Dual role in Thief River
It will be double duty for the new guy.
That is, incoming head coach Elliot Bates will add the duties of general manager for the Thief River Falls Norskies of the Superior International Jr. Hockey League, Hockey News North has confirmed.
Bates has prior bench experience in the North American 3 Hockey League and will be at the helm of the Norskies as GM and coach when they begin the 2021-2022 campaign on September 17 with a home match against the Wisconsin Lumberjacks in a battle of the SIJHL’s two American teams.
Thief River Falls is based in northern Minnesota and former National Hockey League forward Tim Bergland is one of the local owners of the Norskies.
Notably, regular season and playoffs included, the now 56-year old Bergland skated in more than 200 NHL games as a high energy forward.