Anders Sörensen (born 11 May 1975) is a Swedish 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 ...

assistant coach with the

Chicago Blackhawks The Chicago Blackhawks (spelled Black Hawks until 1986, and known colloquially as the Hawks) are a professional ice hockey team based in Chicago. The Blackhawks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (N ...

of the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

(NHL). He previously coached the

Rockford IceHogs The Rockford IceHogs are a professional ice hockey team based in Rockford, Illinois. They are members of the American Hockey League (AHL), having begun play in the League starting in the 2007–08 season. The team plays their home games at the ...

, Chicago's

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league in North America that serves as the primary developmental league of the National Hockey League (NHL). The league comprises 32 teams, with 26 in the United States and 6 in Cana ...

(AHL) affiliate. Sörensen was the Blackhawks' interim head coach during the

2024–25 NHL season The 2024–25 NHL season is the ongoing 108th season of operation (107th season of play) of the National Hockey League (NHL). The regular season started on October 4, 2024, when the Buffalo Sabres and New Jersey Devils played the first of two ga ...

. He is the first Swedish-born head coach in NHL history.

Playing career

Sörensen played for

Södertälje SK Södertälje Sportklubb, also known as Södertälje SK and often referred to as SSK, is a Swedish professional ice hockey club playing in HockeyAllsvenskan, the second highest level of pro hockey in Sweden. Södertälje were charter members of El ...

as a

defenceman Defence or defense (in American English) in ice hockey is a player position that is primarily responsible for preventing the opposing team from Goal (ice hockey), scoring. They are often referred to as defencemen, D, D-men or blueliners (the l ...

from 1992–1995. He also played for clubs in France and Norway. Sörensen traveled to North America to play for the

Mobile Mysticks The Mobile Mysticks were a professional minor league ice hockey team based in Mobile, Alabama that played in the ECHL. They played their home games at the Mobile Civic Center. The team was founded in 1995 as an expansion franchise, joining the E ...

and

Baton Rouge Kingfish The Baton Rouge Kingfish were a minor professional ice hockey team in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, as a member of the East Coast Hockey League. The franchise arrived in Baton Rouge in 1996 after relocating from Erie, Pennsylvania, where they had playe ...

of the

ECHL The ECHL (formerly the East Coast Hockey League) is a minor professional ice hockey league based in Shrewsbury, New Jersey, with teams across the United States and Canada. Competitively, it is a tier below the American Hockey League (AHL). The ...

during the 1999–2000 season. He tallied three goals and one assist in 37 games. He retired from playing in 2000 and went into coaching.

Coaching career

Sörensen coached various youth hockey programs throughout the early 2000s in the Chicago area. In 2006, he began coaching for the Chicago Mission of the

Tier 1 Elite Hockey League The Tier 1 Elite Hockey League (T1EHL), formerly Midwest Elite Hockey League, is located primarily in the Midwest United States and is the premier amateur youth hockey league in the United States. Players from all over the country move to the ar ...

, where he helped develop future NHLers

Ryan Hartman Ryan Keyes Hartman (born September 20, 1994) is an American professional ice hockey forward for the Minnesota Wild of the National Hockey League (NHL). Hartman was selected by the Chicago Blackhawks in the first round (30th overall) of the 2013 ...

Vinnie Hinostroza Vincent Enrique Hinostroza (born April 3, 1994) is an American professional ice hockey forward for the Minnesota Wild of the National Hockey League (NHL). Hinostroza was selected by the Chicago Blackhawks in the sixth round (169th overall) of t ...

, and

Nick Schmaltz Nick Schmaltz (born February 23, 1996) is an American professional ice hockey Forward (ice hockey), forward for the Utah Mammoth of the National Hockey League (NHL). He previously played for the Chicago Blackhawks in the NHL, as well as the Arizo ...

. Sörensen returned to his hometown of

Södertälje Södertälje ( , ) is a Urban areas in Sweden, city in Stockholm County, Sweden and seat of Södertälje Municipality. It is also a part of Stockholm urban area, Greater Stockholm Metropolitan Area. As of 2020, it has 73,872 inhabitants. Södert� ...

to become an assistant coach for

HockeyAllsvenskan HockeyAllsvenskan (previously Allsvenskan and SuperAllsvenskan) is a professional ice hockey sports league, league, and the second-highest league in the Swedish ice hockey system, after the Swedish Hockey League, SHL. Since the 2009–10 season, t ...

in 2011. He was named as the team's interim head coach in October 2013. He joined the

organization in 2013 as a development coach. Sörensen transitioned to the

of the AHL in 2018, serving as an assistant coach and later as an associate coach. In 2021, he took over as the interim head coach of the IceHogs. Sörensen maintained a 117–89–16–7 record in 229 games through his first three seasons as head coach and reached the playoffs in each of these seasons. On 5 December 2024, the Blackhawks appointed Sörensen their interim head coach after firing

Luke Richardson Luke Glen Richardson (born March 26, 1969) is a Canadian professional ice hockey coach and former player. He most recently served as List of NHL head coaches, head coach for the Chicago Blackhawks of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was sel ...

, making Sörenson the first Swedish-born head coach in NHL history. He made his NHL debut on 7 December, in a 4–2 loss to the

Winnipeg Jets The Winnipeg Jets are a professional ice hockey team based in Winnipeg. The Jets compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. The te ...

. Sörensen concluded his first season in the NHL with a 17–30–9 record as the Blackhawks finished last the Central division and with the second-worst record in the league. In May 2025, the Blackhawks hired

Jeff Blashill Jeff Blashill (born December 10, 1973) is an American professional ice hockey coach who is the head coach for the Chicago Blackhawks of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was formerly the head coach for the Detroit Red Wings of the NHL. Blashi ...

as their head coach. The team retained Sörensen as an assistant coach under Blashill.

Personal life

Sörensen is married and has four children. He is close friends with fellow Swede

Michael Nylander Michael Gunnar Nylander (born 3 October 1972) is a Swedish former professional ice hockey centre and coach. He played for fifteen seasons in the NHL, and represented the Swedish national team in multiple Olympics and World Championships. Play ...

. Sörensen was the personal coach of Michael's sons,

William William is a masculine given name of Germanic languages, Germanic origin. It became popular in England after the Norman Conquest, Norman conquest in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle ...

and

Alexander Nylander Alexander Maximilian Michael Junior Nylander Altelius (born 2 March 1998) is a Swedish professional ice hockey forward for the Toronto Marlies of the American Hockey League (AHL) while under contract to the Toronto Maple Leafs of the National ...

Career statistics

Head coaching record

HockeyAllsvenskan

AHL

NHL

References

External links

*
Rockford IceHogs profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sörensen, Anders 1975 births Living people Baton Rouge Kingfish players Chicago Blackhawks coaches Ducs d'Angers players Fort Worth Fire players Mobile Mysticks players Södertälje SK players Sparta Sarpsborg players Swedish expatriate ice hockey players in France Swedish expatriate ice hockey players in Norway Swedish expatriate ice hockey players in the United States Swedish ice hockey coaches Swedish ice hockey defencemen Tupelo T-Rex players