Blashill honored to join Ferris State Bulldog Athletics Hall of Fame

Getting enshrined in any Hall of Fame is an honor, but for Detroit Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill, finding out that he would be entering the Ferris State Bulldog Athletics Hall of Fame this year is even more special.

"Ferris has meant a lot to my life," Blashill said in a telephone interview Tuesday. "I met my wife at Ferris, I started my coaching career at Ferris. Bob Daniels was the head coach when I played there and he's still the head coach. My last two years I didn't play a whole lot and Bob really ignited my coaching career by keeping me involved, by making me important still, asking me questions about what my thoughts were in terms of how we're playing and stuff like that, and really ignited my passion to become a coach.

"So the fact that my coaching career started at Ferris and really, obviously the induction has a lot to do with the success I've had as a coach since leaving Ferris and it's kind of come full circle. It's a place that has had a huge impact on my life."

Blashill and Daniels remain close friends to this day so naturally Daniels was one of the first people who congratulated him on the honor.

"First of all, we generally like to mock each other first so we spent some time doing that," Blashill said. "But he was real sincere in his congratulations. It's a cool thing and it's a cool moment to share with him and the fact that Bob and Drew (Famulak) are still there with Mark Kaufman, who actually was part of the staff that originally recruited me, is awesome. We have a real unique bond, the guys who played in that era. A number of my friends, along with the coaching staff, it's a real unique bond because of how long they've been there and just the types of people that I was lucky enough to play with.

"During this stay-home order, I'm on a call every couple weeks, a Zoom call with a number of my buddies that played during that time. We're on text strings and things like that so I've been able to hear from a number of those guys, It's a really, really cool bond and just a cool part of my life."

Blashill is one of seven former student-athletes who were selected.

The others are Lucy (DeMartin) Prior (women's basketball, 2000-04), Dannie Hayes (men's basketball, 1991-95), Tianna Kirkland (women's basketball/track and field, 1997-01), Chris Kunitz (hockey, 1999-2003), Brad Morris (wrestling, 1985-89) and the late Gideon Smith (football, 1910-11).

Jason Vander Laan (football, 2012-15) was also chosen but has deferred his induction as he is currently a member of the New Orleans Saints.

The group is set to be honored in an on-campus ceremony Oct. 16, depending on what is going on with the NHL schedule and with the COVID-19 pandemic.

"That's an unknown. They're kind of keeping their options open when is the best time to have it and obviously there's a lot of uncertainty in the world, much less the NHL and the Detroit Red Wings," Blashill said. "I'll wait and see. It'd be pretty neat to be able to go in with Chris Kunitz. Chris was obviously one of the best players that ever played at Ferris, if not the best. He had an outstanding career in college and then an outstanding career in the NHL and is a good friend of mine and just a great person. He cares about Ferris hockey similar to the way that I care about Ferris hockey, so that would be really, really cool to be a part of it with him but we'll see. We'll see how the schedules allow, see if we're able to do that together or not."

Blashill began his coaching career at Ferris State as an assistant to Daniels from 1999-2002, which is when he got to know Kunitz.

"I don't think I was a very good coach at that time but I was able to learn and grow with him while I was there," Blashill said. "I knew he was a special player from the first day he got on campus. I remember our first scrimmage against a Canadian university, he was a different player than most that I had seen. When I went to Ferris originally, when I chose it as a student-athlete, I went there to try to build the program into a championship level program. That's what I wanted to do. I had see that happen at Lake Superior State first-hand as a kid growing up and I wanted to do that at Ferris. I wasn't able to do that as a player, nor really as a coach, but ultimately Chris did it.

"The year I left, the next year they were the best team in the CCHA and it was pretty cool what he's meant to that program. Chris comes back most summers to the alumni golf outing and he's got a great group of friends that intertwined with my group and we've all kind of become one big group. It's a connection that is unique. I think it's awesome that I have an alma mater of a program that means so much to so many of us."

Despite the pause in the NHL season, Blashill said that he has remained pretty busy preparing for whatever comes next.

"It's obviously a different world right now but I've stayed busy, lots of coaching calls with other coaches, just to learn and to discover and learn new ways and talk about things that we all go through, from our shared experiences, see if we can grow as coaches," Blashill said. "We've done lots of stuff with our team, kind of reviewing a number of things, not just from this season but plans moving forward. Then I've had a chance to talk to a number of our players. It's certainly kept us busy but the extra family time has been nice and it's certainly something we cherish."

Although there is time to try some new things, don't expect Blashill to become the new breakout Tik Tok star.

"I've not opened my own Tik Tok," Blashill said. "I've participated in a couple private Tik Toks with my kids. I don't know if that's skill, what I do or not. I've had a chance to paint one of our rooms, I've had a chance to do some projects around the house. Again, we've tried to stay productive, we've tried to get up in the morning and have a plan for the day, not just let days go by.

"But with that said, it's obviously a different pace. I think sometimes a slower pace is good for those of us, which is most of the world today, that go a million miles an hour. So we've tried to enjoy the slower pace as we've had it and tried to be productive."

Some of Blashill's players have been binging the latest Netflix shows but don't ask Blashill what he thinks of Tiger King. He hasn't seen it.

"No chance," Blashill said. "Not for me."

Coaches are essentially teachers so with three kids at home in Teddy, Josie and Owen, is Blashill helping his kids with their schoolwork?

"They go to mom first," Blashill said. "Then if there's lots of trouble then they come to me. Our kids' teachers have done a fabulous job with the distance learning program. Our kids go to Our Lady of Good Counsel in Plymouth and their staff has done a fabulous job from day one, getting the distance learning set up, implementing it and then working through some of the issues. That part's been great. Our kids are pretty good at taking care of their business and when needed, I've stepped in and helped. But the learning is way different than when I went through school so I have to go back and re-learn some of the stuff to help them."

Blashill and his coaching staff joined with all the players last week in donating to Detroit mayor Mike Duggan's Feed the Front Lines Detroit campaign, which partners with Detroit restaurants to deliver meals to health care workers and first responders.

"It's just a matter of pooling our resources together and Dylan Larkin had called me about it and asked me if we wanted to be a part of it," Blashill said. "So we did and it was a great opportunity. Obviously we're in a pretty fortunate situation in the league that we play and work in, so if we have an opportunity to help out those that are facing this challenge every single day, in any little way, let's do it. So it was great."

Tuesday was also a birthday for two Red Wings that Blashill has had an opportunity to coach. Nick Lidstrom turned 50 and Luke Glendening turned 31.

"The thing about Nick is at 50, I'm sure he could still come and be a really good player in the NHL," Blashill said. "He keeps himself in such good shape. Honestly, I just feel lucky to be able to be part of staffs that have coached both guys. I spent one year as an assistant with Nick and it was great and I've had lots of time with Glenny. Certainly wish them both a happy birthday."

Blashill would be very happy to be returning to Little Caesars Arena soon but those plans remain up in the air for now.

The NBA announced Monday that depending on the state and city regulations regarding stay-at-home orders, teams could start letting players return to practice facilities on May 8 as long as they follow certain restrictions.

The NHL has not announced similar plans yet and Blashill said he doesn't really want to speculate on what might happen.

"The NHL has certainly been in constant communication with the players' association, with the Board of Governors, with the general managers and I've talked to Steve (Yzerman) a number of times," Blashill said. "Right now, we're in a wait-and-see. I think the NHL is planning for every possible scenario and we'll see where both this virus takes us and we'll see where each state government and city government takes us.

"I think it's a time right now to be patient and certainly see what the best opportunity is at the right time."