The Rockford IceHogs have announced that associate coach Mark Osiecki has accepted an assistant coaching position with the University of Wisconsin men’s hockey team.
Osiecki will continue his coaching duties with the IceHogs for the remainder of the 2015-16 season.
Osiecki is currently in his third season with the IceHogs after joining the coaching staff in 2013. Since then, he has helped the club accumulate a record of 116-74-18-10 to date. During his time in Rockford, he helped develop five Stanley Cup champions, including Kyle Cumiskey, Scott Darling, Joakim Nordstrom, Teuvo Teravainen and Trevor van Riemsdyk. Twenty-seven of the IceHogs who played in Rockford during the past three seasons that Osiecki has been a part of have went on to play in the NHL.
Osiecki has also served behind the bench on the international level, guiding the U.S. National Junior Team at the 2015 International Ice Hockey Federation World Junior Championship. He was also an assistant coach for the club, helping the U.S. win gold at the 2010 and 2013 World Junior Championships and bronze at the 2011 tournament.
The St. Paul, Minn. native returns to Madison after serving as an assistant coach with the Badgers from 2004-10. He helped guide the Badgers to four NCAA tournaments, two Frozen Four appearances and one National Championship (2006).
Osiecki played three seasons for Wisconsin from 1987-90 after being drafted in the ninth round (#187 overall) by the Calgary Flames in the 1987 NHL Entry Draft. Between the Flames, Ottawa Senators, Winnipeg Jets, and Minnesota North Stars, the defenseman scored 14 points (3g-11a) in 93 career NHL games.
