Dziedzic coaching boys' hockey at St. Paul Academy

Former Mr. Hockey winner and NHL veteran Joe Dziedzic was named the Spartans' interim head coach.

January 19, 2010 at 7:06PM

Joe Dziedzic was named the interim coach of St. Paul Academy's boys' hockey team, taking over for Craig Norwich, who resigned in the days following the Spartans' Dec. 30 game.

Dziedzic, who won Mr. Hockey at Minneapolis Edison in 1990 before playing with the Gophers and Pittsburgh Penguins, started Jan. 8 and will meet with school officials after this season to decide his future plans. Dziedzic runs hockey camps and coaches in the Fall Elite League.

He talked about his decision to coach the Spartans.

Q Did SPA reach out to you because of your role coaching in the Fall Elite League or because you've made it known that you'd like to coach a high school team?

A I really wasn't putting out any interest. They had parents of kids who had gone to some of my camps that said I would be someone to go after and see if they could get me interested. I really wasn't interested at first but they kept talking to me and I said it's something I would do to help out their program.

Q So it this a situation where the school is evaluating you and you're evaluating the whole coaching experience for yourself?

A Yeah. I'll need some time to decide but for now it's just trying to make the best of the situation and finish out the year for the team and the seniors.

Q Are you measuring this by wins and losses or is about something else?

A For me, I'm just trying to bring that element of teaching the game and making the most of what we have. I'm not going to kid myself and think we're like St. Thomas or Hill-Murray. We're not the most skilled guys so we have to compete hard and play together. Hopefully that will make us competitive.

Now as far as long term, we'll sit down at the end of the season and see if it's a good fit.

Q Are the kids showing some resiliency despite the drama?

A Yeah, they've been really good as far as having good attitudes and working hard. I told them they have a fresh start to make an impression on me. Whatever happened is in the past and now it's time to move forward. They've been really receptive to that.

about the writer

about the writer

David La Vaque

Reporter

David La Vaque is a high school sports reporter who has been the lead high school hockey writer for the Minnesota Star Tribune since 2010. He is co-author of “Tourney Time,” a book about the history of Minnesota’s boys hockey state tournament published in 2020 and updated in 2024.

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