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Pioneering hockey coach Warren Strelow dies at 73

The Associated Press

April 12, 2007

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) -- Warren Strelow, a pioneering goaltending coach and assistant for the 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team, died Wednesday. He was 73.

Strelow, who mentored a string of successful goalies for the San Jose Sharks during the last 10 years, died in Worcester, Mass., home of the Sharks' top minor-league affiliate, the NHL club said. Strelow, a diabetic who had a stroke on Feb. 28, had been in poor health for several years after undergoing a kidney transplant.

The highlight of Strelow's career was his work with the "Miracle on Ice" U.S. Olympic team in 1980, when he aided coach Herb Brooks, his former boss at the University of Minnesota. Backstopped by goalie Jim Craig, the team stunned the sport and inspired a nation by beating the Soviet Union and winning the gold medal in Lake Placid, N.Y.

Strelow also worked with the 2002 U.S. team, which won silver medals. In 2004, he was inducted into the United States Hockey Hall of Fame.

Strelow became the NHL's first full-time goaltending coach when the Washington Capitals hired him for the job in 1983, following his years at the University of Minnesota and various Minnesota high schools. After seven successful seasons with Washington, Strelow spent three years with the New Jersey Devils, working closely with a young Martin Brodeur.

During his decade with San Jose, Strelow shaped the style and technique of current Sharks goalies Evgeni Nabokov and Vesa Toskala, who both spoke on the phone almost daily with the coach even when his illnesses kept him home in Minnesota. He spent time in San Jose this season, riding a motorized scooter around the locker room to visit his players.

Edited April 14, 2007 by alocispepraluger102