By Jen Toland, College Beat Writer

July 28, 2014

Worcester, MA --- Shayne Toporowski was born in Saskatchewan and played professionally around the world, but since his days as a winger for the IceCats, Worcester is where he has put down roots.

"It is my home," Toporowski said.

After playing for 12 seasons in Europe, including nine in Finland, and serving as a player/coach for the CHL's Quad City Mallards in 2012-13, Toporowski was an assistant at Holy Cross last season.

On Monday, Worcester State announced the hiring of Toporowski as its men's ice hockey coach. The 38-year-old Toporowski replaces John Guiney, who resigned earlier this summer after guiding the Lancers for 22 seasons.

"It's a huge opportunity," Toporowski said. "I'm going to put everything I can into the program to help turn it around and make it successful."

Toporowski, who was a second-round pick of the Los Angeles Kings in the 1993 NHL Entry Draft, played 1,057 games for 15 teams in seven countries during his 18-year professional career. In addition, he runs Competitive Goals Hockey Training in Marlboro, where he works with players from the mite to professional level while also running various clinics and a summer youth camp.

"I am very excited for our student-athletes to have the opportunity to learn and play under Shayne," Worcester State director of athletics Mike Mudd said. "Shayne's reputation as a teacher of the game to local elite youth, high school, college and professional players is outstanding. Worcester State is proud to welcome Shayne to our family."

Worcester State is coming off a 9-15-1 campaign. The Lancers last had a winning season in 1997-98 when they finished 13-12. This year's roster features 10 seniors.

"This is a great opportunity to take the Lancers in a new direction," Toporowski said. "I am eager to share and instill some of the great concepts that I have learned throughout my professional career as a player and a coach."

Recruiting and skill development will be key, Toporowski said. He would like to bring in more players from Massachusetts.

During his year at Holy Cross under Paul Pearl, Toporowski helped guide the Crusaders to the Atlantic Hockey Association Tournament quarterfinals while assisting with recruiting, scouting, game-day preparation and video analysis. Pearl left Holy Cross in May to become associate head coach at Harvard.

"It was an unbelievable learning experience," Toporowski said.

This season, the Lancers will play their 10 home games at the Hart Center.

Toporowski played for the IceCats from 1997-99. It was during this time he met his wife, Stephanie, who is from Shrewsbury.

The couple has two children, 8-year-old Dmitri, who will play for the Worcester Junior Sharks this year, and 5-year-old Olena, who told her dad she didn't want to play hockey yet but enjoys dance, gymnastics and figure skating.

Toporowski also ran the Toporowski Skills Camp in Worcester and Quad Cities, Iowa, in 2013, and served as the On Ice Skills head instructor for Jeff Oliver's Jacked on the Hill camp at Holy Cross in 2012.

"This is our home, and I've established some good roots here in the hockey community," Toporowski said, "integrating a skilled development program and trying to give back to the game as much as I can. The game has been tremendous to me and my family."

The Lancers open the 2014-15 season Nov. 1 against Wentworth. Toporowski is eager to get things going.

"There is no better way to learn than to be thrown into the fire," he said. "You can be an assistant coach for as long as you want, but until you're that guy — a head coach — you don't really know what it entails and at some point, you have to learn that role."

Telegram & Gazette Article | SB Sports Nation Article | USCHO Article | NCAA.com Article

Worcester State Athletics Press Release

Photo Above Courtesy of Holy Cross Sports Information

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