The Swedish Ice Hockey Association has announced that Vermont head coach Todd Woodcroft has been named an assistant coach with the Swedish national men’s team for the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, China.
“It’s a tremendous honor to be invited to help coach at this winter’s Olympic Games and I appreciate the support of our players, staff and the athletic department,” said Woodcroft in a statement. “The opportunity to grow and learn from the best in the world is something that I know will pay dividends for UVM men’s hockey for years to come as our international network continues to expand. I am very grateful for this opportunity and for the support from the UVM community.”
“This is an exciting professional opportunity for Todd and great for our hockey program to again be represented at the Olympic Games,” added Vermont director of athletics Jeff Schulman. “Todd’s international experience and networks have already opened up new geographic recruiting areas and coaching in the Olympics will only enhance the exposure of our program around the world.”
The men’s hockey competition at the 2022 games is slated for February 9-20, 2022. Games will be played at the National Indoor Stadium and the Wukesong Sports Centre in Beijing. The National Indoor Stadium hosted the 2015 IIHF Women’s World Hockey Championships.
Woodcroft has been successful in the past on the international stage.
In 2004, he served on the coaching staff with Team Canada where he won an IIHF World Championship gold medal. He was also an assistant coach for Belarus at the 2006, 2014, and 2016 IIHF World Championships. In 2015, he was an assistant coach with Switzerland at the IIHF World Championships and he served as a special assignment/assistant coach with Sweden at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey. In his most recent senior national team experience, he won a second gold medal at the 2017 IIHF World Championships with Sweden as an assistant coach.
This past season, he served as an assistant coach remotely with the 2021 Sweden national junior team at the IIHF World Junior Championship in Edmonton.
