Veteran coach departs Dryden
Kurt Walsten is on the open market after nine successful seasons as the head coach and general manager of the Dryden Ice Dogs of the Superior International Jr. Hockey League.
Walsten, who turns 56 years of age next month, directed Dryden to a pair of SIJHL championships and never had a season with a losing record during his tenure with the Ice Dogs. He leaves Dryden as the most successful and longest tenured coach in an Ice Dogs franchise history that began in 2001.
While Walsten became known for icing rough and tumble teams during his time in Dryden, he also developed a number of skilled players for the college hockey ranks. Recent examples are former SIJHL scoring champion Max Collette, now with the University of Wisconsin/River Falls, and high performance defenseman Jackson Jacques, now with the Sault College Cougars.
Some of Walsten’s successes as the head coach and GM with Dryden include:
● A franchise best, 45-win season.
● SIJHL coach of the year in 2022-2023 and 2016-2017.
● Four straight appearances in the SIJHL finals.
● Back-to-back league championships, 2016-2017 and 2017-2018.
● 399 regular season wins.