Alex Westlund (born December 28, 1975) is a retired
American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
professional
ice hockey
Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...
goaltender
In ice hockey, the goaltender (commonly referred to as the goalie) is the player responsible for preventing the hockey puck from entering their team's net, thus preventing the opposing team from scoring. The goaltender mostly plays in or near t ...
who is now working as a coach.
Playing career
Raised in
Chatham, New Jersey
"The Chathams" is a term used in reference to shared services for two neighboring municipalities in Morris County, New Jersey, Morris County, New Jersey, United States – Chatham Borough, New Jersey, Chatham Borough and Chatham Township, New Jers ...
, Westlund played prep hockey at
Chatham High School, starting in goal as a freshman, and at the
Lawrenceville School
The Lawrenceville School is a coeducational preparatory school for boarding and day students located in the Lawrenceville section of Lawrence Township, in Mercer County, New Jersey, United States. Lawrenceville is a member of the Eight Schoo ...
, earning him a spot in 2010 in the New Jersey High School Ice Hockey Hall of Fame.
He attended
Yale University
Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...
from 1995 to 1999, earning All-America Second Team honors. In his final year at Yale, Westlund won the William Neely Mallory Award,
"given to the senior man who on the field of play and in life at Yale best represents the highest ideals of American sportsmanship and Yale tradition", according to the Yale website.
He left Yale holding several all-time school records including wins, saves and games played. He was also presented with the
Ken Dryden Award for the
ECAC’s best goalie of the year.
Westlund began his professional career with the
Dayton Bombers of the
East Coast Hockey League
The ECHL (formerly the East Coast Hockey League) is a mid-level professional ice hockey league based in Shrewsbury, New Jersey, with teams scattered across the United States and Canada. It is a tier below the American Hockey League (AHL).
The E ...
during the
1999–2000 season. His career includes stints in the IHL, ECHL, AHL, in Russia, Slovenia, Austria, Slovakia, Germany, Croatia and China.
Westlund would also play for
Team USA
The United States national team or Team USA may refer to any of a number of sports team representing the United States in international competitions.
Olympic teams
Additionally, these teams may compete in other international competitions such as ...
at the
2004 IIHF World Championship
The 2004 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship was held between 24 April and 9 May 2004 in Prague and Ostrava, Czech Republic.
It was the 68th ice Hockey World Championships, and was run by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF).
Qualific ...
as the third goaltender, although he didn't have any ice time, his team would win bronze.
Coaching career
He has been working for Pro Crease Goaltending since January 2013.
In July 2015, Westlund was named goalie coach of German side
Augsburger Panther
The Augsburger Panther are a professional ice hockey team in the Deutsche Eishockey Liga. The team is based in Augsburg, Bavaria, Germany. They play their home games at the Curt Frenzel Stadion.
Founded in 1878, the team's name was Augsburger EV ...
.
Prior to the 2016–17 season, he joined the staff of
Medvescak Zagreb of the
KHL
The Kontinental Hockey League (KHL; russian: Континентальная хоккейная лига (КХЛ), Kontinental'naya khokkeynaya liga) is an international professional ice hockey league founded in 2008. It comprises member clubs b ...
as goalie coach. On July 8, 2022 he was hired to be the goaltending coach for the
Detroit Red Wings
The Detroit Red Wings (colloquially referred to as the Wings) are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit. The Red Wings compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the East ...
under new head coach
Derek Lalonde
Derek Lalonde (born August 18, 1972) is an American ice hockey coach who is the head coach of the Detroit Red Wings of the National Hockey League (NHL).
Playing career
Lalonde played college hockey for State University of New York College at Cort ...
.
Awards and honours
References
External links
*
1975 births
Living people
AHCA Division I men's ice hockey All-Americans
American expatriate ice hockey players in Austria
American expatriate ice hockey players in China
American expatriate ice hockey players in Croatia
American expatriate ice hockey players in Germany
American expatriate ice hockey players in Slovakia
American expatriate ice hockey players in Slovenia
American men's ice hockey goaltenders
Amur Khabarovsk players
Charlotte Checkers (1993–2010) players
Chatham High School (New Jersey) alumni
China Dragon players
Cincinnati Cyclones (IHL) players
Dayton Bombers players
Detroit Red Wings personnel
EHC Black Wings Linz players
Hartford Wolf Pack players
HDD Olimpija Ljubljana players
Heilbronner Falken players
HK Poprad players
Ice hockey coaches from New Jersey
Ice hockey players from New Jersey
KHL Medveščak Zagreb players
Lawrenceville School alumni
Lokomotiv Yaroslavl players
Milwaukee Admirals players
People from Flemington, New Jersey
Sportspeople from Morris County, New Jersey
Toledo Storm players
Trenton Titans players
Worcester IceCats players
Yale Bulldogs men's ice hockey players
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