Jack Blatherwick, who worked closely with Herb Brooks on the 1980 Miracle on Ice U.S. Olympic hockey team and was a longtime Minnesota high school coach, was named recipient of the 2019 Lester Patrick Award for outstanding service to hockey in the United States, the NHL announced Friday.
Blatherwick, 77, a sports physiologist considered one of hockey's most innovative thinkers, will be honored on Dec. 12 in Washington, D.C., during the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame induction celebration.
"I went online to look at the list of people who previously got it, and to be part of that list is unbelievable," Blatherwick said. "It's not difficult to feel humbled when you get to be part of that list."
Blatherwick also worked with three NHL teams and five other U.S. Olympic teams, including the gold medal-winning 2018 women's squad.
He was head coach at Breck for 11 years and later at Wayzata, Hopkins and Minnehaha Academy, and made collegiate stops at Minnesota and Hamline. He retired in 2012 after eight seasons as a Benilde-St. Margaret's assistant.
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