On June 8th, 2022, Trent Vogelhuber became the seventh Head Coach in the history of the Cleveland Monsters franchise. Leading up to this announcement, Vogelhuber spent the past four seasons as an assistant coach for the team and was on the 2016 Calder Cup Championship team. With Mike Eaves’ contract coming to an end, it made sense to elevate a familiar face like Vogelhuber from Assistant Coach to Head Coach.
Taking the Reins of the Monsters
During the 2021-22 season, Mike Eaves had to take a step back from a few of his head coaching duties. “Last year was a funky year because of the unfortunate stuff the coaching staff had to go through with Coach Eaves,” said Vogelhuber. “Who is fully healthy now and doing great. Which is the most important thing.” This allowed Vogelhuber and the other coaches to take on more responsibility. Even though everyone was eager to help, there were bumps in the road when it came to figuring out who was and wasn’t in control last season. Now that one person is completely in charge, things are operating a bit smoother for the team. “It makes my job easier knowing that the decisions are mine to make,” said Vogelhuber. “It’s just been a lot simpler and smooth sailing so far in that regard.”
Great Communicator
So, what does Vogelhuber bring to the table as a Head Coach?
When you ask the players what Vogelhuber brings to the table as a head coach, one quality echoes throughout the locker room – great communicator. “For me, one big thing is he’s a great communicator with us,” explained Captain Dillon Simpson. Due to his ability to get on the player’s level when discussing the game, everyone on the team knows what’s expected of them to succeed throughout the season. “He does a good job of portraying how to stay accountable, how to stay in the lineup, what you need to do,” said Simpson of Vogelhuber’s ability to communicate well with the players.
According to forward Carson Meyer, Vogelhuber is a strong presence in the locker room. “He’s very open with players. Always grabbing guys after practice around the locker room to talk to them.” He then went on to explain that Vogelhuber’s openness and presence takes the guess-work out of knowing what is expected of them. “You know exactly what you need to do to stay in the lineup and help the team, ” said Meyer. “I think, at least for me, that’s the best recipe with a coach because you can just play your game and you don’t have to worry about anything else.”
Coaching Ohio AAA Blue Jackets Alumni
To add a cherry on the top of his promotion, Vogelhuber continues to have the unique opportunity of coaching players from the youth program he helped make successful. Since 2018, five alumni of the Ohio AAA Blue Jackets youth hockey program out of Columbus have donned a Monsters sweater – Meyer, Kole Sherwood, Connor McDonald, Cole Cassels, and Justin Richards. “The program there has come so far and they’re just spitting out good hockey players left and right,” said Vogelhuber of the OBJ. Over the years, the shock of seeing players from the program in the AHL has worn off. Now, he’s just enjoying every moment of the success the program continues to experience. “It’s just fun for me to be able to see them and in some cases help them in their process of being a pro and hopefully playing in the NHL.”
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