It's pretty rare for a high school to have one varsity coach with a resume that includes a championship with a professional sports team.
But Pequot Lakes High School now has two varsity coaches who have attained titles in two of the four major professional sports.
Shawn Chambers, who helped the New Jersey Devils (1995) and Dallas Stars (1999) win the Stanley Cup, will be the new hockey coach for the Northern Lakes Lightning, pending approval by the school board.
Chambers joins Patriots' football coach Chip Lohmiller, a former NFL kicker who won a Super Bowl as a member of the Washington Redskins in 1992.
"That is pretty rare," Chambers said of the milestones of the two coaches. "I don't know if it means a lot to the players. They were so young and probably don't remember when I played."
Chambers, a defenseman who played in the NHL from 1987 to 2000, replaces Pete Sauer as Lightning coach. Sauer recently resigned after a 10-16 overall season.
It was the first year for the Lightning, a consolidation between Pequot Lakes, Pine River-Backus, Crosby-Ironton, Aitkin and Northland-Remer high schools.
Chambers, who moved to the lakes area shortly after retiring in 2000, had been coaching at the youth hockey level in Pequot Lakes in recent years.
"I don't know if I'm a good coach or not, but I know the game really well," he said. "I seem to get along well with the kids. They work hard for me."
Chambers put an emphasis on hard work.
"You can be as good as you want with hard work," he said, "but if you don't want to work hard, it doesn't matter how much talent you have or who is coaching your team."
Chambers, who has two sons playing youth hockey, has coached at a variety of levels the past six seasons - including taking the Bantam B team to the state tournament last winter. He also once served as an assistant high school hockey coach for Bob Fischer.
"I'm sure it will take a couple practices for the kids to adjust to me," he said. "We will work more on defensive coverage. Everything starts from the defensive end."
Chambers, a Michigan native, was a defenseman selected by the Minnesota North Stars in the 1987 NHL supplemental draft. He played parts of four seasons with the North Stars, including helping the team on its surprising run to the finals in 1991.
Chambers was traded to Washington before the 1991-92 season, but he played just two games with the Capitals because of injuries. He was claimed by Tampa Bay and played parts of three seasons with the Lightning. He was traded to the New Jersey Devils, and his strong defensive play helped the Devils claim their first Stanley Cup in 1995.
Chambers joined the Dallas Stars before the 1997-98 season, and helped guide the Stars to their first title in 1999.
He retired after only playing four games for the Stars the following season.
Chambers finished his career with 50 goals and 185 assists in 625 regular season games. He added seven goals and 26 assists in 94 playoff games.
