Hobart has announced that Niko Kovachis has been named an assistant coach for the men’s hockey team.
Kovachis replaces Tom Fiorentino, who accepted an assistant coach position at Bentley.
“I’m excited to have Niko join the Hobart hockey program,” Hobart coach Mark Taylor said in a statement. “He comes from a hockey tree that I respect, be it his junior hockey coaches to his college hockey coaches who have strong ties to myself and Hobart hockey. As a player, he was a great teammate, leader and a very smart skilled defenseman and I know our core will benefit from his input.
“Furthermore, he has already proven himself as a recruiter and coach at the college level, having recruited some league all-stars and helped coach a program to its most successful seasons.”
Kovachis comes to Hobart after spending the last two seasons as an assistant coach at Chatham. He helped run the Cougars’ defense and power plays. Kovachis helped Chatham to a 23-21-7 overall record, including a program-record 14 wins last season. The Cougars made two trips to the UCHC tournament.
Also at Chatham, Kovachis led pre-scout meetings, including XOS video, and created and evaluated game video to assess the team’s strengths and weaknesses. He also assisted with planning and guiding practices.
Kovachis graduated from Niagara in 2019. He was a four-year defenseman on the Purple Eagles’ hockey team, playing for former Hobart assistant coach Jason Lammers and serving as an alternate captain as a senior. That season, Kovachis led Niagara to its first-ever appearance in the Atlantic Hockey championship game.
He played in 125 career games, recording 37 points on 11 goals and 26 assists while blocking 119 shots. Kovachis was named to the Atlantic Hockey all-academic team four times.
