Appert eager for new opportunity in pros

“I learned a ton by being fired,” Appert said in a phone interview Friday. “I’m a big believer that adversity fuels growth if you look at adversity the right way. I did that.”

In 2017, he led the Under-17 Team to the gold medal at the Five Nations Tournament. In 2018, Appert coached the U.S. Under-18 team to a silver medal at the IIHF World Championship, a year after serving as an assistant coach on the gold medal-winning team.

Things didn’t end as well at RPI, where the Engineers went 38-69-11 in Appert’s final three seasons, giving him a career mark of 152-221-48 (.418).

“I’m proud of what we did at RPI,” he said. “I’m proud of the national tournament team (2011), teams that were contending for the tournament, best record in the ECAC in the last 25 years (2013). I’m proud of the All-Americans and the Hobey Baker candidates. I’m proud of those things. At the same point, at the end it slipped, and that’s on me. Getting fired, you look at the results and the adjustments you want to make as a coach. Being on the national team allowed me to focus on coaching.

“When you’re at RPI, you’re a little bit ‘under,’ whether it’s under-funded, under-supported from a manpower or resource standpoint. There are so many things you do as a head coach that aren’t coaching — fundraising, alumni relations, recruiting, golf outings. At the national team, you get to coach hockey. When I would go home at night at RPI, there were a lot of times you’re thinking about other things — what recruit am I going to call, what alum I need to meet with, or some admissions issues, or whatever it is. When I went home the last three years, all I thought about is, ‘How do I make my players better tomorrow?’ That was a massive shift that really allowed for a lot of growth in my coaching mindset.”

The mindset should be similar in Rochester, where Appert, 49, is getting his first exposure to the pro game. The position became open when the Buffalo Sabres, the Amerks’ parent club, unexpectedly fired Rochester coach Chris Taylor and his assistants.

Appert is in the process of hiring a coaching staff, getting to know some of the players and getting things settled. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the start of NHL training camps will be delayed until November, two months later than usual, and the AHL is expected to begin its regular season on or around Dec. 4.

“My job is to coach them,” Appert said. “I’ll be a part of some level of those acquisition decisions, but those things will be more the free agents, the veterans that you sign to help the young guys learn what it takes. Most of the decision-making will be handled by the management in Buffalo, as it should be at the pro level, and my job is to develop them.”

Much like his players, Appert, a former goaltender at Ferris State and a nine-year assistant at Denver, hopes to get to the NHL someday, but that isn’t where is mind is.

“I’ve always been a guy that focuses on being great where I’m at, not worrying about where I’m trying to go,” he said. “It doesn’t mean I’m not motivated by where I’m trying to go. It’s something that I try to teach our players, too. Our players with the national team, they all want to get to the NHL, but let’s be great today. Let’s be great where we are. My focus is going to be completely on being a great coach for the Rochester Americans and developing players for the Buffalo Sabres. If I do a great job of that, the rest will take care of itself.”

pdougherty@timesunion.com ■ 518-454-5416 ■ @Pete_Dougherty