The Blackhawks are one of a handful of teams looking to find their next head coach. Among their perceived top candidates was Denver University bench boss David Carle. However, they’ll have to turn their sights elsewhere as Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports (Twitter link) that Carle has withdrawn from consideration for the position, adding that Chicago made an aggressive pursuit for his services.
The 35-year-old has been a mainstay at Denver since his playing days unexpectedly came to an end when he was diagnosed with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy just before his draft year. The school honored his scholarship offer and he worked with the team as a graduate assistant coach for four years before he moved to the USHL, joining Green Bay as an assistant coach.
That only lasted parts of two seasons before Carle rejoined Denver in 2014 where he has been ever since. He was an assistant with them until the 2018-19 when he took over as their head coach and his stock has been on the rise since then.
During his time with the Pioneers, Carle has three NCHC titles along with a pair of NCAA championships. Internationally, he led Team USA to gold medals in each of the last two years. With nothing left to prove at the collegiate level, Carle has been a speculative candidate for pretty much every coaching search thus far.
It’s unclear as to why Carle pulled his name out of the mix with the Blackhawks who would have been an intriguing fit for him as a young team that’s still developing but has plenty of young players including seven who played for him either in college or at the World Juniors, including top youngsters Frank Nazar, Oliver Moore, and Sam Rinzel.
It’s possible that another team has emerged as a front-runner for Carle, resulting in the withdrawal as he focuses on finalizing a contract. Alternatively, Carle could have withdrawn after not liking Chicago’s offer or wanting to go through what’s likely to be a couple more years of a rebuild. It’s also possible that Carle decides to stay at Denver which has become a top program and is likely to add more quality prospects for next season.
In the meantime, Blackhawks GM Kyle Davidson will have to turn his focus elsewhere in terms of finding his next head coach. At the moment, there aren’t any candidates who are known to have interviewed with Chicago while interim bench boss Anders Sorensen remains in consideration for the full-time position.