Roseau Hockey Online

Former Rams player and head coach Bruce Olson was recently inducted into the Minnesota Hockey Coaches Association Hall of Fame. The award was presented to the Olson family at the MHCA annual banquet that was held on March 7, at the River Center in St. Paul in conjunction with the 2013 Minnesota State High School League boys’ hockey tournament.  Accepting the award in Bruce’s name was his son and former player Sheldon Olson along with several members of the Olson family. Bruce lost a battle to cancer this past June.

Bruce’s coaching career began at Minot (N.D.) High School, where his teams earned North Dakota runner-up state tournament finishes in 1985 and 1987. He was named North Dakota's Coach of the Year in 1987.

He coached Roseau High School from 1991-99 and from 2000-02. He was named Class AA Coach of the Year in 1998 and 1999, leading the Rams to the state Class AA title in 1999.

In 2002 he was named head coach of the Bemidji State women's hockey team. From there, he shared the reins as a co-head coach for Warroad in 2005. Most recently, he was an assistant coach for Warroad. Olson understood the passion, and pressure, his players felt lacing up the skates for either cross-county rival Roseau or Warroad.

This is an honor that is truly deserved for what he has done for the game for not just the Roseau-Warroad area but the entire state of Minnesota.

Note: Parts of this article were taken with permission from the MN Hockey Hub.