Mayotte Named US National Junior Team Assistant Coach
5/13/2020 12:15:00 PM | Ice Hockey
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -- University of Michigan ice hockey assistant coach Kris Mayotte has been selected to serve as assistant coach of the 2021 U.S. National Junior Team, it was announced by USA Hockey on Wednesday (May 13).
The team will compete in the 2021 International Ice Hockey Federation World Junior Championship (Dec. 26, 2020-Jan. 5, 2021) in Edmonton and Red Deer, Alberta, Canada.
This will be the third time Mayotte will help coach the U.S. National Junior Team as he re-joins head coach Nate Leaman on the bench. Mayotte and Leaman spent four years together at Providence College, winning an NCAA national championship in 2015.
In his first season at Michigan, Mayotte helped the Wolverines to an 18-14-4 overall record. The Wolverines, ranked No. 17 in the nation and No. 14 in the Pairwise rankings, were headed to the Big Ten Tournament semifinals when the remainder of the season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Working with the defense and penalty kill units, Mayotte made strides with the program this season. The defense ranked seventh in the nation with netminder Strauss Mann earning Big Ten Goaltender of the Year honors while also being a finalist for the Mike Richter Award. The Michigan penalty kill was ranked No. 15 in the nation, at 84.3 percent (91-for-108) -- an improvement of more than six percent from last season.
A 2006 graduate of Union College, Mayotte helped the U.S. win a gold medal at the World Junior Championship in 2017 and bronze medal in 2018. He is the first on the Michigan bench to coach the national junior team since Michigan head coach Mel Pearson served as assistant coach in 1997, winning silver with Team USA.
Michigan has an extensive history at the World Juniors. A total of 42 Wolverines have competed for the U.S. at the event, claiming 16 medals. Seven more U-M players won 12 medals with Canada and one played and medal with Sweden.
