Niskanen ready to hit the ice with Rock Ridge

VIRGINIA—Matt Niskanen has experienced a lot of success in his hockey career.

But nothing has Niskanen more pumped up right now than this week being named head coach of the Rock Ridge High School Wolverines boys’ hockey team.

“I was excited for the potential opportunity,” Niskanen said of applying for the job. “I wasn’t sure what direction they would go, but it all worked out and I’m excited to get started. I put a lot of preparation into it for a few months now. I’m excited to get the season going.”

Niskanen’s hiring this week is one of the highest-profile high school hockey stories in the state.

Niskanen, 37, is a former Virginia/Mountain Iron-Buhl, University of Minnesota Duluth and National Hockey League (NHL) star.

Niskanen played 13 seasons in the NHL for the Dallas Stars, Pittsburgh Penguins, Washington Capitals, and Philadelphia Flyers.

He was a key defenseman on the 2018 Washington Capitals Stanley Cup winning team.

Niskanen was also a member of the Virginia/Mountain Iron-Buhl Blue Devils 2005 state tournament team.

It was the first time that Blue Devils hockey qualified for the state tournament.

When practice opens Nov. 11, Niskanen says he has a straight-forward goal for Rock Ridge players.

“I want to see the kids succeed,” Niskanen said. “I look back and high school hockey was the best time of my life. Of all the things I accomplished, I think that meant the most. I want to see the kids have that opportunity too.”

As far as team goals, Niskanen is setting sights on success.

“We’ll see what we can be,” Niskanen said. “We lost seven seniors that played regular shifts if my count is right. There’s going be opportunity for a lot of kids. Our goal is to play our best hockey at the end of the year and have a chance to go to the state tournament. If the kids are receptive to new concepts and bring their good attitudes and work ethic, who knows what we can be? But the potential is there to be playing in the section tournament final game and competing to go to the state tournament. The potential is there.”

Coming back to “his home,” after he retired from professional hockey in 2020 offered plenty of ice fishing and hunting opportunities, Niskanen said.

“I grew up in Mountain Iron and this is home for me,” Niskanen said.

But his love for hockey remained.

From his youth years to professional hockey, Niskanen played for a number of teams and coaches.

However, of all the coaches he had over his career, his high school coach, Keith Hendrickson, influenced him the most, Niskanen said.

“Keith was my biggest influence, especially at that age when you’re so impressionable,” Niskanen said. “It was the way he saw the game and his passion for it that really influenced me in a positive way. He was a really good resource for me, even when I was playing professionally. I talked to him a lot, even when I was going through some tough stuff. He’s just a really good guy to talk to and I will remember that forever how much he helped me.”

Hendrickson, the former Virginia Blue Devil defenseman who later went on to coach Virginia for 25 years, said Niskanen applied for the Rock Ridge job for all the right reasons.

“We’ve become good adult friends,” Hendrickson said. “Matt and I have talked a lot about it. A few years ago, we were having lunch and I brought it (coaching the team) up. He said, ‘nah, I don’t think I would do that.”

But sometime later, Niskanen changed his mind.

Hendrickson is glad he did.

“Matt is in it for all the right reasons,” Hendrickson said. “It’s not to satisfy his ego or anything. He wants to help the kids be the best they can be.”

Niskanen has already been getting his feet wet with the players.

Over the past couple years, Niskanen said he helped out a handful of times at practice with Rock Ridge defensemen.

This summer, an off-ice program for high school and Bantam players, along with a summer on-ice camp went well, Niskanen said.

“We had good numbers, we had a high tempo and introduced some new concepts,” Niskanen said.

Niskanen said he sees potential for an exciting team when practice starts.

He anticipates over 50 players will try out.

“As I see the group now, we can be a real fast-paced pressure team,” Niskanen said. “We’ve got a lot of speed now and I think that’s our strength. Play to our strengths with lots of pressure all over the ice. There will be a concept and belief system on how we want to possess the puck. That will be pretty consistent throughout the years.”

Like many other coaches do, Niskanen said he will incorporate concepts from all his years of experience and playing for different coaches.

“I played for a lot of guys as you can imagine,” Niskanen said. “There’s stuff I liked and stuff I didn’t from each guy, so I’m going to try to take the best things I like from each guy and try to apply it here.”

Hendrickson said he’s confident Niskanen’s character and leadership will show through.

“Matt has always done it the right way,” Hendrickson said. “He never thought he was above anybody else and he was a great leader. And he will be a great leader for these kids. He’ll do a great job because he’s a great person and he’s doing it for all the right reasons.”