GRAND FORKS, N.D. – University of North Dakota head men’s hockey coach Dave Hakstol announced today that Brad Berry has been hired as an assistant coach. Berry’s primary responsibilities will include coaching and developing the team’s defensemen.
It will be the second stint on the UND coaching staff for Berry, who previously served as the program’s associate head coach from 2004-06 and assistant coach from 2000-04. He was also a defenseman at UND from 1983-86. Berry returns to Grand Forks from the National Hockey League’s Columbus Blue Jackets, with whom he spent the past two seasons as an assistant coach.
“I’m very happy to bring Brad aboard as part of our coaching staff. He’s an outstanding coach and person, and will be a tremendous resource for the development of our players,” said Hakstol.
While with the Blue Jackets, Berry coached the team’s defensemen and managed both the power-play and penalty kill. Prior to joining the Blue Jackets, Berry doubled as the director of The Hockey Academy in Grand Forks and as a part-time scout with the NHL’s Vancouver Canucks. He was an assistant coach with the American Hockey League’s Manitoba Moose from 2006-08.
Before embarking on his professional coaching career, Berry spent six seasons on the UND coaching staff, including his last two as associate head coach under Hakstol. Overseeing the team’s defensemen and penalty kill, Berry helped guide UND to NCAA Frozen Four appearances in 2001, 2005 and 2008, Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) regular season titles in 2001 and 2004 and a WCHA playoff championship in 2006.
“I’m excited to come back and work with Dave and (assistant coach) Dane (Jackson), and once again be a part of UND Athletics,” said Berry.
Berry was a standout defenseman at UND from 1983-86, collecting 74 points (12 goals, 62 assists) in 112 collegiate games. He also represented Canada at the 1985 International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) World Junior Hockey Championship. A second-round draft pick (29th overall) of the Winnipeg Jets in 1983, Berry went on to play in 241 NHL games over eight years, including stints with Winnipeg, Minnesota and Dallas. His professional playing career also included stints in the Swedish Elite League and the International Hockey League. While with the IHL’s Michigan K-Wings, Berry was a three-time IHL All-Star and was named the K-Wings’ Defenseman of the Year three times.
After his playing career ended, Berry was a professional scout with the 1999-00 Dallas Stars team that won the Stanley Cup.
A native of Bashaw, Alberta, Berry’s family includes his wife, Suzanne, daughters, Brianna and Brooke, and son, Bauer.
