Tag: UniversityAnchorageAlaska

Hockey Life After The Seawolves With Eric Silverman (Ep. 3)

Hockey Life After The Seawolves With Eric Silverman (Ep. 3)

With over 40 years of Seawolf Alumni, we love seeing what they accomplished after their years as players.

In this episode, David Vallieres talks with Eric Silverman (Silvy) on the podcast to share where he’s ended up since playing as a Seawolf. He updates the Alumni community about one of the top premier hockey programs in the country, the Dallas Stars Elite Hockey Club, which he founded.

Eric discusses: 

  • How his trip to Alaska as a prospect pushed him to move to Anchorage, Alaska from New York to play for the Seawolves
  • How his daughter has helped him see coaching from a parent perspective
  • How he is still involved in hockey after his years as a competitive player
  • And more

Connect With David Vallieres: 

Connect With Eric Silverman:

About Our Guest: 

Eric Silverman has an extensive hockey background. He grew up playing AAA hockey in New York and left home while in high school to play Junior A hockey for the Sioux City Musketeers (USHL).  Eric finished his Junior career ranked as the fourth all-time leading scorer in Sioux City history. 

From there he earned a scholarship to play Division I college hockey at the University of Alaska Anchorage (WCHA) where he was the Seawolves’ leading goal scorer as a sophomore. After college he spent three seasons playing professional hockey in the ECHL and CHL. He then spent one season as an assistant coach at the Division I college level with Iona College (MAAC).

Eric is well-trained in skill development spending five years as a head instructor with Robby Glantz Power Skating. During this time he traveled the country working with NHL, AHL, college, and many youth hockey players on power skating and skill development.

This will be Eric’s 13th season coaching in Texas. His teams have consistently been highly ranked nationally and he has helped provide opportunities for several of his players to reach the next level. 

Bringing Back The Brotherhood (Ep. 2)

Bringing Back The Brotherhood (Ep. 2)

Being a Seawolf goes beyond the rink. In the past 40 years, Seawolf hockey has had generations after generations of alumni all forming one big brotherhood.

In this episode, David Vallieres, talks with Coach Shasby accompanied by fellow alum, Rick Ellison. Coach shares some updates about the 2022-2023 team’s first road trip of the season and Rick shares what he’s been up to since leaving UAA.

David, Coach, and Rick discuss: 

  • The 2022-23 team’s success in their first road trip to Colorado College
  • The development of a mentorship program with the help of fellow alumni
  • The importance of the Seawolf brotherhood to all of its members
  • And more

Connect With David Vallieres: 

Connect With Matt Shasby:

Connect With Rick Ellison:

About Matt Shasby: 

Coach Shasby is currently the vice president of player development for the state of Alaska and serves as a coach with the Anchorage Hockey Association. He has coached numerous age groups in addition to high school teams during his coaching career that started in 2009.  

Shasby is a Seawolf alum who played in 127 games during his four-year career for the Seawolves from 1999 to 2003. He was an All-WCHA Second Team Defenseman and was named to the All-WCHA Academic Team three times.

Shasby went on to play professional hockey, appearing in 375 games, primarily with the Alaska Aces of the ECHL. He has served as a volunteer with USA Hockey at numerous camps and coaching education programs.

Shasby earned a bachelor’s degree in history from Alaska Anchorage in 2008 and a master’s degree in secondary education from the University of Phoenix. He currently teaches seventh and eighth grade social studies at Northern Lights ABC.

About Rick Ellison:

Ellison was a coach and player in Europe and Asia and served as assistant coach for the University of Alaska-Anchorage, additionally lettering for four seasons with the program as a forward 1984-88.

Now, he is a dynamic organizational developer, leader and program director, with an unblemished record of success in Business Development, Sales and Marketing. Hallmarks of 20+ year career are an ability to engender trust, gain consensus, position divisions and organizations for sustainable growth, and grow commercial and nonprofit programs to national prominence. Currently driving business growth for the scientific and research division of an international manufacturer of pharmaceutical, bio-tech research testing and process equipment.

Introducing The Pack is Back Podcast (Ep. 1)

Introducing The Pack is Back Podcast (Ep. 1)

What’s up Sea Wolves fans and welcome to The Pack is Back Podcast, hosted by alumni, David Vallieres! 

In this inaugural episode, David talks with Matt Shasby, the Seawolves head coach, to talk about the trials and tribulations of stepping into this role and rebuilding the Seawolves program. As the season kicks off, we get a glimpse of how the team is looking so far, and where they hope to go in the future.

Matt discusses: 

  • The adventure of refreshing a program and fostering it back to health
  • How the transfer portal changed the game for college hockey recruitment
  • The effort and experience of having Seawolf hockey back on the ice
  • And more

Connect With David Vallieres: 

Connect With Matt Shasby:

About Matt Shasby: 

Coach Shasby is currently the vice president of player development for the state of Alaska and serves as a coach with the Anchorage Hockey Association. He has coached numerous age groups in addition to high school teams during his coaching career that started in 2009.  

Shasby is a Seawolf alum who played in 127 games during his four-year career for the Seawolves from 1999 to 2003. He was an All-WCHA Second Team Defenseman and was named to the All-WCHA Academic Team three times.

Shasby went on to play professional hockey, appearing in 375 games, primarily with the Alaska Aces of the ECHL. He has served as a volunteer with USA Hockey at numerous camps and coaching education programs.

Shasby earned a bachelor’s degree in history from Alaska Anchorage in 2008 and a master’s degree in secondary education from the University of Phoenix. He currently teaches seventh and eighth grade social studies at Northern Lights ABC.