BIG RAPIDS, Mich. — Ferris State has a rich tradition within their men’s hockey program, that is thanks in large part to their skipper, Bob Daniels, who has been at the helm of the Bulldogs team for over 30 years and recently hit a milestone moment.
Earlier this season, Ferris State head hockey coach Bob Daniels notched his 500th career win with the Bulldogs. He remembers his first like it was yesterday.
“My first daughter, my first child, was born the day before. So yeah, my wife was in labor for 36 hours and I had no sleep. I just rolled over here and got on the bench and yeah,” said Daniels.
That was back in 1994. Now in this 34th year with Ferris, he says that his ability to connect with young men has been what’s kept him coming back.
“I love coming to the rink and working with young adults. I absolutely love it. I really enjoy watching them grow up. Watching them mature,” said Daniels.
For captains Travis Shoudy and Nico DeVita, his flexibility in letting the guys play their own style on the ice is one of their favorite reasons to play for Bob.
“He kinda gives us a little script and lets us going out there and play. And lets us play within our style and within our structure. And that really allows people to, not everybody’s the same. But it really allows people to play yo their strengths and really get the most out of each player,” said Shoudy.
“He’ll give us a little freedom within that to play hockey. Because basically at the end of the day we’re just playing the game that we’ve all played since we were little kids,” said DeVita.
Daniels now ranks 6th in most wins among active coaches. He’s the winningest coach in Big Rapids and while he has no intentions of retiring any time soon, he does have some goals for this season and beyond.
“We did start off slow, we’re gaining quite a bit of momentum now. I’d like to see us finish in the upper division of our league. And get home ice through round one, if not two rounds. And I’d like to see us win our conference title before my time is up so I’d love to win the playoffs this year,” said Bob.
Bob and the Bulldogs are off for the holiday week but will travel to Milwaukee for the Kwik Trip Tournament starting with a 6pm tip off against Wisconsin on Friday night.
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