Walt Kyle | |
Played For: | NCAA Boston College Eagles Northern Michigan Wildcats |
Position: | Center |
Height Ft: | 5 |
Height In: | 9 |
Weight Lb: | 179 |
Birth Date: | 11 June 1956 |
Birth Place: | Waterloo, Iowa, U.S. |
Wha Draft: | 206th overall |
Wha Draft Year: | 1974 |
Career Start: | 1976 |
Career End: | 1981 |
Alma Mater: | Boston College Northern Michigan University |
Player Years1: | 1973-1974 |
Player Team1: | Waterloo Black Hawks |
Player Years2: | 1974-1976 |
Player Team2: | Austin Mavericks |
Player Years3: | 1976-1978 |
Player Team3: | Boston College |
Player Years4: | 1978-1979 |
Player Team4: | Waterloo Black Hawks |
Player Years5: | 1979-1981 |
Player Team5: | Northern Michigan |
Player Positions: | Center |
Coach Years1: | 1981-1982 |
Coach Team1: | Northern Michigan (graduate assistant) |
Coach Years2: | 1982-1992 |
Coach Team2: | Northern Michigan (assistant) |
Coach Years3: | 1991 |
Coach Team3: | USA U20 Team (assistant) |
Coach Years4: | 1992-1993 |
Coach Team4: | USA U20 Team |
Coach Years5: | 1992-1994 |
Coach Team5: | Seattle Thunderbirds |
Coach Years6: | 1993 |
Coach Team6: | Team USA (assistant) |
Coach Years7: | 1994-1995 |
Coach Team7: | San Diego Gulls |
Coach Years8: | 1995-1996 |
Coach Team8: | Baltimore Bandits |
Coach Years9: | 1996-1998 |
Coach Team9: | Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (assistant) |
Coach Years10: | 1998-2000 |
Coach Team10: | Hamilton Bulldogs |
Coach Years11: | 2000-2002 |
Coach Team11: | New York Rangers (assistant) |
Coach Years12: | 2001 |
Coach Team12: | Team USA (assistant) |
Coach Years13: | 2002-2017 |
Coach Team13: | Northern Michigan |
Coach Years14: | 2006 |
Coach Team14: | USA U20 Team |
Overall Record: | 265–263–68 (college) |
Tournament Record: | 0–1 |
Walt Kyle (born June 11, 1956) is an American ice hockey coach. He is the former head coach of the Northern Michigan Wildcats, a position he held from June 2002 to March 2017.[1]
Kyle started his college career with Boston College, spending two seasons with the program before leaving after the Eagles lost the 1978 title game. He spent a year in the USHL while transferring to Northern Michigan and once he got back into the college ranks he found himself a runner-up for a second time in 1980.
After finishing his eligibility in 1981 Kyle turned to coaching with his alma mater first as a graduate assistant and then a full-time assistant. In the early 1990s Kyle started working as a coach for USA Hockey as both an assistant and head coach for the World Junior Team. While coaching the national program Kyle left his position at Northern Michigan to become a head coach, first for the Seattle Thunderbirds in 1992. Kyle was an assistant coach, under Ron Wilson, for Team USA at the 1994 Men's World Ice Hockey Championships held in Bolzano, Italy.[2] By the late '90s Kyle worked his way up to the NHL as an assistant with both the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim and New York Rangers sandwiched around a short stint with the Hamilton Bulldogs.
In 2002 Rick Comley, the only coach the program at Northern Michigan ever had, left the university.[3] A few months later Walt Kyle returned to Marquette, Michigan to become the second head coach for the team.[4] Kyle's early results with the Wildcats were good, winning 20+ games in each of his first four seasons, but over the course of his 15-year tenure the club slowly declined both in the standings and in relevance. Kyle was never able to win either a conference or tournament title in his time behind the bench and only made one NCAA tournament appearance in 2010.
Towards the end of his time with Northern Michigan Kyle got into trouble off the ice. He was put on administrative leave in January 2015[5] and just over two years later he was arrested on fraud charges.[6] While prosecutors ultimately dismissed the charges[7] the rumors surrounding the charge contributed to his firing at the end of the 2017 season.[8]