By WJBC Staff
BLOOMINGTON – The Bloomington Thunder has announced Wednesday that Chase Fuchs has been named an assistant coach.
Fuchs comes to the Thunder after two seasons as an assistant coach at Adrian College, a perennial power at the NCAA Division III level, and completes the Thunder’s coaching staff for the 2017-18 season.
“I think we have an outstanding hire,” Thunder general manager and head coach Mike Watt said. “His ability to recruit, identify talent and connect with the talent is crucial. That’s something that we had with [former general manager/associate coach] Dan Jewell and is going to continue with Chase.”
The third member of a three-man coaching staff, Fuchs will serve in a similar role as Jewell, who accepted an assistant coach position with Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in mid-June. In his assistant coach role, Fuchs will help oversee the Thunder’s scouting, recruiting and USHL Draft efforts to bring the best available talent to the Thunder.
“For what I want to do in my career and where I want to go with things, this is a huge opportunity for me. It’s a special thing,” Fuchs said. “I’m really looking forward to getting started with it, diving head first into it and working with Watt and [assistant coach] Leon [Hayward] and the rest of the organization. The USHL has that reputation and it’s an advancement league. It’s going to be fun to work with players of this caliber, as well.”
A native of Severna Park, Maryland, Fuchs continues the trend of Thunder coaching staff members with NCAA Division I playing experience. Fuchs spent three seasons with Clarkson University as a defenseman from 2010-13. While with the Golden Knights program, Fuchs was teammates for all three seasons with Ben Sexton, the son of current Buffalo Sabres Assistant General Manager Randy Sexton. That connection is just one of several Fuchs has at the NHL level.
“When you have three guys on staff that played Division I, it’s an easy relation to the current players and players coming into our program that need information or need guidance,” Watt said. “We’ll be there to make sure they get the information but also the development. We know how to develop players for the next level and having three coaches on staff that can do that is very important.”
After receiving a bachelor’s degree in Financial Information and Analysis with a minor in Pre-Law from Clarkson in 2014, Fuchs immediately made the transition to a career in coaching. He served one season as an assistant coach for Mount Royal University in Calgary, Alberta, before joining Adrian College as an assistant coach for the 2015-16 season under head coach Adam Krug.
“Adrian was a great place to work and learn not only with Adam Krug but with our players,” Fuchs said. “It enabled me to take this next step in my career.”
In his two seasons at Adrian, Fuchs had a key role in molding championship-caliber teams. The Bulldogs won the NCHA regular season championship in Fuchs’ first season in 2015-16, falling just twice in conference play on the way to a 17-2-1 record. Fuchs eventually helped guide Adrian to the NCAA Division III Quarterfinal, as the Bulldogs finished the season with an impressive 24-4-1 record.
This past season, Fuchs had a hand in Adrian claiming another regular season conference title, as the Bulldogs went 17-3-0 in conference play on the way to the NCHA crown. Adrian then bettered its postseason finish from the 2015-16 season, advancing to the NCAA Division III semifinal.
Fuchs now carries that championship experience to Bloomington, as he aims to help the Thunder make a playoff appearance for the second time in four seasons as a member of the USHL.
“I’m just really looking forward to getting started and bringing a championship to Bloomington with the staff and players we have here,” Fuchs said.
