How Tambellini's Return to U-M Produced the 'Most Valuable Year' of His Life
5/1/2018 12:48:00 PM | Ice Hockey, Features
By Steve Kornacki
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Jeff Tambellini knew he would someday return to the University of Michigan to finish his degree in sport management. The high-scoring ice hockey forward was the first-round draft pick of the Los Angeles Kings in 2003, and he turned professional two years later, leaving school after his junior season.
He never became a star, but he had his moments during six seasons in the NHL. Tambellini scored his first goal against legendary goalie Martin Brodeur after getting traded to the New York Islanders, and he played his final game in the league in Game 7 of the 2011 Stanley Cup Finals with his hometown team, the Vancouver Canucks.
Tambellini played six additional pro seasons, mostly in Switzerland and Sweden, before retiring last season and immediately returning to classes and his college roots as a volunteer coach in September, joining a Wolverine staff that included so many familiar faces. New head coach Mel Pearson had been an assistant coach when Tambellini played, and assistant Brian Wiseman also helped him develop over a decade ago.
"I couldn't put a price on this experience," said Tambellini. "It's been the most valuable year of my life by a mile, for sure. I was so excited to get this chapter in my life going. I love it and love coming to work each day with these guys on this side of the offices. It's been a really easy transition just because of the enjoyment I get out it. It's a blast.
"I've had some great accomplishments in the game, but to be able to retire and in the next seven months come back here, get my degree, get accepted to an MBA program, and to have a chance to pursue a career in hockey, it is by far my greatest accomplishment in the game and probably the thing I'm most proud of."
He was named general manager and head coach of the Trail Smoke Eaters of the British Columbia Hockey League earlier this week, wasting little time getting on the road to his dream of becoming a GM in the NHL. Tambellini was the leading scorer on a championship team in that same Junior A circuit, and he now guides the team his grandfather, Addie, played for some 60 years ago.
The Tambellinis have deep roots in that Canadian province, and his father, Steve, filled a wide variety of roles for the Canucks while he was growing up.
Also on the Wolverine coaching staff now is Bill Muckalt, whom Tambellini admired as a boy in Vancouver. Muckalt had a huge influence on Tambellini choosing to play for Michigan and Red Berenson.
"Bill Muckalt was the first guy I ever met from Michigan," Tambellini said. "He was probably the reason I came here because I played in my dad's golf tournament with him. Mucks had just joined the Canucks, and I remember how big he was. I thought, 'Wow! This is what you come out of Michigan looking like.' He transitioned right to the NHL from Michigan, was having success, and was so strong. And, he was so good to me.
"Once the recruiting process started, it was a pretty easy decision for me to come to Michigan."
Steve Tambellini, also a former NHL player, was an assistant general manager for the Canucks and later served as general manager of the Edmonton Oilers. Watching him work to build teams struck a chord with young Jeff.
"I've always had a focus to get into the front office of the National Hockey League," said Tambellini, 34. "It seems like I've been in this business since I was 7. It was a future goal, and I knew I had to get my degree. So, when the phone rang with this opportunity, it was a no-brainer."
Tambellini said he spoke with Mike Komisarek, another former Michigan star and NHL veteran, who had preceded him in returning to earn his degree and work on the coaching staff. Komisarek, now a player development coach for the Buffalo Sabres, told Tambellini how much he'd enjoyed and gotten out of the experience.
"My whole thing this year was to work in a player development role," said Tambellini. "I tried to have a relationship with every one of our guys -- whether it was the goalies, defensemen or forwards. I talked to them about where their game is today and their future endeavors as pros and how to prepare for that. I could share my point of view."
Tambellini became "a voice in between the staff and the players" and taught the players to pay attention to the small details and habits necessary to maximize their talents.
"I wanted to share with them the things I didn't know when I was 18 or 19," he said. "As the season progressed, Mel started giving me more responsibility with the power play. And to be on the bench in the NCAA Tournament was great. I progressed, and it was a fantastic opportunity."
The Wolverines were picked to finish sixth in the Big Ten but reached the Frozen Four in St. Paul, Minnesota, where Notre Dame ended their hopes for a national championship with last-second goal in a semifinal thriller.
Tambellini then finished up his last semester of classes in April with accounting, statistics and two sport management classes. He even had a class with defenseman Luke Martin, a second-round draft pick in 2017 by the Carolina Hurricanes.
"Luke Martin and I have been doing Stats 250 together," said Tambellini. "We had the same tutor and had a lot of fun together.
"Now I see these classes in a different context than I would've when I played at Michigan. They apply to what I'm doing."
After a final NHL season with his hometown Canucks (above, green jersey), Tambellini played in Switzerland (below) and Sweden.
Tambellini was accepted into the MBA program at the University of Denver and chose that school because he wanted the option to attain his master's degree in business administration while maintaining his options in the game.
"I want to stay working in hockey, and they're going to let me do it online for the next two years," said Tambellini.
He's modeling his career pursuit after another Wolverine first-round pick, Jason Botterill, who is entering his second season as general manager of the Sabres. Botterill also returned to the school and earned his MBA, just as Berenson had done in setting the example many of his players have followed.
"Red was the reason I came to Michigan," said Tambellini. "He had an amazing career but alongside that was so well educated and got his MBA while he was playing. How impressive is that? Red was an elite scorer, and I was coming here as a guy who wanted to be an impactful offensive threat and also wanted to get the education.
"As a player, I thought about how I was going to transition to the front office, and I looked at Jason. Botts came back and went to school and found a way to get to the Pittsburgh Penguins. I looked at his path, and it showed me the way to do it."
Tambellini's father laid the foundation for his love of all sides of the game, and his position with the Canucks allowed his son to watch stars such as Trevor Linden and Pavel Bure (who had back-to-back 60-goal seasons) up close.
"I went from a young guy who loved the game to someone who just wanted to be hockey player," said Tambellini. "So, Dad's doing the work with them and I'm in the dressing room and I meet these guys and get mentored by these great leaders, and it left such a lasting impression.
"I knew what I wanted to do both as a player and a manager. (Hall of Famer) Pat Quinn is there and he's the GM and coach, and he has such a presence. Pat Quinn was my father's mentor and my mentor. So, I was so clear on what I wanted to pursue in life at a very young age."
Tambellini got involved in the business side of hockey while still playing in the NHL, and he continues maintaining Factory Hockey Player Development, a training venue for professionals and prospects he began nine years ago in Vancouver. He said that experience also helped greatly in knowing how to deliver coaching messages to the Wolverines.
Vancouver not only is home but the place where he got to experience the NHL pinnacle.
"My whole goal since I was 7 years old was to play in the NHL and play for the Canucks," said Tambellini, "and the year I got to play there is the year we're picked to win the Stanley Cup with the most momentum that team has ever had.
"And then to have the success we had during the year, it was everything you could ask for and more, to win a President's Trophy (for the most regular-season points by a team), a Western Conference championship. It seemed like we won the Stanley Cup every day of the year until we lost it."
The Boston Bruins took Game 7, 4-0, in Vancouver.
"It was such a memorable series even though we didn't win it," said Tambellini, who had his NHL highs of nine goals and 17 points in that 2010-11 season. "It hurts to this day to lose something like that, coming within a game.
"But people are not going to forget that team for a long time. It was an amazing experience."
Seven years later, he went full circle all the way back to Michigan.
"It's surreal in a sense," said Tambellini. "I'm just so thankful to Mel Pearson and his staff for letting me come back and be a part of this again. It's an amazing place whether you're pursuing the game or business or both. It's been fantastic and I've learned so much."
