COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Dan Muse (Canton, Mass.), who is completing his third season as a head coach at USA Hockey's National Team Development Program, will serve as head coach of the U.S. Under-18 Men's National Team that will compete in the upcoming 2023 IIHF Under-18 Men's World Championship, it was announced today by USA Hockey.
The tournament is set for April 20-30 in Basel and Porrentruy, Switzerland. The U.S. will compete in Group B with Finland, Latvia, Norway and Switzerland, and will open tournament play against Latvia on April 20.
Muse will be joined by assistant coaches Chad Kolarik (Abington, Pa.), Anthony Walsh (Burr Ridge, Ill.), David Lassonde (Durham, N.H.) and Dan Darrow (Livonia, Mich.).
Muse will serve as head coach of the Under-18 Men's National Team for the second time after holding the same position for the 2021 tournament. In his previous international experience, Muse was Team USA’s video coach at the 2013 IIHF World Junior Championship, where the U.S. brought home gold, and served in the same capacity the following year. In addition, the Canton, Mass., native led the U.S. to the championship of the 2022 Under-18 Five Nations tournament held at USA Hockey Arena last November.
Muse, with more than 15 years of coaching experience, was an assistant coach for the NHL’s Nashville Predators for three seasons before his arrival in Plymouth, helping the team to two Central Division titles, including the 2017-18 Presidents’ Trophy. Prior to his stint with Predators, Muse served as head coach of the USHL’s Chicago Steel for two seasons, where he led the team to the Clark Cup championship in 2017.
In his first season as an assistant coach at USA Hockey's National Team Development Program, Kolarik is making his debut behind the bench for an IIHF championship. The Abington, Pa., native began his coaching career last season with the USHL’s Waterloo Black Hawks as an assistant coach, helping the team to the Clark Cup Playoffs during the 2021-22 campaign.
As a player, Kolarik represented the U.S. on multiple occasions, most recently as a member of the 2018 U.S. Olympic Men’s Ice Hockey Team that competed in PyeongChang, South Korea. He also skated in two Deutschland Cups, helping Team USA to a championship in 2013, and was a member of the 2004 silver medal-winning U.S. Under-18 Men’s National Team.
Walsh, in his second season at USA Hockey's National Team Development Program after joining the Under-17 Team coaching staff last March, is making his IIHF coaching debut.
He came to the NTDP after spending the 2021-22 campaign as an assistant men's hockey coach at Fredonia State University where he started his coaching career. A 2019 graduate of Yale University, Walsh spent the 2019-2020 season as the director of hockey operations for Yale's NCAA Division I men's hockey program.
Lassonde, in his third season as USA Hockey's national goaltending coach, brings over 30 years of experience to the staff, including collegiate stops at Dartmouth College, University of Denver, University of New Hampshire, Miami University and the University of Wisconsin.
Lassonde has served as an assistant coach for U.S. teams on the international stage nine times, most recently for the 2022 U.S. Olympic Men's Hockey Team. He was also part of the gold medal-winning 2013 U.S. National Junior Team coaching staff.
Darrow, who is making his IIHF coaching debut, serves as a volunteer assistant coach at USA Hockey's National Team Development Program with the Under-18 Team where he focuses on video breakdown and game analysis. Before joining the NTDP, the Livonia, Mich., native spent seven seasons as video coach for the NHL’s San Jose Sharks, where he focused on incorporating analytics in his pre-scouting work.
Prior to his time in the NHL, Darrow served as director of hockey operations at the University of Massachusetts-Lowell from 2011-2015. While with the River Hawks, he oversaw the day-to-day operations of the hockey program and assisted the coaching staff with film breakdown.
USA Hockey has also announced additional staff in support of the 2023 U.S. Under-18 Men's National Team including general manager Scott Monaghan (Ho-Ho-Kus, N.J.); director of sports science Brian Galivan (Chicago, Ill.); hockey operations manager Kevin Braeunle (Lansdale, Pa.); equipment manager Jake Visser (Grand Rapids, Mich.); athletic trainer Jason Hodges (New Baltimore Mich.); team physician Dr. Doug Weiss (Dublin, N.H.); communications manager Jon Edwards (Neversink, N.Y.) and digital content manager Caleigh Burchfield (Lakeville, Conn).
NOTES: To follow Team USA throughout the IIHF U18 Men's World Championship, visit TeamUSA.USAHockey.com ... The official IIHF tournament website can be found here ... The U.S. has won 10 gold medals in IIHF U18 Men's World Championship history, the most of any country ... Follow @USAHockey on Twitter for the latest information and updates throughout the tournament.