Junior hockey: Nick Skerlick ready for the opportunity to coach in the NAHL

Nick Skerlick nearly left the Maine Nordiques organization, after three years with the Maine Nordiques Academy, earlier this spring for another junior hockey opportunity.

However, Shift Sports & Entertainment, who became the new owners of the Maine Nordiques last month, swooped with a last-minute offer to be the head coach and general manager of the North American Hockey League club while still having a hand with the 16U and 18U academy teams.

Nick Skerlick, then the Maine Nordiques Academy U18 head coach, talks with goalies Gavin Fitzpatrick, left and Zach Dodson in August 2020 at Norway Savings Bank Arena in Auburn. Skerlick was recently promoted to be the head coach of the Nordiques’ NAHL team. Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal

“Talking to Darren Anderson and his group,” Skerlick said of the new owners, “about what they are doing here with the Nordiques, and they are like, ‘No, man, you are re going to be the coach and the general manager, and you will recruit the academy (teams).’ I was like, ‘Oh, OK, that sounds good.'”

Anderson, who has been the spokesman of Shift Sports & Entertainment, said Skerlick has a track record of advancing players to the next level as head coach of the Maine Nordiques 18U team.

“Nick has a deep background in development from minor to junior hockey,” Anderson said in a text message to the Sun Journal. “His relationships with players, scouts and college coaches give our players an opportunity to develop in our system and get noticed at the next level.”

According to Skerlick’s bio on the Maine Nordiques Academy’s website, during the 2020-21 season, his academy players played in 20 NAHL games in call-up appearances. By the end of the 2021-22 season, four academy players committed to NCAA Division I programs, four players moved to the Tier I United States Hockey League and 20 players to the NAHL.

Skerlick becomes the third head coach in the Maine Nordiques’ five seasons of existence. He takes over for Matt Pinchevsky, who replaced Nolan Howe as head coach in November 2021. Pinchevsky had a 49-42-13 coaching record in nearly two full seasons leading the NAHL team.

He could not be reached for comment, but he released a statement on his social media pages about being let go by the Maine Nordiques.

“I want to extend my heartfelt thanks to the wonderful fans, billets, and community for four great seasons, building and coaching for the Maine Nordiques,” Pinchevsky’s statement said. “Although the organization had a high frequency of change, the loyalty you shared with me for the players and the hockey team meant so much to the Pinchevsky family. While I would have loved to continue to build upon our culture of leadership and remain head coach, that opportunity was not provided to me. The players that were a part of this family still have my love and support on their hockey journeys. My family is working to find what’s next for us, hope to see you again around the Lewiston/Auburn area.”

Anderson declined to go into details regarding why Shift Sports decided to replace Pinchevsky.

“We don’t discuss specifics on coaching changes. We wish Pinch the best and we’re looking forward to watching Nick and his coaches grow our players and provide opportunities for our players to get to the next step in their career,” Anderson said in a text message.

Skerlick played for multiple Tier III junior teams in his playing career. He also played at Franklin Pierce and Lebanon Valley College from 2014-18, and appeared in two games for the Danville Dashers of the Federal Hockey League during the 2017-18 season.

Before joining the Nordiques organization, Skerlick coached the New Jersey Titans 18U team in 2018-20. He also has scouting experience working with the Amarillo Bulls and New Jersey Titans of the NAHL and the Lincoln Stars of the USHL.

Skerlick said he learned from Pinchevsky and Howe, plus the other two NAHL coaches he worked for — Craig Doremus of the Titans and former Bulls coach Rocky Russo. Russo taught Skerklick how to run an NAHL team, while Doremus possesses an impressive knowledge of the game. Skerlick said Howe and Pinchevsky cared about their players while building the Nordiques’ culture.

“Once I saw four different coaches, up close and personal, that’s when I was like, ‘Wow, I think I have a little bit of combination of everyone,'” Skerlick said. “I have learned from these four guys, and around this time last year is when I wanted to coach in the North American League for the first time.”

Skerlick takes the general manager duties from Eric Soltys, who left the team in April.

One of Skerlick’s goals for the Nordiques organization is to provide a smoother transition for 16U and 18U academy players to the NAHL team.

“I think the academy being aligned with the North American League (team) is something that was hard to do when I wasn’t the North American League coach,” Skerlick said. “I think the first three years of the academy, you tell kids, ‘You are going to come here and you will play in the North American Hockey League’ — we were still able to do that, but it hasn’t all been with the Nordiques program. Our vision for me is to be the connecting piece between the 18s and the North American team.”

Skerlick said he wants to have five tender signings from the 16U or the 18U team to play for the NAHL team the following season. This past week, the organization announced it had signed four former academy players to tenders for next season, including Falmouth’s Cam Charron and Jack Kurrle, who played for the academy team in 2020-21. Kurrle played for the NAHL team during the 2021-22 season but spent this past season in the British Columbia Hockey League.

Anderson said having a strong pipeline from youth and academy teams to the NAHL team is the ownership’s goal, along with winning.

“We’re determined to win at the NAHL level, but we’re also committed to developing players at all levels,” Anderson said in a text message. “Our 18U AAA Academy players will have chances to practice with the (NAHL) players, and we’ll also have opportunities for local recreation players to be around our team. It builds hockey and it builds community.”

Skerlick said his vision was a sticking point for Shift Sports & Entertainment to hire him.

“Winning is very important to us, don’t get me wrong, but we are going to be working with our youth, in our 16s and 18s, and getting them ready for the North American League,” Skerlick said. “I think that’s why they believed I was the guy for the job.”