From Sault, MI to Detroit Red Wings?

Sault Ste. Marie, MI native Jeff Blashill may be the next coach of the National Hockey League’s Detroit Red Wings.

MLive.com’s Ansar Khan is reporting that the team will make the 41-year-old the second youngest coach in the league as early as Tuesday of next week. New Jersey Devils coach John Hynes, hired by the team on Tuesday, is the NHL’s youngest current coach at age 40.

The report says Blashill is expected to reveice a three-year deal from the team and a press conference announcing the move is expected to come Tuesday as Red Wings General Manager Ken Holland is at the NHL Scouting Combine and Blashill has exit interviews with the American Hockey League’s Grand Rapid Griffins scheduled for Monday.

Blashill has spent the past three seasons as the Griffins head coach, compiling a 134-71-12-11 record. Blashill served as the Red Wings assistant coach during the 2011-12 season before being named the Griffins coach. With the Griffins, Blashill won an AHL championship during his first season behind the bench.

Prior to joining the Red wings organization, Blashill served one season as head coach of the Western Michigan University Broncos in 2010-11, a season in which he led the school to an NCAA tournament berth. The previous two seasons saw Blashill coach the United States Hockey League’s Indiana Ice, where he also won a league title.

Following his collegiate hockey career that wrapped up in 1997-98 after four seasons at Ferris State University, Blashill joined his alma-mater as an assistant coach prior to the 1999-2000 season and spent three years with the school before becoming an assistant coach at Miami (Ohio) in 2002. He spent six seasons at Miami before being named head coach of the Ice.

Blashill has been seen as a rising start of sorts in the NHL coaching ranks. Last summer five teams requested permission to speak with Blashill about coaching vacancies but all were denied.

Born in Southfield, MI, Blashill was raised in the Michigan Sault.

The coaching position in Detroit opened up as Mike Babcock left the team to take the coaching position with the Toronto Maple Leafs after 10 years with the Red Wings.

Babcock signed a reported eight-year contract worth approximately $50 million with Toronto.