No settling in for Granato during hectic first week in office
May 09, 2016 | Men's Hockey, Andy Baggot
Badgers head coach hit the ground running upon his return to Madison
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BY ANDY BAGGOT
UWBadgers.com Insider
MADISON, Wis. — Tony Granato spent his first full week as Wisconsin men's hockey coach in swirl of euphoria, sadness, reflection and curiosity.
For the first time since March 30, when Granato was introduced as the coach at his alma mater, he began working out of his Kohl Center office last Monday alongside his two associate head coaches, younger brother Don Granato and good friend Mark Osiecki.
Joining them was newly hired Noah Segall, who brings experience at the college, NHL and international levels to his role as director of hockey operations.
It was a hectic week that included multiple on-campus recruiting visits, individual meetings with returning players, a daylong retreat with his fellow Badgers coaches and UW Athletic Department administrators, a get-together at the chancellor's house and a mandatory NCAA rules test.
"Lots of meetings and lots of paperwork to file through," Tony Granato said. "But it's more exciting than I even thought it would be. I couldn't be happier."
That said, Tony Granato carried a heavy heart into his first full week in his new role. His wife Linda's father, Madison businessman Tom Mohs, died of complications from pneumonia on April 29.
"A really tough week," Granato said, calling Mohs an "unbelievable" friend and mentor.
"Part of the reason it was so exciting to come back was to get closer to family and when you lose one that you expected to be a big part of your life, it's certainly very difficult to deal with the pain your wife and mother-in-law are going through."
It helped to have a new job and a mile-long to-do list to address.
The first day Granato and his staffers were in their offices featured a diverse agenda. It included showing multiple recruits around campus, evaluating a proposed video system and stopping by UW Chancellor Rebecca Blank's house for a casual get-together with other coaches and athletic department administrators.
According to Tony Granato, the highlight of his first full week was Tuesday and Wednesday when he sat down individually with the 26 returning players with the idea of getting to know them better. His only prior contact with the group was during a team meeting after his introductory press conference.
That lack of hands-on involvement was due to the fact Tony Granato remained in his role as an assistant coach with Detroit until the Red Wings were eliminated from the NHL playoffs.
The same goes for Osiecki, who worked as a minor league assistant coach with Rockford until the IceHogs were eliminated from the American Hockey League playoffs.
In their absence, Don Granato conducted multiple practices to get a feel for what the players could do. He shared his analysis with his older brother prior to the individual meetings last week.
"It was fun for me," Tony Granato said of talking one-on-one with his new charges. "I'm excited because they're excited."
Granato spent a good chunk of Thursday sitting with UW athletic administrators and 16 fellow head coaches in a Fetzer Center conference room. It was billed as a retreat by UW Director of Athletics Barry Alvarez, who initiated a conversation about how his coaches could support one another by sharing recruiting insights, ideas and philosophies.
Granato sat between fellow newcomer Jonathan Tsipis, the new women's basketball coach, and women's soccer coach Paula Wilkins and took copious notes before joining his colleagues for dinner at the Alvarez residence.
"Something I didn't expect was how much fun it would be," Granato said of time spent around his fellow coaches.
The focus for Friday was taking the NCAA compliance test. Granato passed, which gave way to climbing into his black SUV and heading to Chicago for a weekend recruiting trip.
Before he left, Granato met with his staff in his still-Spartan office and went over some of the notes he took during the UW coaches' retreat, emphasizing the points he felt were critical. Don typed some of those thoughts into his laptop.
Speaking of recruiting, the new staff signed highly regarded winger Trent Frederic out of the U.S. National Team Developmental Program late last month. Frederic, from St. Louis, Missouri, had verbally committed to former UW coach Mike Eaves, who was dismissed March 17 after 14 seasons on the job.
During the introductory press conference, Alvarez referred to Tony Granato and his staff as the "Dream Team." All are former UW captains who've played and coached at the professional levels. All were on Alvarez's short list of candidates to take over the program after consecutive losing seasons.
Family and friendship prompted the three to join forces and UW made a sizeable investment in their expertise.
Tony Granato received a five-year contract worth $2.75 million, including a base salary of $400,000 starting in 2016-17.
Don Granato and Osiecki received three-year contracts as associate head coaches with base salaries of $200,000.
The salaries of all three men are being augmented annually through compensation agreements through the UW Foundation.
Since the three were introduced, the UW Athletic Ticket Office has received more than 700 new season-ticket requests from patrons for the coming season.
"I'm overwhelmed at the commitment from the athletic department on all fronts — how they've updated the facilities to what they are — and also just the interaction with the other coaches has been a real fun experience," Tony Granato said.
A lot has changed at UW — and Madison — since the three men played for the Badgers. Tony Granato's college career spanned 1983 to '87. Don played from 1987 to '91. Osiecki played from 1987 to '90.
For reference, the Kohl Center opened in 1998 and LaBahn Arena, where the UW men's and women's hockey teams practice, began operating in 2012.
Tony Granato lived in Madison during his NHL playing career, which spanned 1988 to 2001, while Osiecki has lived in Verona throughout his AHL coaching stint with Rockford, which began in 2013.
"The comfort of feeling you're back at home with family is very rewarding," Tony Granato said.
There's a lot of work to do between now and the start of the season Oct. 1, but, so far, the reception for the new staff has been intensely positive.
"It's just been fun," Tony Granato said. "I think everyone that knows us and knows what we're all about is excited we're back.
"The biggest thing for us is there's momentum."
