USHL Coach of the Year Oliver joins men’s hockey coaching staff
May 25, 2023 | Men's Hockey
Fargo Force head coach brings development and winning ways to Madison
MADISON, Wis. – Nick Oliver, head coach of the USHL's 2023 regular-season champion Fargo Force, is joining the Wisconsin men's hockey staff as an assistant coach under new head coach Mike Hastings.
"We are excited to bring Nick and his family to the University of Wisconsin," Hastings said. "His depth of experience as a player and a coach will help prepare our young men for success. Nick has earned the reputation as one of the best young coaches in our game through his work ethic and ability to develop meaningful relationships with his players."
"I'm extremely grateful and honored for the opportunity to be joining the University of Wisconsin men's hockey program," Oliver said. "I couldn't be more excited for the opportunity to work with Coach Hastings, Coach (Todd) Knott and the rest of the UW staff. I'm looking forward to start building relationships with our players and for the opportunity to honor the many people who have come before us in this program. My family and I can't wait to get to Madison and join the Badger Family."
Spending one year as head coach in Fargo, Oliver led the organization to 40 victories and a league-best 88 points to win the franchise's first Anderson Cup as USHL regular-season champions. He was recognized for his efforts as USHL Coach of the Year.
Success continued into the postseason with the Force reaching the Clark Cup Final.
Prior to Fargo, Oliver served as an assistant coach at his alma mater, St. Cloud State, helping the Huskies to an 81-44-9 mark in four seasons. While a coach, SCSU captured an NCHC regular-season title, a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament and a Frozen Four appearance. The school reached its first NCAA championship game appearance in 2021 with Oliver helping behind the bench.
He also spent time with the USHL's Sioux Falls Stampede from 2015-18 as an assistant coach and director of scouting.
The Roseau, Minnesota, native's coaching career began right after his St. Cloud State playing days concluded in 2015. A captain his senior year and alternate captain as a junior, Oliver's Huskies won the WCHA regular-season title in 2013. The Badgers upset his top-seeded squad in the semifinals at the 2013 WCHA Final Five on their way to the postseason crown in their last year of WCHA play. SCSU reached the school's first NCAA Frozen Four anyway.
The following season, St. Cloud State won the inaugural NCHC regular-season title during his junior campaign.
A 2015 SCSU graduate with a degree in business finance, Oliver is married to his wife, Alex, and has a 15-month old son, Thomas.
Oliver adds to Wisconsin's award-winning coach staff that includes three-time Spencer Penrose Award winner for national coach of the year and five-time conference coach of the year Mike Hastings, as well as 2023 American Hockey Coaches Association's Terry Flanagan Award winner Todd Knott (pronounced Kuh-NOTT) for his career body of work as an assistant coach.
Season tickets for the 2023-24 Wisconsin men's hockey season and the start of a new era in Badger hockey are on sale now.
"We are excited to bring Nick and his family to the University of Wisconsin," Hastings said. "His depth of experience as a player and a coach will help prepare our young men for success. Nick has earned the reputation as one of the best young coaches in our game through his work ethic and ability to develop meaningful relationships with his players."
"I'm extremely grateful and honored for the opportunity to be joining the University of Wisconsin men's hockey program," Oliver said. "I couldn't be more excited for the opportunity to work with Coach Hastings, Coach (Todd) Knott and the rest of the UW staff. I'm looking forward to start building relationships with our players and for the opportunity to honor the many people who have come before us in this program. My family and I can't wait to get to Madison and join the Badger Family."
Spending one year as head coach in Fargo, Oliver led the organization to 40 victories and a league-best 88 points to win the franchise's first Anderson Cup as USHL regular-season champions. He was recognized for his efforts as USHL Coach of the Year.
Success continued into the postseason with the Force reaching the Clark Cup Final.
Prior to Fargo, Oliver served as an assistant coach at his alma mater, St. Cloud State, helping the Huskies to an 81-44-9 mark in four seasons. While a coach, SCSU captured an NCHC regular-season title, a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament and a Frozen Four appearance. The school reached its first NCAA championship game appearance in 2021 with Oliver helping behind the bench.
He also spent time with the USHL's Sioux Falls Stampede from 2015-18 as an assistant coach and director of scouting.
The Roseau, Minnesota, native's coaching career began right after his St. Cloud State playing days concluded in 2015. A captain his senior year and alternate captain as a junior, Oliver's Huskies won the WCHA regular-season title in 2013. The Badgers upset his top-seeded squad in the semifinals at the 2013 WCHA Final Five on their way to the postseason crown in their last year of WCHA play. SCSU reached the school's first NCAA Frozen Four anyway.
The following season, St. Cloud State won the inaugural NCHC regular-season title during his junior campaign.
A 2015 SCSU graduate with a degree in business finance, Oliver is married to his wife, Alex, and has a 15-month old son, Thomas.
Oliver adds to Wisconsin's award-winning coach staff that includes three-time Spencer Penrose Award winner for national coach of the year and five-time conference coach of the year Mike Hastings, as well as 2023 American Hockey Coaches Association's Terry Flanagan Award winner Todd Knott (pronounced Kuh-NOTT) for his career body of work as an assistant coach.
Season tickets for the 2023-24 Wisconsin men's hockey season and the start of a new era in Badger hockey are on sale now.
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