USA Hockey Unveils Plans For Women's National Program
July 6, 2006
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -- USA Hockey unveiled plans for its women's national team program on July 5, 2006 as it begins preparation for the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver.
BROADER PARTICIPATION OF COACHES
Those plans, according to Dave Ogrean, executive director of USA Hockey, include a broader participation of coaches.
"Thanks to the efforts of Ben Smith and others, girls' and women's hockey in our country has grown significantly in the last decade," said Ogrean. "Along with that progress has come the development of more coaches, and, over the next four years, we'll be affording more coaches than ever before the chance to coach our elite-level teams."
Ogrean noted that USA Hockey is moving away from the concept of a full-time women's national team coach.
"When we hired Ben Smith as our first-ever full-time women's national team coach in 1996, it was clearly the right thing to do," said Ogrean. "Ben did an absolutely terrific job in taking us to three Olympic hockey medals, something no coach has ever done. It is time now, however, to give some other coaches an opportunity. We're extremely pleased that Ben has agreed to continue on our staff and help us in evaluating players on both the women's and men's side."
WOMEN'S NATIONAL FESTIVAL TO FEATURE THOSE UNDER 22
USA Hockey's annual Women's National Festival this year will feature the best U.S. players under 22 years of age. The camp is set for August 15-22 in Lake Placid, N.Y. Camp invitees will be announced in early July and, from that group, a team of 20 players will be selected to participate in a three-game, Under-22 Series against Canada in Ottawa, Ontario, Aug. 23-27.
Katey Stone (Arlington, Mass.), head women's ice hockey coach at Harvard University, will coach the U.S. Women's National Under-22 Select Team that will compete in the Under-22 Series.
Stone completed her 12th season behind the Harvard bench in 2005-06, helping the Crimson to an 18-13-4 record and its third consecutive ECAC Hockey League championship. She has guided the program to a 245-116-17 record since taking the reins prior to the 1994-95 season, including a 33-1-0 mark and the NCAA title in 1998-99. She also led the Crimson to three straight NCAA title games from 2003-05.
Stone has also helped mold U.S. women's ice hockey on the international stage. She has coached seven Olympians and four of the eight winners of the Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award, annually presented to the best collegiate women's ice hockey player in the nation. Stone served as an assistant coach for the 1996 U.S. Women's National Team, and also coached at the 2005 USA Hockey Girls' Select 17/18 Festival in Lake Placid.
Joining Stone behind the bench will be Katie King (Salem, N.H.) and Brad Frost (Cottage Grove, Minn.). King recently retired from playing after the 2006 Olympic Winter Games in Torino, Italy. Her 265 points (146-119) in 210 games with Team USA ranks second in U.S. history. She captured three Olympic medals in her career, including bronze last February. She also earned a silver medal at the 2002 Olympic Winter Games in Salt Lake City, Utah, and won the first-ever gold medal awarded in women's Olympic ice hockey at the 1998 Olympic Winter Games in Nagano, Japan. King currently serves as an assistant women's ice hockey coach at Boston College of the Hockey East Association.
Frost recently completed his fifth full season as an assistant women's ice hockey coach at the University of Minnesota of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association. He has helped lead the Golden Gophers to NCAA national championships in 2004 and 2005 and a runner-up finish in 2006. Frost has also been a contributor on the national scene, coaching at the 2003 USA Hockey Girls' Select 14/15 Player Development Camp in Rochester, N.Y.
MARK JOHNSON TO GUIDE 2007 U.S. WOMEN'S NATIONAL TEAM
USA Hockey also announced the appointment of Mark Johnson (Madison, Wis.) as head coach of the U.S. Women's National Team that will compete in the 2007 International Ice Hockey Federation Women's World Championship April 3-10, 2007, in Winnipeg and Selkirk, Manitoba.
Johnson, entering his fifth year as head coach of the women's ice hockey team at the University of Wisconsin, led the Badgers to their first NCAA championship in 2005-06. The team compiled a 36-4-1 record, including a 24-3-1 mark in the WCHA. The 2005-06 American Hockey Coaches Association Women's Division I Coach of the Year, Johnson has compiled a 111-27-10 record over four years at Wisconsin, ranking him tops among active women's coaches in winning percentage (.783).
Johnson's USA Hockey experience includes time both behind the bench and on the ice. Most recently, he served as an assistant coach with the U.S. Men's National Team which competed in the 2002 IIHF World Championship. He served in a similar capacity at the 2000 IIHF World Championship, and worked as an on-ice assistant coach at the U.S. Olympic Men's Ice Hockey Orientation Camp in September 2001. Meanwhile, Johnson has represented the United States as a player in 13 international tournaments. Most notably, he helped lead the 1980 U.S. Olympic Men's Ice Hockey Team to a gold medal, including scoring two goals in the "Miracle On Ice" game against the Soviet Union.
DIRECTOR OF WOMEN'S HOCKEY TO BE HIRED
Continuing its commitment to girls' and women's hockey, USA Hockey is in the process of hiring a Director of Women's Hockey. The person chosen to fill the new position will be responsible for the administration of the U.S. women's national team program.
"Our women's program is a critical part of our elite development and international competition activities, as well as motivational to thousands of young girls playing hockey around the country," said Ogrean. "This position will enhance our effectiveness in serving this important component of USA Hockey."
NOTES: A total of 40 players are expected to be invited to the Women's National Under-22 Festival in Lake Placid, Aug. 15-22 ... USA Hockey hopes to have its Director of Women's Hockey named by early August ... Assistant coaches for the 2007 U.S. Women's National Team will be announced at a later date ... Stone, Frost and Johnson are all USA Hockey Level 4 certified coaches, while King is a USA Hockey Level 3 certified coach.
(Release courtesy of USA Hockey, Inc.)
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