In a remarkable feat, Mahtomedi Boys Hockey head coach Jeff Poeschl reached the monumental milestone of 500 career wins in the 2023-24 season. This places him in an elite group, as only the 19th coach in Minnesota history to achieve this, and he is currently ranked the 6th among active boys high school hockey coaches in the state.
Poeschl began his coaching career at St. Thomas Academy, compiling his first 44 wins and beginning to build his legacy as an incredible coach. Kevin Gorg was one of the goalies Poeschl coached at St. Thomas, and later went on to become a hockey coach himself. Gorg shared this about being coached by Poeschl, “I knew what a tremendous goalie he was back in the day at Hill-Murray and Northern Michigan so to be coached by him was quite inspirational. Coach Poeschl was such a calming influence on me–he had a very cerebral approach to goaltending which was awesome. The role he took was always one of support and positivity.”
Poeschl has been coaching at Mahtomedi for 27 years, reaching 500 career wins with a 3-2 victory over Hastings during the 2024 season. In his time at Mahtomedi, he has brought 12 teams to the state tournament, bringing home two championship titles. Wyatt Tarnowski, senior varsity defenseman, and a member of the 2023 state championship team, shared this about Poeschl’s impact, “Mr. Poeschl is a large part of Mahtomedi hockey’s success. First off, he does a great job inspiring and motivating everyone to be the best player they can be. In addition, he does a great job running good practices that prepare his players for games and help them improve their skills. And finally, Poeschl does a great job picking lineups and creating good matchups in games.”
Reflecting on his coaching career and what inspires his style, Coach Poeschl shared this, “What’s inspired me has been my own experience as an athlete and knowing the impact and the influence of the coaches I’ve had growing up. Parents have a tremendous voice in their kid’s life, but a coach has a different kind of voice and can have an impact that is unique, so that's definitely been what led me to get into coaching.”
Written by Caroline Burge, Class of 2024 student at Mahtomedi High School and Mahtomedi Public Schools Communications Intern
Photos by Beth Donahue