Colorado Academy hockey coach and Canadian former pro player Nathan Oystrick has announced he will take a position as the new head coach of the Humboldt Broncos in Humboldt, Saskatchewan, Canada. Oystrick had come to CA last year to head the school’s returning Ice Hockey program. He leaves to head a junior ice hockey team in the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League.
The Humboldt Broncos suffered a tragedy in April when sixteen people were killed and thirteen injured when the bus they were traveling in was struck by a semi-trailer truck near Armley, Saskatchewan, Canada. Most of the dead and injured were teenagers from the Humboldt Broncos. Also killed were the team’s head coach Darcy Haugan and team captain Logan Schatz.
Says CA’s Director of Athletics Bill Hall, “I’m really happy for Coach Oystrick. He’s a great person and coach. I’m sure he will help the Humboldt community move forward from last season’s tragic events. I feel lucky to have had him as part of the Colorado Academy staff, and we will start immediately searching for a replacement to continue what Coach Osytrick started. And that is to lead our CA hockey program through hard work, humility, and a focus on the players as role models in the community, in the classroom, and on the ice. We thank Nathan for his work at CA, and we wish him nothing but good luck and great days ahead.”
CA had not had hockey since 2002. Oystrick led the revived team through the 2017-2018 season, playing a sub-varsity, ten-game schedule. Oystrick had brought to CA a decade of experience as an ice hockey pro, playing between 2006 and 2016, with more than 600 games played in the National Hockey League, the Kontinental Hockey League, the American Hockey League, and the East Coast Hockey League.
In the NHL, he played with the Atlanta Thrashers, the Anaheim Ducks, and the St. Louis Blues. Oystrick also had worked as Assistant Coach with the Atlanta Gladiators and as Player/Assistant Coach for the Elmira Jackals. He had played in college while attending Northern Michigan University.