Episode 132: Brian Idalski, Head Coach of Syracuse Women's Hockey

On this episode we welcome back Brian Idalski, the new head coach of the Syracuse women's hockey team and head coach of the Czechia women's national team. Brian was last on the show in Episode 85, when he was in his second year at St. Cloud State, and a lot has happened since. We start with the NCAA 5-for-5 rule change, the pending senior class lawsuit, and what a 26-player roster cap means for the 2027 and 2028 recruiting classes, something Brian calls "COVID 2.0." Brian gives an honest accounting of the Vancouver Goldeneyes' inaugural PWHL season, including the toll of constant time zone changes and the Olympic break, and shares how he came to lead Czechia. We also discuss his plans for rebuilding Syracuse, why he builds programs around "solid B kids with A work ethic," how moving from the WCHA to AHA changes his measuring stick, and his advice for families stuck in an unpredictable recruiting cycle: it is our job to find you, so focus on becoming the best version of yourself.

You can connect with Brian Idalski either on the Syracuse women’s hockey website or via Brian Idalski’s Champs App profile

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Champs App is your recruiting and development copilot. We help athletes, coaches, parents, and agents/advisors navigate the youth sports landscape. Create a free Champs App account to build a beautiful hockey profile and unlock free, high-quality content focused on recruiting and hockey player development.⁠Download Champs App for iOS in the Apple App Store⁠⁠Download Champs App for Android in the Google Play Store⁠

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Champs360 is the all-in-one recruiting and development copilot for players, parents, and coaches. It gives families the clarity and tools to navigate the recruiting process with less stress and more confidence.At its core, Champs360 brings everything together in one organized system. The College Search tool lets families filter and explore every school by size, location, admission scores and tuition. My Shortlist makes it easy to save and track the programs you care about, and for every school on your shortlist, the Team Dashboard delivers deep program intelligence: rosters, coaching staff, recruiting data, upcoming events, and school-specific articles and videos, all in one place.

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