Michigan Fills Its Coaching Vacancy With an OHL Championship Winner in Chris Lazary
Michigan has replaced departed associate head coach Rob Rassey by hiring Chris Lazary off the Saginaw Spirit bench, bringing the winningest coach in that OHL franchise's history and a 2024 Memorial Cup title to Ann Arbor. It is a fresh domino in a coaching carousel that already sent Rassey to Harvard, and it says plenty about where college hockey programs are now shopping for talent.
Key takeaways
- Michigan hired Chris Lazary, the outgoing head coach of the OHL's Saginaw Spirit, to join its coaching staff after Rob Rassey left to become Harvard's head coach.
- Lazary spent eight seasons running Saginaw, finishing as the franchise's all-time wins leader and capturing three division titles plus the 2024 Memorial Cup as tournament host.
- Rassey helped Michigan reach three Frozen Fours and win two Big Ten tournament titles in his four seasons in Ann Arbor before taking the Harvard job in June.
- The move highlights how NCAA programs are increasingly pulling coaching talent straight out of major junior hockey rather than only from within the college ranks.
Michigan is betting a proven OHL winner can adjust to college hockey's rulebook and still keep the program's Frozen Four streak alive.
A vacancy created by a coaching carousel that started in June
Michigan's coaching staff has looked different every few weeks this offseason, and the latest change traces directly back to a decision made in late June. Rob Rassey, who had spent four seasons on the Wolverines' bench and been elevated to associate head coach along the way, accepted the head coaching job at Harvard, his alma mater program from an earlier stint as an assistant.
That departure left a hole on Michigan's staff at a program that does not have much patience for standing still. Rassey had been part of a run that included three Frozen Four trips and two Big Ten tournament championships during his time in Ann Arbor, so whoever stepped in was always going to be measured against a fairly high bar right away.
Lazary arrives with a resume built almost entirely in major junior hockey
Michigan's answer was to look outside the usual college coaching pipeline and hire Chris Lazary directly off the bench of the OHL's Saginaw Spirit, where he had just wrapped up his eighth season as head coach. Over that stretch he became the winningest coach in franchise history, piling up well over two hundred victories and steering Saginaw to three Jack Adams Cup West Division titles.
The headline entry on Lazary's resume is 2024, when Saginaw hosted and won the Memorial Cup, major junior hockey's national championship, capping a season in which the Spirit went 50-16-1-1. He also picked up international experience helping out behind Canada's bench at a recent World Junior Championship, giving him a taste of evaluating and coaching high-end teenage talent under pressure.
His NCAA resume, by contrast, is thin. Aside from one season as an assistant at York University more than a decade ago, Lazary's entire coaching career has run through major junior hockey in Ontario, which makes this jump to a Big Ten blueblood a notable career pivot rather than a lateral move.
Why a program like Michigan looks to the OHL for its next hire
Hiring out of major junior hockey instead of the usual college assistant pool is not the safest move on paper, but it fits a broader pattern of top programs chasing proven winners wherever they coach. Lazary spent years recruiting and developing exactly the kind of draft-aged players who eventually choose between major junior and the NCAA route, so he already knows plenty of the family rooms and agents involved in that decision.
For Michigan, adding a coach who has repeatedly built deep playoff teams and won a national junior championship is a bet that winning habits translate across leagues, even if the NCAA's rulebook and recruiting calendar will take some adjusting to on his end.
What it means for a program still chasing more Frozen Fours
Michigan enters the 2026-27 season with plenty of buzz already, thanks to a loaded incoming freshman class that has been discussed all summer, and now a coaching staff that pairs returning voices with a first-time college hire who has a championship pedigree. How quickly Lazary adjusts to recruiting rules, transfer portal timelines, and a shorter college season will say a lot about whether this hire pays off immediately or takes a year to settle in.
It also keeps the Michigan-Harvard thread interesting for anyone following the sport's coaching carousel, since Rassey now tries to rebuild a Harvard program using lessons from Ann Arbor while his old employer leans on a coach who spent his career on the other side of major junior hockey's relationship with the NCAA.
Moves like these are exactly why the offseason is worth tracking even when no games are being played, and they set up the kind of rosters fans will actually see when college hockey returns to the desert. Grab your tickets to the Ice Vegas Invitational now and come watch how these new coaching staffs stack up in person.
Five things to know about Michigan's new hire
Chris Lazary is a new name for a lot of college hockey fans, so here is a quick primer on what he brings to Ann Arbor.
- Franchise wins leader: Lazary left Saginaw as the winningest head coach in Spirit franchise history after eight seasons behind the bench.
- 2024 Memorial Cup champion: He coached Saginaw to the Memorial Cup title as tournament hosts, the top prize in major junior hockey.
- Three division titles: The Spirit won three Jack Adams Cup West Division championships during his tenure.
- Team Canada experience: Lazary helped coach Canada's roster at a recent World Junior Championship as part of the bench staff.
- Thin NCAA resume: Outside of one season at York University in 2012-13, his coaching career has been built almost entirely in the OHL.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who did Michigan hire to replace Rob Rassey?
Michigan brought in Chris Lazary, who had just finished his eighth season as head coach of the OHL's Saginaw Spirit, to join the coaching staff.
Why did Michigan have a coaching opening?
Associate head coach Rob Rassey left in late June to become Harvard's head coach, opening a spot on Michigan's staff that Lazary now fills.
What did Lazary accomplish with Saginaw?
He became the Spirit's all-time wins leader, won three division titles, and led the team to the 2024 Memorial Cup championship as tournament host.
Does this hire affect the Ice Vegas Invitational?
Not directly, but it is exactly the kind of offseason coaching move that shapes how programs recruit and build rosters heading into events like ours on the Strip.
Sources
- OHL Head Coach Joins Michigan Staff — College Hockey News
- Spirit Head Coach Chris Lazary Departs to Pursue Further Opportunities — OurSports Central
- Michigan associate coach Rob Rassey leaves for Harvard head job — The Michigan Daily