Michigan State hockey hires Jared DeMichiel away from UMass to be associate head coach

New Michigan State hockey coach Adam Nightingale has made his first hire.

Jared DeMichiel, the former associate head coach at the University of Massachusetts, has joined the MSU program.

DeMichiel, 37, who will be Nightingale's associate head coach, had been on the UMass staff since 2016 where he helped rebuild the Minutemen from a 5-29-2 record in 2016-17 to their first Frozen Four appearance in 2019 and their first national championship in 2021. During his time there, UMass also won Hockey East tournament titles in 2021-22.

“Jared DeMichiel has shown that he can help rebuild a program not only into a national title contender, but to a national champion and perennial power,” Nightingale said in a press release. “His ability to recruit and develop players is a perfect fit for MSU. The players that he has recruited and developed have received multiple national awards along with moving on to the National Hockey League.

"As impressive as his resume is, it’s the person he is that we are most excited about adding to our staff. We look forward to him helping restore our great program to prominence as he has done in his time with UMass.”

In DeMichiel's six years, UMass had five All-America selections, 11 NHL draft picks, two Hobey Baker Award finalists and one Hobey Baker winner -- now Colorado Avalanche star defenseman Cale Makar in 2019.

“I’m excited and thankful for the opportunity to work with Adam Nightingale at Michigan State University,” said DeMichiel in the release. “Adam thoroughly impressed me with our conversations and his vision for the future of Spartan hockey. His passion for MSU runs deep and I’m honored to join him.

"There’s a championship history at MSU as well as players moving on to NHL success that I am privileged and enthusiastic to be a part of. We understand it’s a process, but our goals are to add to the history of NCAA success while moving our student-athletes on to the NHL."

DeMichiel, a goaltender as a player at Rochester Institute of Technology, had previous coaching stops at Nazareth College (2011-14) and St. Lawrence (2014-16)

Nightingale took the reins as Michigan State head coach on May 3, replacing Danton Cole, who was let go after five seasons.

This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Michigan State hockey: Hires UMass' Jared DeMichiel as top assistant