TROY, N.Y. – The Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) men’s hockey team has added volunteer assistant coach Michael Lysyj to its staff, it has been announced. Lysyj joins the staff of second-year head coach Dave Smith, along with full-time assistant coaches Dan Jewell and Nolan Graham ’03 for the upcoming season.
“We are excited to have a guy like Mike join our staff after being a full-time coach with Fredonia,” said Smith. “Mike recognizes the opportunities that being at RPI provides and will use his strengths to help make our program the best it can be. He brings passion and skill development to our staff and we are excited to have him.”
Lysyj comes to the Rensselaer after spending the last four years as an assistant coach at SUNY Fredonia, where he was in charge of recruiting and scouting United States and Canadian junior hockey teams. He was also involved with the team’s film breakdown and on-ice skills work.
In 2017, Lysyj worked at USA Hockey’s Western Regional High Performance Camp as a High Performance Player Development Coach as well as assisting with U14 National Development prospects. During that time, he has also held the position of Director of Recruiting for Achieve Performance Hockey Systems. Since 2014, he has been the head coach of the New Jersey Raiders.
After graduating from SUNY Cortland in 2013, he played professionally during the 2013-14 season for the Orlando Solar Bears (ECHL), Peoria Rivermen (SPHL) and Mississippi Surge (SPHL), collecting two goals and four assists in 36 games.
As a student-athlete, Lysyj played in 96 career games for the Red Dragons, scoring 39 goals and assisting on 38 more for 77 points. He led the team in scoring during his senior season, posting 18 goals and 15 assists for 33 points in 25 contests.
A native of Hillsborough, NJ., Lysyj earned his Bachelor’s degree in Kinesiology from Cortland in 2013, before receiving his Masters of Science in Interdisciplinary Studies: Sports Management & Exercise Science from Fredonia in 2017.
