Cory Laylin in his third year as head coach of the Piper men pucksters.
The St. Cloud, Minn. native, whose first coaching assignment was an assistant at Hamline, made a smashing return to the Pipers in 2014-15. After winning just three games the previous two seasons, Hamline finished in fifth place in conference play and then swept through the MIAC playoffs with three road victories. That earned them a second ever berth in the NCAA Division III men's hockey tournament. They finished the year with a 14-11-4 overall record.
In 2015-16, HU again finished fifth in the league. They won a first round game at Concordia before falling to eventual conference champ Augsburg. HU ended the year with a 10-12-5 overall mark.
Laylin was an assistant at HU in the 2008-09 and 2009-10 seasons. The Pipers won 32 games in that time span, advancing to the MIAC postseason title game in his first year and making the playoffs the next year as well.
“I’m very excited to be at Hamline. It’s where I got the coaching bug,” Laylin said. “I learned about D-III hockey in my time here. This is a great, very competitive league. I’m looking forward to getting to work to build this team into a being a contender.”
Prior to taking the head job at HU, Laylin has been the general manager and head coach of the Brookings Blizzard in the North American Hockey League for two seasons. He also spent one season as the co-head coach at Buffalo High School and coached a pro team in Carldaro in the Italian professional league.
Laylin played his high school hockey at St. Cloud Apollo. A Pittsburgh Penguins draftee, Cory earned a scholarship to the University of Minnesota, where he scored 58 goals in four seasons there. The Golden Gophers advanced to the NCAA tournament all four years he was there. In his freshman season, they came within a whisker of the NCAA title, losing to Harvard in overtime in the championship game.
After he left the U, Cory played 16 seasons professionally, much of it overseas. His best statistical season was in 1999-2000 when he scored 32 goals in 53 games for Iserlohn, a team in a league based in Germany.
For the past two years, Laylin has also been heavily involved with USA Hockey. He was the head coach for the Under 17 team that swept away four opponents to win the Five Nations Cup tournament in August in Dallas, Texas. In 2015, he was an assistant coach for Team USA, which won the round robin event.
In addition to his ice hockey resume, Laylin played four seasons of professional roller hockey for the Minnesota Arctic Blast, San Jose Rhinos and Minnesota Blue Ox.
What they say about Cory Laylin:
Jason Verdugo, Hamline athletic director
“There was a tremendous pool of candidates for the position, but among them all, Cory was the best fit for us. His previous association with the program will serve us well during this transition. He was here for two very successful seasons and knows what it takes to be competitive in the MIAC.”
Chris Berenguer, 2011 Division III Player of the Year.
“This is very good for the program. Cory is a very approachable and a very good teacher of the game. He knows defense very well. He also helped me prepare to move on in hockey from Hamline.”
Dustin Fulton ’09, second all-time in career points at Hamline
“I really enjoyed the one season I was with him here. Cory brings a lot of excitement to the team and to the alums. He has great playing experience and great coaching experience.”
