St. Olaf College Athletics

Mike Eaves spent three seasons as the head men's hockey coach at St. Olaf from 2016-17 through 2018-19 after being named to the position on May 27, 2016.

Over his three seasons, the Oles went 21-44-8 overall and 14-28-6 in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC). He coached four All-MIAC selections and five Honorable Mention All-MIAC honorees at St. Olaf.

Prior to coming to St. Olaf, Eaves spent the previous 14 seasons as head coach at the University of Wisconsin. He led Wisconsin to seven NCAA appearances including a national title in 2006 and a runner up finish in 2010, while compiling a 267-225-66 record in Madison. His teams won at least 20 games eight times and won back-to-back postseason league championships in 2012-13 (WCHA) and 2013-14 (Big Ten). 

As of 2015, Eaves coached 62 Wisconsin players who went on to play professional hockey, including 28 in the NHL. In 2014-15, there were 22 former Badgers that played in at least one NHL game which was tied for the most among NCAA schools.

A two-time All-America selection as a player at Wisconsin, Eaves played on a NCAA championship team in 1977 and remains the Badgers' all-time leading scorer with 267 points. He was a member of the 1976 and 1978 US National Team before playing seven years in the NHL with stints with Minnesota and Calgary. Eaves retired in 1986 after collecting 90 career goals in 370 NHL games. 

Eaves moved on to Division I St. Cloud State in 1987 before having stops with the Philadelphia Flyers, Hershey (AHL), SM-Liiga (Finland), Shattuck-St. Mary's and the Pittsburgh Penguins before his time at Wisconsin. He was tabbed as hockey director and head coach of the US National Team from 2000-02 and to coach the US National Junior Team, which won the 2004 World title.

Eaves has represented the United States in international play numerous times as a player and coach.  He was a member of Team USA in the 1981 and 1984 Canada Cups and the 1976 and 1978 National Teams at the International Ice Hockey World Championships. He was an assistant under his college coach, Bob Johnson, at the 1991 Canada Cup, an assistant for the 1991 U.S. National Team and directed the 2006 U.S. National team at the IIHF Word Championship in Latvia. 

For two seasons, he was head coach of USA Hockey's National Team Development Program (NTDP). The program was initiated to enhance the development of elite under-20 American players. In 2002, Eaves helped the US to a gold medal at the 2002 IIHF World Under-18 Championship in Slovakia, which was the first title for the U.S. in the history of the event and the first gold medal, excluding the Olympics, for the United States since 1933.  

Eaves comes from a hockey family. His father, Cecil, won an NCAA championship at the University of Denver (1956-57) and is credited with assisting in the construction of the Ohio State hockey program. Mike's bother, Murray, earned two letters at Michigan before spending eight seasons in the NHL with Winnipeg and Detroit. Murray is the head coach at Shattuck St. Mary's in Faribault. 

Eaves and his wife, Beth, have two sons, Ben and Patrick. Ben was a captain of the 2003-04 Boston College team and won a national title in 2001. Patrick played three seasons at BC before joining the NHL's Ottawa Senators. Patrick has played with four NHL teams in his career and is a member of the Dallas Stars.