ROCHESTER, Minn– The Rochester Grizzlies of the North American 3 Hockey League have announced the hiring of Tyler Veen as the team’s new Assistant Coach.
Veen, 24, is no stranger to the Grizzlies organization as he has been previously serving as a scout for the team, as well as for the Austin Bruins of the North American Hockey League and the Fargo Force of the United States Hockey League. Veen attended and graduated from the University of North Dakota majoring in Business Management and obtaining a Minor in Coaching.
“Tyler is a great addition to our organization,” said Grizzlies Head Coach and General Manager, Chris Ratzloff. “We will look to him to learn along with the players at first, and then transition into being a teacher and mentor to them.”
The Harwood, ND, native played the sport of hockey from a young age through high school. From there, Veen transitioned from a player to a coach as the last 4 seasons he coached in the East Grand Forks Youth Program and helping high school during fall camps.
“Tyler has a great eye for talent and the ability to spot those elite players that could fit with the Austin Bruins, as well as those bubble guys with a higher ceiling that we can bring to Rochester to develop into NA or College Players,” mentioned Ratzloff. “Much like Coach Justin Fisher in Austin, Tyler brings a youthful presence to the Grizzlies. He can relate with our players and communicate more on their terms.”
“My goal is to become a General Manager of a hockey team and to learn as much as possible from both
the staff here in Rochester and Austin,” Veen stated. “I want to do what Jon Cooper has done.”
Veen will join Grizzlies’ Head Coach, Chris Ratzloff, in his 3rd season behind the bench in Rochester. Rochester kicks off the regular season on September 17th, as they will travel to Oregon, WI to take on the Tradesmen for a 7:30 pm CST puck drop. All Grizzlies games can be seen and heard live on HockeyTV.