The Minnesota Magicians are excited to announce the hiring of Nick Bydal as an Assistant Coach for the upcoming 2014-2015 hockey season. An East Grand Forks, Minnesota native, Bydal brings years of playing and coaching experience with him into his new role with the Magicians.
Following a high school career in which he captained East Grand Forks High School to two Minnesota State Tournament appearances (2001 & 2002), Bydal spent 3 seasons with the Bismarck Bobcats of the North American Hockey League (NAHL). He then continued his career as a student-athlete at the University of Wisconsin – Stevens Point of the Northern Collegiate Hockey Association (NCHA), playing defense alongside current Magicians Head Coach, Tom Upton until 2009. Upon graduation from Stevens Point, he spent time in the Southern Professional Hockey League (SPHL) playing parts of two seasons with the Fayetteville FireAntz, Louisiana Ice Gators, and Augusta RiverHawks.
More recently, Bydal has been coaching at the high school level in various capacities. In 2012, he became an assistant coach at East Grand Forks High School with both the varsity and junior varsity squads. Last season he was an assistant coach for the Crookston varsity hockey team while also serving as an evaluator at the Minnesota Reebok High Performance Select 15 Festival.
Magicians head coach Tom Upton said of the hiring, "The Minnesota Magicians are extremely excited to have Nick as our Assistant Coach heading into our 2nd season. Nick has valuable experience as a player at the collegiate and professional ranks. As a coach, he has proven to mentor and help players, at the Minnesota High School level, move on to high levels of hockey and achieve their goals on and off the ice. He is a great person who brings a passion and work ethic to the rink every single day which will be a perfect fit in our culture that we are building within our organization."
The Minnesota Magicians begin their second season of play at the North American Hockey League (NAHL) Showcase in Blaine, Minnesota from September 17-20, 2014. The following week, they will host the Kenai River Brown Bears for a home opening weekend double header on September 26th and 27th at Richfield Ice Arena. For more information on Minnesota Magicians hockey, find the team on Facebook and Twitter or visit www.wisconsinjuniorhockey.com.