Austin Bruins pick a head coach

Published 9:18 pm Friday, April 2, 2010

The Austin Bruins have their first head coach.

Team president Craig Patrick announced Friday that his Austin based North American Hockey League squad will turn to Chris Tok to be the head coach/general manager .

Tok spent the past four seasons as a Division I assistant coach in the WCHA for the Michigan Tech Huskies.

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“I am truly happy to have someone like Chris leading our team into this inaugural season, he is a strong coach with unrivaled work ethic and integrity,” Patrick said. “Having someone like Chris is key to our mission of development, on and off the ice for our athletes. His experiences and contacts will help give our players the best possible chance of reaching their goals.”

Before coaching at Michigan Tech, Tok was the assistant coach and assistant general manager for the USHSL’s Waterloo Blackhawks and he was promoted to associate head coach and associate general manager in his final year with Waterloo.

Tok coached the Blackhawks to their first Eastern Division Title and their first Clark Cup Title. He grew up playing hockey at Coleraine, Minn. and played college hockey at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Tok, who is married with a son, played several seasons of professional hockey before turning his attention to coaching.

The team also announced Adam Kostichka as assistant coach and director of player development. Kostichka spent the past three seasons as the head coach with the Chadder’s Tier I program of Salt Lake City, Utah.

“It is great to have Adam with us in Austin,” Patrick said. “Adam is a perfect fit for our organization he is a very good coach with great connections to help our incoming players advance.”

Kostichka a native of Stevens Point, Wis. and he played his junior hockey for the Bismarck Bobcats. After juniors, Kostichka returned home to play collegiate hockey for the University of Wisconsin – Stevens Point.

While at Stevens Point, Kostichka earned a degree in Business Administration with a minor in Economics. Following graduation he spent time in the UHL and ECHL.