Brown Bears name Murdock as head coach

April 11, 2019

The Kenai River Brown Bears, a proud member of the North American Hockey League (NAHL), have announced their coaching staff for the 2019-20 season.

 

The organization announced Kevin Murdock as its new head coach. Murdock has spent the past three seasons with the North Iowa Bulls in the NA3HL, where he was involved in every aspect of day to day hockey operations and was the Associate Head Coach this past season.  

 

During his time with the Bulls, Murdock helped lead the team to a record of 119-31-7-3, including two regular season division championships and two trips to the Fraser Cup Championships. In addition, he helped promote 40 players to the NAHL and college level, including five currently playing NCAA D1.

 

“Kevin has experience playing in the USHL and at the NCAA Division I level.  His commitment to player growth and on-ice success was apparent to us. North Iowa is a consistent participant in the Fraser Cup and successful in moving players into the NAHL. Kevin was a big part of that, and we look forward to his leadership in advancing Brown Bears to college.  Also, he is an example of the Ladder of Development success that is the signature of the NAHL,” said Brown Bears Associate General Manager, Chris Hedlund.

 

The Brown Bears also announced Dan Bogdan will be the Associate Head Coach for the club.  Bogdan completed his first season with the Brown Bears by taking on the interim head coaching role as the team was competing for a playoff spot.  In his new position, Bogdan will add player personnel duties and building of the scouting staff.  As a strong proponent of skill and player development, Bogdan will continue to have a large role in those areas on and off the ice. Bogdan played at Framingham State University (MA) and has strong ties to the New England hockey market.  

 

“We are very excited to have Dan back for another season.  Dan took over down the stretch for us and gave us a shot at the playoffs.  We have repeatedly told him he was part of our future and are very happy he wants to continue his coaching career as part of the Brown Bear Nation.  He will continue to develop and will be an integral piece of our success in 2019-20,” stated Hedlund.