The Austin Bruins announced on Thursday that they have hired former Bruin goaltender Nick Lehr as goaltending coach, following the departure of Al Rooney earlier this week to Chippewa Falls.

“We are excited to have the opportunity to hire someone of Nick’s caliber,” said Bruins co-owner Mike Cooper. “Then when you add the fact that he is a former Austin Bruin great, it just makes it that much sweeter.”

Lehr played for the Bruins for three seasons from 2011 to 2013 and becomes the first Bruins alumnus to coach for the organization.

“It is an honor to be welcomed back to Austin and I couldn’t be more excited to contribute to an organization and city that did so much for me in the past,” said Lehr.

Lehr, 25, went on to play Division I college hockey at the University of Minnesota following his NAHL career, graduating this Spring with a degree in Business and Marketing Education. He’s a native of Roseville, Minnesota and a graduate of Roseville High School.

“We are very excited to add Nick to our coaching staff,” said Bruins head coach and general manager Steve Howard. “He’s learned from one of the best goalie coaches in the business (Justin Johnson) and we are looking forward to Nick passing on his knowledge and experiences to our goalies here in Austin.”

Howard and Lehr have known each other since Lehr’s high school days and worked together during off-seasons at the Minnesota Advancement Program (MAP) and MEGA Goaltending, his most recent employer. Lehr has been associated with the Blaine-based goaltending program since the beginning of his playing career and has been coaching on-and-off since high school.