Nystrom settling in
Western living seems to agree with Murray Nystrom.
The former head coach of the Brock Badgers men’s hockey team is well into his second season as the head coach of the University of Lethbridge Pronghorns after parting ways with Brock after 18 seasons.
“It’s a fantastic place, it really is,” Nystrom said from his home in Welland where is back for the Christmas holidays. “The community is great, the university community is fantastic and really supportive.”
Nystrom, a 53-year-old native of Thunder Bay, took the position knowing it would be a major change for his wife, Shelagh, and their children Eric, 22, and Hanna, 19.
“What it came down to was our family was at the stage where it allows me to do that,” he said. “There would be more trepidation I think if my kids were younger and in school and you have to move them around. They’re establishing their lives as young adults and Shelagh’s career has been really solid as a teacher.”
Nystrom said the experience has been a learning experience.
“I’ve always wanted to do different hockey things in different areas,” he said. “It couldn’t be any better in terms of that and it allows me to dive right into the job and most minutes of the day are spent doing what I love to do.
“With today’s technology — FaceTime and Skype —you can get face to face with the people you miss the most and it works out really well.”
The Pronghorns finished 9-17-2 under Nystrom last season which included a trip to the 2019 U SPORTS Cavendish Farms University Cup, which they hosted.
The Pronghorns are 5-10-1 this season.
“Hockey is hockey, but it’s a real tough conference,” Nystrom said. “There are no easy nights so from a hockey standpoint it’s really exciting because it’s really challenging.
“Things are moving well with our program. We’re in a position for playoffs. We need to have a good second half, obviously.”
Nystrom said he is enjoying the teaching aspect of the job this season.
“We’re a really young team. I think we have 12 new faces so we’re a really different team than we were when we got together at the beginning of September. The progression part is really nice to see. We just have to keep getting better week by week.”
Now that he has settled into his new position, Nystrom can begin to plan for the future.
“I always think long term, that’s kind of my nature, so unless things change otherwise that’s how I handle it and move forward with it,” he said. “I think there is so much potential with the program and with the community and the university I want to set things up that are long standing as opposed to short term. There is some longer term stuff I want to get into place so the program is successful down the road as well.”
Nystrom also feels more comfortable now planning his new job around his personal life.
“It allows for a little more planning for those types of things with Shelagh coming out to visit or getting a day or two extra at home at this time of year. I don’t want to say it’s routine but you’re able to plan out things in advance where a year ago I was never really sure what the next day was going to present.
“That part is good for us and good for me and we can start chipping away at things we can accomplish with not only the program, but also with our family.”
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