Lake Superior State University welcomed Mike Gugin to Sault Ste. Marie as Assistant Athletics Director for Hockey Business Initiatives in April of 2026. Mike, an assistant coach with the Lakers during the 2021 WCHA Championship season, returned after nearly five years at St. Lawrence University.
 
Mike guides the Lakers long-term hockey business planning, including multi-year financial modeling, resource allocation strategies and operational improvements, while assisting with stewardship for the Laker Hockey Legacy Advancement Fund and driving NIL opportunities for student-athletes.
 
Gugin was named the Coordinator of Hockey Operations for St. Lawrence’s men’s ice hockey team in August of 2021 and worked his way into an Assistant Athletic Director position, where he has been involved in the management of SLU’s 31 NCAA Division I and Division III teams.
 
Since departing Lake Superior State in 2021, Mike has remained active in the Sault Ste. Marie community. In conjunction with former Equipment Manager Dan Kinnear, Mike has led the Wes DeJong Foundation, created in memory of Wes, the Lakers Equipment Manager who passed away in the summer of 2022.
 
Mike graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration and Sport Management from Aquinas College before earning his Master of Sport Science, Recreation and Coaching from Ohio University.
 
A native of Negaunee, Michigan, Mike lives in Sault Ste. Marie with his wife, Kayla, and their two children, Dani and Brian.