Scott Alan Sandelin (born August 8, 1964) is an American former professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

player. He is currently the head coach of the

Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs men's ice hockey The Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs men's ice hockey team is an NCAA Division I college ice hockey program that represents the University of Minnesota Duluth. The Bulldogs are a member of the National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC). The team plays ...

team. In 2011, he became the first coach in Bulldog history to lead them to a national title, in a 3–2 overtime game against the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

at the

Xcel Energy Center Xcel Energy Center is a multipurpose arena in Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States. Completed in 2000 and often called "The X" by fans, it is named for its locally based corporate sponsor Xcel Energy. With an official capacity of 17,954, the arena ...

Saint Paul, Minnesota Saint Paul (often abbreviated St. Paul) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County, Minnesota, Ramsey County. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, ...

. In the 2018 NCAAs, he led the Bulldogs to a second national title, over Notre Dame 2–1, also played at the Xcel Energy Center. The following season, in the 2019 NCAAs, he led the Bulldogs to a third national title. Sandelin grew up in

Hibbing, Minnesota Hibbing is a city in St. Louis County, Minnesota, Saint Louis County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 16,214 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The city was built on mining the rich iron ore of the Mesabi Iron Range an ...

, where he went on to be drafted in the second round by the

Montreal Canadiens The Montreal Canadiens (), officially ' ( Canadian Hockey Club) and colloquially known as the Habs, are a professional ice hockey team based in Montreal. The Canadiens compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic D ...

(40th overall) and play collegiate hockey for the

North Dakota Fighting Sioux The North Dakota Fighting Hawks (formerly known as the Flickertails and the Fighting Sioux) are the athletic teams that represent the University of North Dakota (UND), located in the city of Grand Forks, North Dakota. The Fighting Hawks compete at ...

Collegiate career

During his senior year at North Dakota, Sandelin was chosen as a finalist for the

Hobey Baker Award The Hobey Baker Award is an annual award given to the top National Collegiate Athletic Association men's ice hockey player. It has been awarded 44 times. It is named for Hall of Famer Hobey Baker, who played college hockey at Princeton Universit ...

, ALL-WCHA First Team, All American Second Team, and the MVP of the Fighting Sioux.

Professional career

Sandelin's NHL career totaled seven seasons with the Canadiens (1986–88),

Philadelphia Flyers The Philadelphia Flyers are a professional ice hockey team based in Philadelphia. The Flyers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The team play ...

(1990–91), and his home state team, the

Minnesota North Stars The Minnesota North Stars were a professional ice hockey team in the National Hockey League (NHL) for 26 seasons, from 1967 to 1993. The North Stars played their home games at the Met Center in Bloomington, Minnesota, and the team's colors for ...

(1991–92). His career was cut short with continuous injuries, but he managed four assists in 25 games. His playing years also included stints with the US World Junior Championship team in 1984 and World Championships in 1986.

Coaching

Sandelin started his coaching career with the Fargo-Moorhead Junior Kings of the Junior Elite Hockey League, which he was with from 1993 to 1994. From there he went to work on the North Dakota staff from 1994 to 2000. The first three as a recruiter and assisting with games and practices. The last three were spent as an associate head coach to Dean Blais. In his years with Fighting Sioux, they went on to make four NCAA from (1996 to 2000), win two National Champions in (1996–97 and 1999–2000), three WCHA regular season champions from (1996–99) and two WCHA conference tournament champions in (1996–97 and 1999–2000).

Minnesota-Duluth

On March 30, 2000, Sandelin accepted the job as the head coach of the University of Minneasota-Duluth Bulldogs for long time Bulldog coach

Mike Sertich Mike Sertich (January 9, 1947 – August 8, 2024) was an American ice hockey coach. He was the head coach of University of Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs men's ice hockey from 1983 through to 2000. He continued coaching for several years after resig ...

. As head coach he has led the Bulldogs to six 22+ win seasons, eight NCAA tournament appearances (2003–04, 2008–09, 2010–2012, 2015–2019). In 2008–09, he knocked off his former North Dakota team to become the WCHA Final Five Champions. Then in 2010–2011 the Bulldogs made a run in the NCAA tournament to become the 2011 NCAA Champions, beating Yale, Union, Notre Dame and Michigan for the title. He made the Bulldogs the second Division I collegiate team in Minnesota to take home the Frozen Four Title, after the Minnesota Golden Gophers. In 2003–04, he was named the WCHA Coach of the year and the National Coach of the year posting a 28–13–4 record and leading the Bulldogs to a third-place finish in the Frozen Four. He has also produced three Hobey Baker winners in

Junior Lessard Lucien Lessard Jr. (born May 26, 1980), known as Junior Lessard, is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who last played for the Thetford Mines Isothermic of the LNAH. Playing career As a youth, Lessard played in the 1993 and 1994 Q ...

in 2004, Jack Connolly in 2012, and

Scott Perunovich Scott Douglas Perunovich (born August 18, 1998) is an American professional ice hockey defenceman for the New York Islanders of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was drafted by the St. Louis Blues in the second round, 45th overall, in the ...

in 2020, along with 15 future NHL hockey players and 17 All WCHA selections. During the stretch he was the US National Junior coach in 2005 and assistant coach in 2012. In the 2011–12 season he led the Bulldogs to a 17-game unbeaten streak, and the first time in Bulldog history at the number one in the USCHO polls for 9 straight weeks. In 2016, he signed a 4-year extension, keeping him under contract until the 2020–2021 season. He led the 2017 Bulldogs to an NCHC conference tournament championship, the season ended in 3–2 loss to conference foe Denver as NCAA Runner up. In 2018 he led the Bulldogs to a 2nd National Title beating Notre Dame 2–1. The Bulldogs made the 2018 NCAA Hockey Tournament by 0.0001% besting in state rival Minnesota for the last at-large tournament bid. Scott's 2nd National championship as head coach in 2018 was unexpected by many in the hockey community after losing to Denver in the 2017 title game, losing many key players to graduation and early departures to the NHL. Until 2024, each time the NCAA Frozen Four had been held at the Xcel Energy Center in Saint Paul, a Minnesota team has won in overtime,

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota Twin Cities (historically known as University of Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint ...

in (2001–02) beating the

University of Maine The University of Maine (UMaine) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Orono, Maine, United States. It was established in 1865 as the land-grant college of Maine and is the Flagship universitie ...

4–3 and the Bulldogs in (2010–11) against the

3–2, and again in 2017–2018 beating Notre Dame 2–1. Sandelin led the 2018-19 Bulldogs to an NCHC conference championship, besting St. Cloud 3–2 in a 2 OT game. The Bulldog's earned a trip to the Frozen Four by beating Bowling Green (2-1 OT) and Quinnipiac (3-1). The semifinal match-up with Providence ended in a 4–1 win. The Bulldog's finished the season by beating UMass (3-0) earning Sandelin's third coaching championship. Sandelin led the 2019-20 Bulldogs to 2nd place in the NCHC regular season, but due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

the conference and NCAA tournaments were cancelled. His team goes into the next season still the reigning NCAA hockey champions.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

Head coaching record

Awards and honors

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sandelin, Scott 1964 births Living people American men's ice hockey defensemen Hershey Bears players Ice hockey coaches from Minnesota Sportspeople from Hibbing, Minnesota Ice hockey people from St. Louis County, Minnesota Kalamazoo Wings (1974–2000) players Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs men's ice hockey coaches Minnesota North Stars players Montreal Canadiens draft picks Montreal Canadiens players Philadelphia Flyers players Sherbrooke Canadiens players North Dakota Fighting Hawks men's ice hockey players AHCA Division I men's ice hockey All-Americans Ice hockey players from Minnesota North Dakota Fighting Hawks men's ice hockey coaches 20th-century American sportsmen