Swedish national coach shows interest in SCSU men's hockey job

The search for the next men's head hockey coach at St. Cloud State has gone overseas.

Rikard Grönborg, the head coach of the Swedish national team, said Tuesday he has interest in the position.

"It's a very intriguing job," Grönborg said. "It's the only college job I'd be interested in. It will be interesting to see where they're leaning."

The university began reviewing applications Monday, and the closing date listed on the job posting is April 22. Bob Motzko resigned as head coach March 26 to accept the head coaching position of the University of Minnesota men's hockey team.

Grönborg, a former St. Cloud State defenseman (1989-92) and graduate assistant coach, said he had a brief conversation with St. Cloud State officials about the job.

"Very brief, but I know that they want to fill the position pretty quickly," Grönborg said. "I'm preparing our team for the world championships right now."

Grönborg was coming off the ice with the Swedish team when he answered the call for this story. The IIHF World Championships will be held May 4-20 in Denmark and the Swedes are the defending gold medalists.

Grönborg also was the head coach for Sweden for the 2018 Winter Olympics. Sweden was upset by Germany in the quarterfinals. It was the third Winter Olympics for Grönborg, who was an assistant coach Sweden in 2010 and 2014.

He has been employed by the Swedish Hockey Federation for the last 11 seasons.

"It's been tremendous," he said of his time working with the national team. "We're the third largest producer of players in the NHL behind Canada and the United States.

"To be part of that process has been awesome."

Why SCSU?

Grönborg's name has also been brought up in recent years for head coaching positions in the NHL. Why would Grönborg, 49, be interested in coaching at St. Cloud State?

"I like challenges," he said. "It's something I'd be interested in, but it's a matter of the timing of the situation.

"I have had interest in coaching in the National Hockey League. I really enjoy my job that I have right now ... We'll see what I take."

He also had a good experience at St. Cloud State. He was coached by Craig Dahl when he played and served as a graduate assistant coach for him.

"It was great, one of the best decisions I ever made was to play college hockey," said Grönborg, who has his undergraduate degree in public relations. "I love the community and the school. It was very good to me. There's great people there."

Grönborg has dual citizenship in Sweden and the United States. His wife is from Salt Lake City, and he said they have a desire to move back to America.

"My family is ready to move back to the U.S.," said Grönborg, who has a 5-year-old and whose wife is expecting a second child. "I have a young family and we're going to move to the U.S. in the next few years."

After leaving St. Cloud State, Grönborg earned a master's degree from Wisconsin-Stout and then was a head coach in junior hockey in Great Falls, Montana, and for the Central Texas Blackhawks before being an assistant coach for the Spokane Chiefs in the Western Hockey League in 2004-05.

Another coach with SCSU connections

If you're looking for another name outside of the St. Cloud State hockey coaching staff to be intrigued by, consider Fred Harbinson.

Harbinson was an assistant coach for St. Cloud State from 2002-07, so he served under both Dahl and Motzko.

Since leaving St. Cloud State, Harbinson has been the head coach and general manager of the Penticton Vees of the British Columbia Hockey League.

Harbinson, 46, would not comment on whether he is interested in the job. But he is someone St. Cloud State could be considering for a number of reasons.

Besides being an assistant coach for the Huskies, several former Vees have played recently for St. Cloud State. The latest player is freshman wing Easton Brodzinski, who played for Harbinson in 2015-16.

The most prominent former Vee to play for St. Cloud State is Joey Benik, who is 11th on the school's career goal scoring list (59) and 13th in points (126).

Benik and Brodzinski are two of several players from Minnesota to play for Harbinson at Penticton, so Harbinson continues to be in close contact with players from the state.

Teams in the BCHL are limited to six non-Canadian players per season. Penticton had three Americans on its roster this season, including two (forward Ryan Sandelin, Hermantown; and defenseman Nick Leivermann, Eden Prairie) from Minnesota.

Penticton won the Interior Division title with 40-12-3 record and had 18 Division I recruits on its roster this season. Harbinson has been the BCHL Coach of the Year three times, led the Vees to six division titles, a Western Canada Cup title and the RBC Cup national championship.

The Vees have gone 481-144-40 under Harbinson.

This is the opinion of Mick Hatten. Follow @mickhatten on Twitter, Instagram @MickHatten and at Facebook.com/sctimesmick. Contact him at 259-3621 or mhatten@stcloudtimes.com.