But that doesn’t stop the Summerlin resident from recruiting on a national scale and trying to make the Rebels the most potent team in the American

Collegiate Hockey Association.

Now in Pallin’s second year, UNLV is off to a 6-0 start through Oct. 1 after going 13-13-2-2 one year ago.

“Right after the last game of the year, I literally went on the road and started recruiting kids,” Pallin said. “Not every kid is going to have the ability to play NCAA hockey, but a lot of kids in the Southwest and even Alaska still want to go to school and they still want to play hockey because they have their whole life.”

Pallin strongly pitches UNLV’s top academic programs, such as hotel management, business and criminal justice to sell some of his recruits on the school.

Pallin said the skill level of the players he recruited was so much higher than the team he inherited in 2007 that he had to cut about 10 players that would have been eligible to return this season. Club teams have tryouts every season and no roster spots are guaranteed.

Pallin’s goal is for the Rebels to win 25 of the 32 games on their schedule.

“The talent level is going to up every year with (Palin) here,” said freshman Mike Zenzola, who played three years of junior hockey before joining UNLV. “From what I’ve heard about last year until now, he’s already brought it up another level. ”

Pallin took over the Rebels after coaching the Las Vegas Midget hockey program, primarily players ages 15 to 18, since moving to Southern Nevada in 2000.

He guided a number of local players to the next level, including Adam Neglach, currently the captain at the University of Alaska, and Eddie Delgrosso, a Cimarron-Memorial graduate who plays for the University of Nebraska-Omaha .

“There are a lot of good hockey players here,” Pallin said. “I was surprised when I moved here in 2000 how many kids play hockey in Las Vegas. And they do it 12 months out of the year.”

Pallin moved to Las Vegas after playing for various professional leagues in Germany, Italy and France from 1990 to 1999. During summers, he made his way to Las Vegas to compete for a professional roller hockey team coached by Chris McSorley, who also coached the city’s now-defunct International Hockey League team, the Las Vegas Thunder.

Before turning pro, Pallin played Division I hockey in the 1980s, including two years for the University of Minnesota-Duluth.

Pallin took over the UNLV program, which is only in its fourth year of existence, because he wanted to test himself coaching college hockey.

“You want to recruit hard, but you want to get to a point where you have your phone ringing with people calling you,” he said. “You wouldn’t believe the e-mails I get every week now from kids all over the country that know how great the hotel management program or the criminal justice program is but they’re great hockey players that want to continue playing.”

Joshua Jasek-Jepson, a freshman who played for Pallin as a Midget player while attending Mojave High, joined the Rebels this summer.

He said UNLV’s program is ready to break out under Pallin’s leadership.

“Coach really made an effort to get a team he could really take to the highest level and hopefully make it all the way through nationals,” Jasek-Jepson said.

But the man who wears the coveted captain’s ‘C’ on his uniform grew up a 15-minute drive away. Ryan Krametbauer, a 2005 Bonanza graduate, is in his second year as UNLV’s captain.

“It makes you feel pretty special because you’re elected captain by your peers,” Krametbauer said. “It shows they want you to be their leader. You have to appreciate what the guys have to say about you and show up and be a leader.”

A veteran presence like Krametbauer’s is crucial, coach Rob Pallin said. After finishing 13-13-2 in his first season a year ago, Pallin began recruiting new players from out of state.

The recruiting efforts gave Pallin a much more talented team when he held tryouts last month. About seven players eligible to return from last year’s roster failed to make the cut. The Rebels bring back only about 10 players on their 25-man roster.

“Having as many new guys as we do, it’s become pretty interesting to see how quickly the guys have adapted,” Krametbauer said.

A defenseman, Krametbauer scored one goal and added nine assists to go along with 60 penalty minutes in 28 games last season. Pallin said the team relies on Krametbauer’s consistent defensive play, but his biggest value is his leadership.

“He keeps everybody in line,” Pallin said. “I always expect my team captain to be like a coach in a way. I don’t think people know everything Ryan does off the ice. He puts in a lot of hours every week just to put things in the right order as far as our program is concerned.”

Krametbauer said the landscape of hockey in Las Vegas, with club teams like the Ice Cats and Outlaws, has changed dramatically.

“Not only are we fielding teams in youth hockey that make regional tournaments, they’re actually winning national tournaments,” Krametbauer said.

Krametbauer will graduate in May. After that, he hopes to attend law school at UNLV. Should that happen, he would have one more year of eligibility with the Rebels, which he plans on taking advantage of.

“I’ve always loved Las Vegas,” he said. “I never was one of those guys in high school that had to leave town.”