Assistant Keith Robertson named new Howell hockey head coach
HOWELL — Keith Robertson is the new head coach for Howell’s hockey team after one season as an assistant coach, but he’s been around the sport long enough to know the lay of the land.
To have the kind of success Robertson hopes to achieve with the Highlanders, he knows it’s imperative they win first in their own backyard.
“Where we’re at, we’re gonna battle every year with Brighton and Hartland,” Robertson said. “As far as Livingston County goes, that’s where the bar is at. We want to compete, we want to do well.”
Robertson takes over a strong program which has won two regional championships in the past five seasons. But Howell’s two local rivals have combined to win seven state championships and finish as runner-up five times in the past 11 complete seasons.
Howell made back-to-back state finals in 2009 and 2010 and reached the 2020 semifinals, only to have the plug pulled on the state tournament by the COVID shutdowns.
“When you look at the years past, it kind of runs through Livingston County,” Robertson said. “With Brighton and Kurt Kivisto and Ricky Gadwa (at Hartland) building such powerhouses, it’s somewhere we want to be collectively as a program.
“Livingston County has a lot of hockey players. I’m extremely excited to get going. I’m extremely proud to represent Howell High School, the city of Howell and the community.”
Robertson is well aware of the power structure in Michigan high school hockey, having been an assistant coach at Livonia Stevenson for 10 years before coming to Howell to work last season with head coach Rocky Johnson. Johnson stepped down recently after five seasons as head coach.
Robertson takes over a team coming off one of its best recent seasons. The Highlanders were 18-9-1, winning a regional championship before losing 7-4 to Clarkston in the state Division 1 quarterfinals.
Howell loses 10 players to graduation, but returns four of its top seven scorers, including first-team all-state sophomore defenseman Chad Pietila. Juniors Ben Huotari and Rory Sturos were the two leading scorers last winter on a balanced team.
“The trajectory of the program is good,” Robertson said. “We’re heading in the right direction. We had a very successful year in winning a region. We want to build on that. Michigan high school hockey is extremely competitive, especially in this area. Just like any other team out there, we want to compete for a state title. Going forward, we’re in a position where we can continue to improve. There’s always something to improve on and get better at.”
Robertson moved to Howell three years ago, commuting to Livonia for two seasons to assist head coach David Mitchell at Stevenson. He joined the Highlanders’ staff last season and was viewed by many as the heir apparent to Johnson. Robertson has more than 20 years of coaching experience.
He views the continuity of hiring from within as a plus.
“They’re somewhat used to my direction and our expectations as a program, so it’s not going to be any surprise for the returners,” Robertson said. “Graduating 10 guys, that’s possibly 10 new faces coming into the program. With the foundation of the returners, that will be spread into the young group coming.”
Contact Bill Khan at wkhan@gannett.com. Follow him on X @BillKhan
This article originally appeared on Livingston Daily: Long-time assistant Keith Robertson named new Howell hockey coach
