UMass Lowell has announced the promotion of Dylan Zink to assistant coach ahead of the 2023-24 season.
Zink, a 2017 graduate of UMass Lowell and a four-year standout on the River Hawks hockey team, has spent the last three seasons as the director of hockey operations at his alma mater.
“Promoting Dylan was an easy decision,” said River Hawks head coach Norm Bazin in a statement. “As a former player, he has been outstanding in his time as our hockey operations director, acting as the conduit from our players to our staff. His attention to detail and his positive vibe are infectious around the hockey area. We feel he is ready to take the next step and start recruiting. He had an excellent playing career, and we look forward to having him follow that same path as a coach. Dylan will recruit and assist with all phases of player development, working closely with the defensemen and our power play.”
“I’m honored and grateful for the opportunity to take my next step with our university and to continue to give back to our program,” added Zink. “I am looking forward to working with and developing our great student-athletes and continuing my professional development under Coach Bazin and our great staff.”
Zink made the move to the hockey front office side after three years playing professionally. He made his professional debut in the AHL with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. He split the 2017-18 season between the Penguins and the ECHL’s Wheeling Nailers before playing in Europe in 2018-19 and 2019-20 with Norway’s Sparta Sarpsborg and Karlskrona HK in Sweden. He returned stateside in 2019-20, splitting time with the ECHL’s South Carolina Stingrays and Toledo Walleye.
An offensive defenseman, Zink played in 143 games during his tenure at UMass Lowell. He accumulated 87 points (31 goals, 56 assists) in a River Hawks uniform, completing a standout career with the team by earning AHCA Second-Team All-American honors his senior season.
The all-time leader in goals by a defenseman at UMass Lowell (31) and a two-time Hockey East champion (2014, 2017), Zink was named to the 2007-2017 all-decade team as part of the program’s celebration of 50 years of hockey.
Zink earned his bachelor’s degree in business administration from UMass Lowell in 2017 before completing his MBA in 2023.
