NAHL U.S. National Team

Quinn Named USA Hockey Developmental Coach of the Year

Published on March 9, 2004 under North American Hockey League (NAHL)
U.S. National Team News Release


COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - USA Hockey today announced its 2003 Coaches of the Year in three categories: National, Developmental, and Volunteer (a new category added this year), based on their accomplishments in the past year, and contributions to the sport. Troy Jutting (Mankato, Minn.), David Quinn (Ann Arbor, Mich.) and Leo Bronston (Onalaska, Wis.) have been named USA Hockey's National, Developmental and Volunteer Coaches of the Year, respectively.

As a result, the three USA Hockey Coaches of the Year have also been nominated for the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) Coach of the Year in each of the categories. Coaches are nominated in all sports represented within the USOC family.

The announcement was made by USA Hockey President Ron DeGregorio (Salem, N.H.); Executive Director Doug Palazzari (Colorado Springs, Colo.); National Coach-in-Chief Robert O'Connor (Hopkins, Minn.) and Director, Coaching Education Program Mark Tabrum (Colorado Springs, Colo.).

The five finalists in the National and Developmental categories and the winner of the USOC Volunteer Coach of the Year title will be honored May 1-3 at the Colorado Springs Olympic Training Complex. The USOC National Coach of the Year and USOC Developmental Coach of the Year will be announced during a May 2 dinner at the Cheyenne Mountain Resort in Colorado Springs, Colo.

"These three coaches exemplify the ideals that USA Hockey and USA Hockey's Coaching Program represent," said Tabrum. "This honor serves to recognize their achievements and dedication at all levels of the sport."

USA Hockey's 2003 National Coach of the Year is Minnesota State University-Mankato men's ice hockey head coach Troy Jutting. In August of 2003 Jutting coached the U.S. Under-18 Select Team to its first-ever gold medal at the Under-18 Junior World Cup in Piestany, Slovakia. The team registered a perfect 5-0-0 record, including two victories over Russia, as well as handing seven-time defending champion Canada a 4-3 loss. Jutting is in his fourth season as the men's head coach of Minnesota State. During the 2002-03 campaign, he was named the Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) Coach of the Year, leading the Mavericks to a 17-game unbeaten streak during the regular season, a second-place finish in the WCHA regular-season standings and a berth in the NCAA Tournament.

"Last year Troy was able to take an exceptional group of players and, in a short time, mold them into a team that was able to capture USA Hockey's first-ever gold medal in the Under-18 Junior World Cup," said Tabrum.

USA Hockey's 2003 Developmental Coach of the Year is U.S. National Under-17 Team head coach, David Quinn. Quinn has been with USA Hockey's National Team Development Program (NTDP) for two years. In 2002-03 Quinn guided the Under-17 Team to a 6-4-1 record in international competition, including a second-place finish at the Four Nations Cup in Switzerland, and a first-place victory at the Compuware Four Nations Tournament in Ann Arbor, Mich., finishing the tournament with a 3-0-1 record. Quinn also served as an assistant coach for the U.S. National Under-18 Team at the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) World Under-18 Championship last April.

"Under David's guidance the players within the USA Hockey National Team Development Program have continued to reach their goals and objectives, both on and off the ice," said Tabrum.

USA Hockey's 2003 Volunteer Coach of the Year is Leo Bronston. Bronston has been involved in the Wisconsin Amateur Hockey Association for nearly 15 years. Bronston's biggest contribution to youth hockey comes in the form of successfully incorporating USA Hockey's revolutionary cross-ice program into his own practices. In 2002, Bronston began the cross-ice initiation with the LaCrosse (Wis.) Youth Hockey Association (LYHA) to teach skills with a greater focus on individual attention. The cross-ice program uses dividers to create three equal playing surfaces, one in each zone of the ice, to better utilize time and space. Bronston's LYHA was a pilot program and received a grant from USA Hockey and Athletica.

"Leo is an asset to our organization because he is a proponent of the cross-ice program. He has implemented the program, not only in his local association, but also has helped to lead the efforts at the national level," said Tabrum.

In the seven-year history of the awards, USA Hockey has placed a total of six USOC National and Developmental Coach of the Year finalists. Most recently, Mike Eaves was named the USOC Developmental Coach of the Year in 2002. In 1998, U.S. Olympic Women's Ice Hockey Team Head Coach Ben Smith was named the USOC National Coach of the Year. Dave Peterson, the men's Olympic Ice Hockey Coach in 1988 and 1992, was selected posthumously as the USOC Honorary Coach of the Year in 1997.

Check out the U.S. National Team Statistics

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



North American Hockey League Stories from March 9, 2004


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central