Frost’s contributions to girl’s and women’s hockey should be celebrated

by Charles Dugood

Editor’s Note: The following is an opinion article forwarded to LPH by the Minnesota Girls Hockey Coaches Association

Earlier this week, the Minnesota coaching landscape was altered by the dismissal of Brad Frost as the head coach for the Minnesota Golden Gophers. Coach Frost had been at the helm for the Gophers for the last nineteen years after taking over the role vacated by Laura Halldorson upon her retirement. During his tenure, Coach Frost teams won 556 games while only losing 131 and tying 43 games. Overall, his teams won seven WCHA titles, four NCAA National championships and he was named ACHA Coach of the Year two times. Those are only numbers and don’t tell the whole story behind the influence and legacy left behind by Coach Frost. His on-ice success goes deeper as Coach Frost’s impact had a far greater effect than just wins and losses.

In his nearly 25 years with the Gopher’s program, as both an assistant and later as the head coach, he recruited and coached three Patty Kazmaier Award winners as the top player in Women’s College Hockey.  He also had 28 players that were in the Top 10 or higher for that award.  Thirteen of those players were in the Top 3 in the nation.  He also coached 24 1^st Team All-American’s and another 16 2^nd Team All-American’s.  Add to those impressive numbers were 51 1^st Team All-WCHA Players, 31 2^nd Team All-WCHA Players, and 27 3^rdTeam All-WCHA Players.  Those are an incredible total of competitors that performed at the top of their game over his tenure at the University.

In an era where players are moving from school to school (aka the portal), team leaders making headlines detrimental to their team, their school and their community, and instant gratification required by so many, Brad led his team and program with a quiet dignity and a focus on the whole person, not just the hockey player. The Gopher women’s hockey program performed and excelled without the negative issues plaguing other college sports programs around the country. Is there more to this success story?

Yes…Coach Frost’s impact with recruiting the right players that were great people off the ice and in the classroom was very evident by the fact that during his years as coach he had 29 All-American Scholars, 122 WCHA Scholar Athletes, 59 Big 10 Distinguished Scholar Athletes, three WCHA Outstanding Student-Athlete of the Year and an impressive four Big 10 Medal of Honor Winners.  The Big Ten Medal of Honor, established in 1915, is the conference’s most prestigious award, recognizing one male and one female graduating student-athlete from each member institution for combined excellence in athletics and academics. It was the first award of its kind in intercollegiate sports. It is the highest honor a student-athlete can achieve in the Big Ten conference. Recipients must show outstanding performance in both athletic competition and academic achievement throughout their college career.

The pressure and expectation to win at all levels has changed how coaches view their positions. At the Division 1 level, winning and keeping your job unfortunately go hand in hand. We, as a society, have given way to credentials and celebrity in lieu of producing young adults to become contributors to our communities with moral and ethical values. Coach Frost has left behind a who’s who of young women we know as elite athletes. Many have competed at the Olympic level. Many have gone on to play professionally. Many have gone on to give back to the game as college, high school and youth coaches. Many now have families and are productive in their chosen professions. That should be how we determine the success of our team leaders. Coach Frost has guided his current and former players to become these incredible people with a combination of dedication, empathy and a belief that there is more to life than just winning hockey games.

Our hockey community should be thanking Coach Brad Frost for his contributions that go far beyond the hockey rink. Thank you Coach!!