East Ridge girls hockey: Former NHL player Craig Norwich named new head coach

Former NHL player and Team USA gold medalist Craig Norwich has been hired as the new East Ridge girls hockey team head coach.

Norwich, 56, has led hockey programs across the country for the last 20 years. After retiring from professional hockey in 1990, he created and directed the distinguished hockey program at Shattuck-St. Mary’s School in Faribault until 1996. He has also directed the Vail Elite Hockey Program in Colorado, the LA Kings AAA Hockey Program in California and was also the Director of Hockey at St. Paul Academy for five years. Most recently, he has coached Edina 14U “A” girls hockey, guiding his teams to a state championship in 2010 and a state consolation title in 2011.

Norwich played 15 seasons of professional hockey in the NHL and Europe.

In the NHL, he played for five teams over five years, totaling 75 points in 104 games from the blue line. Norwich played for the Winnipeg Jets (1979–1980), the St. Louis Blues (1980–1981); the Colorado Rockies (1981–1982); the New York Rangers (1981–1982) and the Detroit Red Wings (1984).

He played for Team USA in four different World Ice Hockey Championships, winning a gold medal in 1983, and was selected to the All-World Team. He has played for some of the most renowned and recognized coaches in the world including Herb Brooks, Bob Johnson and John Mariucci, as well as Olympic coaches from five countries. He was a member of three consecutive state tournament teams at Edina, and was captain of the Hornets 1974 state championship team. He was a two-time All-American at Wisconsin, where his team won the 1977 NCAA championship. He holds three WCHA records, is a member of the Wisconsin Hall of Fame, and was named to the WCHA Top-50 Player list.

Norwich, who has been described by colleagues as a premier developer of hockey players and a dynamic communicator who builds unified teams, is the third East Ridge girls hockey coach in three years. He replaces Tony Hoops, who spent one year with the Raptors.

A meet-and-greet event with Norwich will be held in early May.

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