(KNSI) – St. Cloud State University has found its next head coach of the men’s hockey team, and the hire is a homecoming decades in the making.
SCSU Athletics Director Holly Schreiner announced Sunday that Nick Oliver will take over the program, returning to his alma mater after three seasons as an assistant at Wisconsin. Oliver signed a seven-year contract worth $440,000 annually.
Oliver is uniquely woven into the fabric of Husky Hockey. He is the only person, as either a player or coach, to have been part of both NCAA Frozen Four appearances in program history, suiting up for the 2013 run as a player and serving behind the bench for the 2021 team that reached the national championship game. In total, he has been involved in seven of SCSU’s nine all-time NCAA Tournament wins.
The Roseau native captained the Huskies during the 2014-15 season and was a fourth-round pick of the Nashville Predators in the 2009 NHL Draft. He graduated from SCSU in 2015 with a degree in business finance.
His coaching resume is equally impressive. After starting his career with the USHL’s Sioux Falls Stampede, Oliver returned to St. Cloud as an assistant from 2018 to 2022, helping the Huskies to an 81-44-9 record. He then took over as head coach of the Fargo Force in 2022-23, guiding the team to 40 wins and earning USHL Coach of the Year honors.
Oliver becomes the fourth head coach of the program’s Division I era, which began in 1987-88, and the 19th overall in program history.
He and his wife Alex, who played three seasons for the SCSU women’s hockey team, have three children. “My family and I couldn’t be more excited to call St. Cloud home again,” Oliver said.
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