The Philadelphia Flyers have interviewed their first candidate for their vacant head coaching position, and it was the man who just led Western Michigan to a National Championship.
55-year-old Pat Ferschweiler presents one of the more intriguing options out there in the hunt for the next bench boss. He coached WMU to a 104-50-26 record over the last four years, which culminated in a 34-7-1 season in 2024-25 and a NCAA National Championship win over Boston University.
Naturally, when Flyers fans hear about the possibility of hiring a college coach, they want to compare him to Dave Hakstol. The problem with that comparison is they’re not actually great comparables at all.
Dave Hakstol did have more collegiate experience than Ferschweiler, nearly 300 more games worth to be specific, but Hakstol never led his North Dakota program to a national championship. But more importantly, Hakstol did not have any professional coaching experience. Ferschweiler does.
He served as an assistant coaching at both the AHL and NHL level within the Red Wings organization as he was a favorite wingman for Jeff Blashill, whom he had worked under as an assistant at Western Michigan in the early 2010’s.
So the college-level success mixed with the fact that he got his feet wet at the professional level is a very interesting combination. That level of professional experience that is comforting, but fresh enough and possesses enough theoretical upside that he could be exactly what the Flyers are looking for. It’s not some random re-tread that hasn’t done a single thing at the NHL level (cough, Rick Tocchet, cough) and not a completely fresh face like Dave Hakstol.
Even in the grand scheme of things, that’d be the negative about someone like David Carle. He’s building quite the résumé at the lower levels, but he doesn’t have any NHL or AHL experience yet. Getting the most out of stacked collegiate and national teams is great and all, but it doesn’t guarantee a perfect transition.
At least Ferschweiler has a general idea about what he’s getting himself into with the demands of the NHL lifestyle if he takes the Flyers’ HC gig.
And of course there’s a connection to the front office as Keith Jones and Ferschweiler were teammates 35 years ago. There can be a bit of a sour reaction to something like that. But it’s hockey. There’s six degrees of separation between every last player, coach or front office member, so it may not be anything more than a coincidence… but it’s also the Flyers. Based on their recent hiring patterns, it may be exclusively for that reason and nothing to do with his national championship victory.
Mike Sullivan, who was the crème de la crème of potential hires is already off the table. Based on early rumors it doesn’t sound like the Flyers are contenders for David Carle. Taking the two big fish off the board leaves them with a pretty shallow pool of standout candidates to work with. Rick Tocchet’s name has been thrown around after he parted ways with the Canucks, but adding John Tortorella lite after firing the real John Tortorella based on nothing more than the fact he played for the organization in the 80’s just isn’t a popular or smart move right now.
Pat Ferschweiler should be given serious consideration by the Flyers. He’s not a re-tread and he’s not lacking tangible success, he provides something completely new. He won at the collegiate level lifting a team that is generally in the good-not-great category to a title, and the fact the has a stint at both the AHL and NHL level should mean he’s a bit more prepared for the intricacies of the NHL than most collegiate coaches.
That is a rather sexy combination in a field of tired options who haven’t won anything. It really is the best of both worlds when it comes to what you could expect of a candidate right now. So Danny Briere, please resist the urge to put another washed up former Flyer behind the bench and put your eggs in the basket of Pat Ferschweiler. You *probably* won’t regret it.
By: Dan Esche (@DanTheFlyeraFan)
photo credit: Western Michigan University
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