GRAND FORKS — After 11 years as an assistant with USA Hockey's National Team Development Program, Grand Forks native Nick Fohr is getting his first shot at being a head coach.
Fohr was named the next head coach at the NTDP after Adam Nightingale was hired away by Michigan State.
Fohr, 44, will coach the U.S. Under-17 Team beginning in the fall.
"We are extremely proud to be able to promote from within our organization as we’ve seen firsthand what Nick is capable of," said Scott Monaghan, assistant executive director at USA Hockey for the NTDP. "Nick brings great experience, passion and knowledge and we are excited to have him as our new head coach."
During his time as an assistant coach with the NTDP, Fohr has become known for his work in developing defensemen, including UND's Jake Sanderson and Tyler Kleven.
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"Seeing coach Fohr every day at the rink for two years and seeing his positive attitude that he brought, win or loss, motivated everyone on our team to bring that same attitude as well," Sanderson said. "He is someone everybody looked up to because he was very personable with players and we could go to him to talk about anything without feeling uncomfortable."
Fohr played college hockey at Omaha from 1998-02, then immediately got into coaching.
He spent one year as a student assistant at Omaha, one year as a full-time assistant at Miami, three years as director of hockey operations at Omaha and four years as a full-time assistant with the Mavericks before joining the NTDP.
Fohr has won five IIHF World Under-18 medals as an assistant — gold in 2015 and 2017, silver in 2013, 2018 and 2022.
"It is an honor for me to be named head coach at the National Team Development Program," Fohr said. "I know how high the standard has been set and I’m excited to be able to continue the great coaching tradition at the NTDP. I’d like to thank Scott Monaghan and Pat Kelleher for putting their trust in me, as well as all the coaches I’ve learned from during my time with USA Hockey."
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