Northern Michigan has named Rob Lehtinen an assistant coach, filling the vacancy created by the departure of Joe Shawhan to Michigan Tech.
“Rob is a going to be a tremendous asset to our program,” NMU head coach Walt Kyle said in a statement. “He is a guy that played here, has worked here as our hockey ops guy for several years, and is totally committed to our program. He is a guy that I have long targeted as a future assistant and we are proud to add him to our coaching staff.”
Lehtinen was the hockey operations manager the past four seasons and was a four-year letterwinner at NMU from 2003 to 2007, playing in 156 games with 17 goals and 38 assists for 55 points.
“I am excited for this chance, this has been a goal of mine for a very long time and I feel like I am ready to make the next step in my career,” added Lehtinen. “I will be committed to using my past hockey experience to my advantage in helping develop student-athletes. My family and I feel truly blessed to begin my coaching career in my hometown among family and friends.”