From Columbus to the 2022 Winter Olympics, this former Snake still winning on the ice
Hockey fans in the Columbus area who have been paying attention to the Winter Olympics might have noticed a familiar face or name when watching or reading coverage of China’s women’s ice hockey team.
Yup, the team’s head coach, Brian Idalski, was a Columbus Cottonmouth.
China won two of its four games in the preliminary round, including Sunday’s 2-1 upset victory over previously unbeaten Japan in a shootout.
“Obviously it’s a big one for us and it’s kind of an emotional high,” Reuters reported Idalski as saying. “Coming from behind against a team as dynamic in transition and solid defensively — that was big for us.”
China needed a tie between Sweden and Denmark in Tuesday’s game to qualify for the medal round, but Sweden beat Denmark 3-1.
Idalski, 51, is a native of Warren, Michigan. During his playing career, he was a rugged defenseman for the Cottonmouths in two seasons (1997-99), notching two goals, 17 assists and 200 penalty minutes in 110 regular-season games and no goals, eight assists and 38 penalty minutes in 19 playoff games. He also had a +2 plus-minus rating. He helped the Snakes win the 1998 Central Hockey League championship and reach the semifinals in 1999.
He previously played for Kalamazoo (1990-91) in juniors, the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point (1991-95) in college and the Madison Monsters (1995-97) in the Colonial Hockey League.
Idalski’s coaching career started as an assistant for the Cottonmouths (1999-2000). He was an assistant coach for the men’s team at Wisconsin-Stevens Point (2000-01) and head coach of the women’s team at Wisconsin-Stevens Point (2001-06), St. Cloud State (2006-07) and University of North Dakota (2007-17).
He now is head coach of the women’s team Shenzhen KRS Vanke in Russia (since 2019) and the Gray Team in the USA Hockey Girls 16/17 Player Development Camp (since 2021).
