Saint Michael's College Men's Ice Hockey

DiGiulian's first as a college head coach, the Purple Knights had one of the stingiest defenses in program history, posting a 3.73 GAA, the second-best showing in school annals, and the best since 1997-98. Saint Michael's allowed 30.7 shots on goal per game, its best performance since 1996-97. The Purple Knights also logged only 188 penalty minutes, averaging 7.5 per contest, the lowest totals among all NCAA Division I, II and III men's ice hockey teams. Among the squad's standout games were a 5-4 win in overtime on Feb. 9 against Castleton State College, which was receiving a national vote, and a 2-1 victory against three-time defending NE-10 Tournament champion Saint Anselm College on Feb. 1. Saint Michael's also put together a handful of strong showings against national powers, including standing tied with No. 2 Norwich until 13 minutes remained in a 5-2 loss on Jan. 18, and falling just 4-3 against eventual NCAA Tournament quarterfinalist Babson on Jan. 11. During the three seasons immediately prior to his arrival at Saint Michael's, DiGiulian was the head coach and director of hockey for the Rice Memorial High School prep program, which he created in 2009. The South Burlington-based squad went 36-12-3 in 2010-11, its second year of existence, while winning the New England Fall Prep Hockey League (NEFPHL) title. DiGiulian was an assistant coach at Division III Middlebury College during the 2007-08 and 2008-09 seasons, as the Panthers went a combined 37-14-3 while reaching the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) Tournament championship game both winters. Middlebury was 26-9-3 in the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) East as a league counterpart to Saint Michael's. Between the 1997-98 and 2005-06 seasons, DiGiulian was an assistant coach at the Division I University of Vermont, which he helped qualify for the postseason seven times, including in 2005-06 during the program's first year in Hockey East. The Catamounts advanced in ECAC Division I Championship play three times during his tenure, including after posting a 13-6-3 league mark in 2004-05. During his nine winters with Vermont, DiGiulian was heavily involved in coordinating and supervising alumni and community service endeavors in the Burlington area. He served on the Hobey Baker Memorial Award selection committee and on the America Hockey Coaches Association (ACHA) awards committee while coaching the Catamounts. At Vermont, DiGiulian was instrumental in the recruitment of Torrey Mitchell and Patrick Sharp, both of whom have played at the highest professional level in the National Hockey League (NHL). Mitchell has played for two NHL teams, while Sharp won the 2010 and 2013 Stanley Cup with the Chicago Blackhawks. In 2016, DiGiulian was an assistant coach as the Lithuanian national team won the Division II Group A bronze medal at the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) U18 World Championship in Romania. Since 1997, DiGiulian has been a coach, evaluator and presenter in the USA Hockey development system. He was selected to coach the 1999, 2000 and 2001 Rocky Mountain District Select-16 team while, in 2000, he assisted a gold-medal-winning U-17 select team during a tournament in the Czech Republic. DiGiulian has helped organize evaluation camps in Vermont for USA Hockey while evaluating and choosing players aged 14 to 17 for USA Hockey Select Festivals. DiGiulian coached in the Junior A ranks prior to gaining college experience, most recently as the associate head coach and assistant general manager with the Butte (Montana) Fightin' Irish of the American Frontier Hockey League (AFHL) in 1996-97, when the Fightin' Irish advanced to the league finals. In 1995-96, he was an assistant for the AFHL's Vail (Colo.) Avalanche, who owned the league's best record, at 40-6-3. DiGiulian previously played professionally in 1993-94 with the Louisville Icehawks of the East Coast Hockey League (ECHL) and the Tulsa Oilers of the Central Hockey League (CHL), as well as coaching and training with the Vancouver-based Furokawa Hockey Club of Japan in 1994-95. A 1993 graduate of Hamilton (N.Y.) College, DiGiulian earned a degree in history while also playing for the Continentals. Beyond his coaching and playing careers, DiGiulian has become an on-air ice hockey analyst, appearing on radio station WVMT for University of Vermont broadcasts since 2006 and on ESPNU for select Division I contests since 2007. He resides in South Burlington with his wife Kelly and their two children, who will be 11 and 7 years old at the beginning of the 2016-17 ice hockey season.

Fratkin began working for Elite Hockey Shooters, where he oversaw player development for various age groups, including college players. In 2012 and 2013, he was behind the bench to guide Team Canada West to a combined 4-1-1 record in the Chowder Cup in Boston. Fratkin began volunteering in 2006 as an on-ice instructor and mentor for the Hockey Education Reaching Out Society (HEROS), a Vancouver-based program dedicated to teaching basic hockey skills to economically-challenged youths. Fratkin has also devoted time to the Two-Way Hockey School since 2008, while also taking the head coaching duties for the Vancouver Ravens Hockey Club pee-wee team in spring 2010. Fratkin came to Saint Michael's after a four-year collegiate playing career split between Division III institutions Wesleyan University and Elmira College. He spent the 2010-11 campaign skating for nationally-ranked NCAA Tournament quarterfinalist Elmira before transferring to Wesleyan for 2011-12. In three seasons with the Cardinals, Fratkin played 51 games as a defenseman, helping the team make three straight appearances in the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) postseason. He was also recognized twice on the NESCAC All-Academic team. Prior to his collegiate career, Fratkin played four years of junior hockey in the Alberta Junior Hockey League (AJHL) and British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL). Fratkin earned his bachelor's degree from Wesleyan in history with a concentration in European history in May 2014.