Wednesday, May 12, 2010

NTDP begins coaching search

Press Release

ANN ARBOR, Mich. - Kurt Kleinendorst, one of two head coaches at USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program, will depart the NTDP at the end of May.

Kleinendorst agreed to fill the position last August on a one-year basis after the departure of John Hynes.

“Kurt has been a model of professionalism and a great example on and off the ice for all our young men who compete for USA Hockey,” said Scott Monaghan, director of operations for the NTDP. “It was a pleasure to see him win a World Championship in his final game with us and an honor to work with him.”

Kleinendorst spent one season at the NTDP, leading the U.S. National Under-18 Team to a 44-19-2 record during the 2009-10 campaign. Additionally, he guided the U.S. Men’s National Under-18 Team to its second consecutive gold medal at the 2010 IIHF World Men’s Under-18 Championship in Minsk and Bobruisk, Belarus.

A national search for Kleinendorst’s replacement is underway.

USA Hockey’s National Team Development program, acclaimed throughout the world, started in 1996. Headquartered in Ann Arbor, Mich., the goal of the full-time development program is to prepare student-athletes under the age of 18 for participation on U.S. National Teams and success in their future hockey careers. More than 160 alumni have been drafted into the National Hockey League and nearly 300 have accepted scholarships to NCAA Division I schools.

(Nathan also is a writer for Maineiacs Post to Post and the Maine Hockey Journal. He can be reached at fourniern@students.nescom.edu)

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