University of Minnesota Athletics
Tom Osiecki Named Assistant Women's Hockey Coach
8/28/2007 12:00:00 AM | Women's Hockey
University of Minnesota women’s hockey head coach Brad Frost has announced that Tom Osiecki has been named an assistant coach for the Golden Gopher program. Osiecki, who is a 41-year coach of the game, will begin his responsibilities immediately. He will primarily coach the defensemen, which was held by Frost before his promotion, as well as other duties yet defined.
“I am excited to bring on board someone with the knowledge and expertise of Tom Osiecki. He brings a wealth of experience that will greatly benefit all involved with Gopher women’s hockey."
Osiecki’s hockey knowledge comes from all levels of the game. In his 40 years of coaching hockey, Osiecki has coached both boy’s and girl’s hockey as well as holding an NHL scouting position. He started his coaching career in 1964 when he was the head coach of the St. Agnes boy’s team until 1966. Osiecki started the Burnsville High School boy’s program in 1966 and coached at BHS for 24 years, where he led the Braves to two state championships. His high school coaching career ended for a brief time when he took a position with the Minnesota North Stars/Dallas Stars as an NHL scout from 1990 to 1995. From there, he began his experience with girls’ and women’s hockey coaching. Osiecki coached the Burnsville girl’s team from 1996-98 and started the St. Olaf College program, where he coached from 2000-04. He returned to Burnsville to coach the girl’s team from 2004-06.
A legend within the Minnesota hockey realm, Osiecki was inducted into the Minnesota High School Hockey Coaches’ Hall of Fame in 1995 and also earned the Cliff Thompson Award, given to members of the hockey community who make outstanding contributions to the sport in Minnesota. He was also the Minnesota Hockey Coach of the Year in 1985 and 1986 (at Burnsville) and the MIAC Women’s Hockey Coach of the Year in 2002 (St. Olaf).
Osiecki and his wife Bev, reside in Burnsville and have two sons, Mark and Matt. Mark is currently an assistant coach with the Wisconsin men’s hockey team.
“I look forward to coaching at an institution such as Minnesota, which has had so much success in the past 10 years of the program,” Osiecki said. “Although I have been coaching for some time, it is a new challenge for me and I look forward to working with the student-athletes and staff.”
