Todd Bjorkstrand

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United StatesUnited States  Todd Bjorkstrand Ice hockey player
Todd Bjorkstrand
Date of birth October 14, 1962
place of birth Minneapolis , Minnesota , USA
size 178 cm
Weight 89 kg
position striker
Shot hand Left
Career stations
1980-1984 University of Maine
1948-1985 Pinebridge Bucks
1985-1986 Erie Golden Blades
1986-1987 Indianapolis Checkers
1987-1988 Fort Wayne Comet
1988-2002 Herning IK

Todd Bjorkstrand (born October 14, 1962 in Minneapolis , Minnesota ) is a retired American ice hockey player and current coach. Most recently he was the head coach of the Danish first division club Herning Blue Fox .

Career

As a player

Todd Bjorkstrand played from 1980 for four years for the team from the University of Maine in the North American college league of the NCAA . Following his college years, the left-shooter played for two years for various teams, but mainly in the Atlantic Coast Hockey League (ACHL) for the Pinebridge Bucks and the Erie Golden Blades . It was not until the 1986/87 season that Bjorkstrand was able to finally prevail in the International Hockey League (IHL) and spent the entire season with the Indianapolis Checkers . However, he failed with the Checkers in the first play-off round, as in the following year with the Fort Wayne Komets . In both seasons he was one of the top players on his team with 80 scorer points each and therefore prepared for another season in the IHL in the summer of 1988. But then he received an offer from Herning IK from the Danish Eliteserien . His coach Frits Nielsen had heard of the great talent through friends and offered Bjorkstrand - without having seen him before - a contract.

At this point Bjorkstrand had no idea that he would spend the rest of his career in Herning. In the following 14 seasons he was active for the HIK, won a total of seven championships with the team and reached the play-off final three times. To this day he not only holds many club records (most games, goals and scorer points), but is also the front runner in many categories in the statistics of the elite series. In 2002 he ended his active career at the age of 40 and immediately switched to the office of coach at the Blue Fox.

statistics

Seasons Games Gates Assists Points Penalty minutes
Elite series 14th 550 627 572 1,199 448
IHL 4th 208 75 101 176 177
ACHL 2 105 106 109 215 161
NCAA 4th 120 44 90 134 82

As a trainer

Immediately after his career as a player, Bjorkstrand took over the position of head coach at the Herning Blue Fox in 2002 , which he coached until the end of the 2013/14 season and during this time won six championships with the team, as well as two Danish ice hockey cups. At the U20 B World Cup in 2011 he was the first to look after the Danish U20 national team, won the tournament with them and moved up to the A group. From the 2011/12 season , Oliver Bjorkstrand , his second son , made it into the Blue Fox professional squad. The older son Patrick played for the first team from 2009. Both were born in Herning, which has been the center of life for the family since the 1990s. In Herning Bjorkstrand trained the first Danish NHL player, Frans Nielsen , and over the years has promoted other players who made it into the best league in the world, including Peter Regin , Nicklas Jensen , Frederik Andersen and his sons Oliver Bjorkstrand and Patrick Bjorkstrand . With the Herning Blue Fox, Todd Bjorkstrand is legendary.

After around 26 years in Herning, Todd Bjorkstrand changed clubs as head coach, and at the beginning of the 2014/15 season he switched to the Austrian ice hockey team EC Graz 99ers . In Graz he was not only engaged as a trainer, but also as a sports manager. In his last season in Herning he was able to win the cup with the team, was runner-up in the Metal Ligaen and at the end was even elected coach of the year.

Bjorkstrand was released in Graz in October 2015. At the time of the split, the 99ers were at the bottom of the table in the first Austrian league. In May 2016, Herning Blue Fox announced Bjorkstrand's return as head coach. In March 2017, the club split from Bjorkstrand. The reason given was different views between him and the club's management with regard to player management and how to deal with voluntary club employees.

Achievements and Awards

As a player

  • Danish champion 1991, 1992, 1994, 1995, 1997, 1998, 2001
  • Danish cup winner 1991, 1994, 1996, 1998
  • Top scorer of the elite series in 1990/91, 1991/92
  • Top scorer of the elite series 1988/89, 1991/92, 2000/01
  • Player of the Year in the 1991/92, 1993/94, 2000/01 Eliteserien
  • ACHL Rookie of the Year : 1984/85

As a trainer

  • Danish champion 2003, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2011, 2012
  • Danish cup winner 2012, 2014
  • Danish coach of the year 2014
  • Won the B World Championship with the Danish U20 national team in 2011

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Kleine Zeitung GmbH & Co KG: Ice Hockey - Todd Bjorkstrand new coach of the Graz 99ers. In: Small newspaper. Retrieved February 27, 2016 .
  2. ^ Kings sign Patrick Bjorkstrand to one-year ELC. In: LA Kings Insider. Retrieved July 14, 2016 .
  3. ↑ Blue Fox Herning AS: Legends Todd Bjorkstrand takker af. In: bluefox.dk. Retrieved February 27, 2016 .
  4. ↑ Ice hockey: Graz99er dismissed coach Todd Bjorkstrand. In: sportnet.at. Retrieved February 27, 2016 .
  5. ↑ Graz dismisses coach Bjorkstrand. In: kurier.at. Retrieved February 27, 2016 .
  6. ^ Blue Fox Herning AS: Todd Bjorkstand tilbage på Heden. In: bluefox.dk. Retrieved July 14, 2016 .
  7. ↑ http://www.faceoff.dk/todd-bjorkstrand-fyret-i-herning/
personal data
SURNAME Bjorkstrand, Todd
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American ice hockey player and coach
DATE OF BIRTH October 14, 1962
PLACE OF BIRTH Minneapolis , Minnesota