dave. That national title belongs to Quinnipiac this year, not North Dakota.)
He doesn't like the new NHL website either
New @NHL website is awful. Scores page is WAY too bulky & the home page has so many ads you'd think it was a mock-up of a Euro league uni.
— Sioux Tradition (@SiouxTradition) February 4, 2016
Preach, brother.
He's interested in Andrew Ladd / Dustin Byfuglien trade rumors (?!?!?)
Quiet. https://t.co/6EYCaq0cdC
— Darren Dreger (@DarrenDreger) January 13, 2016
He reads SB Nation! (... even if it's our Caps blog, ugh)
This gentleman is good at writing about hockey. https://t.co/pcvbICDjQK
— Japers' Rink (@JapersRink) November 19, 2015
Also: strongly agree with both Dave and Japers' Rink that Craig Custance is a good hockey writer. One of the best.
He apparently gets his own goalie news from Twitter
Goalie matchup in Philly looks to be Mason v Holtby, based on morning skates
— Mike Morreale (@mikemorrealeNHL) November 12, 2015
HELL YEAH THE FLYERS ARE ONLY TWO POINTS OUT, COACH
All of a sudden, PHI is two points out
— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) March 8, 2016
Anyway, go follow Dave Hakstol on Twitter. He's the coach of the damn Philadelphia Flyers and he only has 2,119 followers. That ain't right.