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Princeton University Athletics
Men's Ice Hockey
- Title:
- Assistant Coach
- Email:
- paskaris@princeton.edu
Last year the Tigers were nationally ranked with two players breaking into the record book of a program that dates back to 1900. Ryan Kuffner and Max Veronneau moved into the top five all-time in scoring with Kuffner setting the school record for goals in a career and made history as the first Tiger to earn back-to-back All-America honors. Paskaris continued to make history with an unprecedented three undrafted free against, Kuffner, Veronneau and Josh Teves signing NHL contracts and making this debuts in 2019. All three graduated on time in June.
In just four short years Princeton went from 12th in the ECAC to 2018 ECAC Champions. The Tigers epic run during the 2017-18 season saw the program catapult its way to the championship as the No. 7 seed, knocking off the No. 2 seed Union in the quarterfinals, No. 1 seed Cornell in the semifinal and No. 3 seed Clarkson in the title game. The Tigers had the best scoring offense in the nation, averaging 3.64 goals per game behind 50+ point seasons from second-team All-Americans Ryan Kuffner and Max Véronneau. The duo finished third and fifth in the nation in scoring, as Vérronneau was the nation's assist leader and Kuffner was second in goals per game. In addition, junior Josh Teves led the nation in defenseman scoring and Princeton had the top ranked power play unit, converting 27.7 percent during the season.
It was a season that Paskaris and the Princeton staff had been building up to. In 2016-17, Princeton went 15-16-3 - matching its number of wins over the last three years combined. The Tigers were one of the most improved teams in the country this season: after starting 0-6-1, the Tigers then went 7-2-1 in their turnaround season that saw them grab home ice for the playoffs for the first time since 2012.
Paskaris was an assistant coach at Adrian College for five years. As the first assistant and recruiting coordinator, Paskaris helped the Bulldogs to a 114-19-9 record. The team won four Midwest Collegiate Hockey Association (MCHA) regular-season championships, three MCHA playoff championships and earned four NCAA Tournament bids.
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In his time at Adrian, Paskaris coached and recruited eight All-Americas, three conference players of the year, 21 all-conference selections, six all-freshman team members, and 21 NCAA statistical leaders. The team held a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher every year. Paskaris also assisted in the creation of a community-based booster club, created and published an alumni newsletter and founded the Bulldog Youth Hockey Camp.
At the conclusion of the 2009-10 season, Adrian had the best penalty-killing unit in the country and second-best power play. The following season in 2010-11, with the best scoring offense in the nation, the Bulldogs reached the NCAA championship game. Adrian was the national runner-up after coming up short by a slim 4-3 margin.
Prior to joining the Bulldogs, Paskaris spent one season as an assistant coach at Ohio University for the American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA) Division I club program. The team posted a 24-16-4 record, won the Central States Collegiate Hockey League (CSCHL) playoff championship and was ranked seventh in the country.
In addition to his collegiate coaching, Paskaris has been a coach and an evaluator for USA Hockey’s Michigan Amateur Hockey Association (MAHA) Select Festivals since 2009.
Paskaris played his college hockey at Wayne State from 2004-08. He was named first-team all-College Hockey America as a senior, averaging more than one point per game, and was a four-time all-academic honoree in the league. The 2005 CHA Rookie of the Year was also on the all-rookie team after scoring 33 points in 35 games. In addition he was vice president of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and worked as a marketing assistant for the athletics department.
Following graduation, Paskaris played out the 2007-08 season with the Dayton Bombers (ECHL).
In addition to his bachelors in business administration from Wayne State, Paskaris earned a masters degree in recreation and sport sciences from Ohio University in 2009.
He, and his wife Shannon, have a daughter Effie.
