Todd Bjorkstrand (born October 14, 1962) is an American 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 ...

coach and a former professional

player. He is currently serving as head coach for the

Stavanger Oilers Stavanger Ishockeyklubb, commonly referred to as Stavanger Oilers, is a Norwegian ice hockey team based in Stavanger, Norway. They currently play in the Fjordkraftligaen, which is the top division in Norwegian ice hockey. As of 2018, it is the ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

Playing career

Bjorkstrand attended the

University of Maine The University of Maine (UMaine or UMO) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Orono, Maine. It was established in 1865 as the land-grant college of Maine and is the Flagship universities, flagshi ...

between 1980 and 1984. Following four seasons of playing minor league hockey in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, playing in the ACHL and IHL, Bjorkstrand moved to

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

in 1988 where he enjoyed a 14-year career in the Danish League with the

Herning Blue Fox Herning Blue Fox is a Danish professional ice hockey team based in Herning, Denmark, playing in the Metal Ligaen, the top tier of Danish ice hockey. The club was founded in 1947 and play their home games in the KVIK Hockey Arena which has a capac ...

, winning seven Danish championships with the club. He finished his career as the Danish league’s all-time leading goal scorer and all-time assist leader and had his number 22 retired by the Blue Fox.

Coaching career

After retiring as a player, Bjorkstrand was named head coach of the Herning Blue Fox in 2002. He remained in the job until 2014 and guided the team to six Danish championship titles. Bjorkstrand also developed Denmark's first ever

NHL The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

player,

Frans Nielsen Frans Nielsen (born 24 April 1984) is a Danish former professional ice hockey Forward who played with the New York Islanders and Detroit Red Wings in the National Hockey League (NHL). Nielsen was the first Danish citizen to play in the NHL. ...

, followed by others including

Peter Regin Peter Regin Jensen (born 16 April 1986) is a Danish professional ice hockey player who plays for Eisbären Berlin of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL). He was drafted by the Ottawa Senators in the third round (87th overall) of the 2004 NHL Entry ...

Nicklas Jensen Nicklas Jensen (born 6 March 1993) is a Danish ice hockey winger. He is currently playing for SC Rapperswil-Jona Lakers of the National League (NL). After beginning his career with Danish team Herning Blue Fox at the junior and men's level, Je ...

Frederik Andersen Frederik "Freddie" Andersen (born 2 October 1989) is a Danish professional ice hockey goaltender for the Carolina Hurricanes of the National Hockey League (NHL). He previously played for the Anaheim Ducks and Toronto Maple Leafs. Andersen was a ...

and his sons

Oliver Bjorkstrand Oliver Bjorkstrand (born 10 April 1995) is a Danish professional ice hockey forward for the Seattle Kraken of the National Hockey League (NHL). Bjorkstrand was selected by the Columbus Blue Jackets in the third round, 89th overall, of the 2013 N ...

and Patrick Bjorkstrand. Between 2010 and 2012, Bjorkstrand coached the Danish national junior team, guiding the team to winning gold at the 2011 IIHF U20 World Championship Division I, while earning qualification to the 2012 World Juniors. Prior to the 2014–15 season, Bjorkstrand was named head coach and manager of the

Graz 99ers The Moser Medical Graz 99ers are an Austrian professional ice hockey team from Graz, Styria. The club was founded in 1999 after the previous club, EHC Graz, folded prior to the 1998–99 season due to financial difficulties. The Graz99ers start ...

of the

Erste Bank Hockey League The ICE Hockey League (International Central European Hockey League), known as the win2day ICE Hockey League for sponsorship reasons, is a Central European hockey league that also serves as the top-tier ice hockey league in Austria, it currently f ...

, the premier league in Austria. He was sacked in October 2015 after a run of just five points in eight games. In May 2016, he signed with

of the Danish

Metal Ligaen Metal Ligaen is the premier league in Danish ice hockey. The league consists of 9 professional teams. The name of the league has changed many times, but is being sponsored by Dansk Metal and therefore got the name Metalligaen. History It is a ...

to coach at old stomping ground. He parted company with the team in March 2017. In May 2018, Bjorkstrand signed a two-year contract with the

Personal life

Bjorkstrand's great-grandparents emigrated to the United States from Norway and Sweden. His son,

, plays for the Danish national team and was selected by the

Columbus Blue Jackets The Columbus Blue Jackets (often simply referred to as the Jackets) are a professional ice hockey team based in Columbus, Ohio. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference, ...

in the

2013 NHL Entry Draft The 2013 NHL Entry Draft was the 51st NHL Entry Draft. All seven rounds of the draft took place on June 30, 2013, at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. The top three selections were Nathan MacKinnon going to the Colorado Avalanche, Alek ...

. Another son, Patrick Bjorkstrand, is also an ice hockey player.

Awards and honors

References

External links

* * 1962 births American expatriate sportspeople in Denmark Atlantic Coast Hockey League players Erie Golden Blades players Fort Wayne Komets players Herning Blue Fox players Ice hockey coaches from Minnesota Indianapolis Checkers players Living people Maine Black Bears men's ice hockey players Saginaw Generals players Ice hockey players from Minneapolis American ice hockey coaches American people of Swedish descent American men's ice hockey centers Stavanger Oilers coaches Sports coaches from Minneapolis {{US-icehockey-player-stub