Joe Dziedzic steps down as coach of Minneapolis public school cooperative boys hockey team

Longtime Minneapolis boys hockey coach Joe Dziedzic has stepped down after 13 years as head coach of the Novas — a cooperative that represents all seven of the Minneapolis public high schools — to accept the head coaching position at Breck.

“It was a great run, but it just felt like the right time to take on new challenge,” said Dziedzic, who compiled a 182-141-16 record at Minneapolis and guided the team to the 2022 Class 1A tournament. “It’s time to try something different. I’m going over there to try and rebuild that program.”

Dziedzic played at the University of Minnesota between 1990 and 1994 as a bruising 6-3, 225-pound left wing. He notched 33 goals and 38 assists in his Gophers career and went on to play professional hockey in the minor leagues as well as two seasons with the Pittsburgh Penguins from 1995 to 1997. He retired in 1999 after a two-game stint with the Phoenix Coyotes.

Dziedzic never strayed far from his Minneapolis roots. He fondly recalled many high school practices at the now-closed Victory Memorial Ice Arena in north Minneapolis.

“You could get a Coke and a box of Hot Tamales for 50 cents,” he said. “I always made sure to have two quarters with me.”

Dziedzic, 53, admitted that leaving Minneapolis is difficult, but he’s proud of his time there,

“It’s bittersweet, with being a Minneapolis kid. It holds special meaning for me to give back to Minneapolis,” he said. “But it just feels like time to try something new.”

Like his father, Walt, and his sister, Kari, Joe Dziedzic attended Edison High School, where he played hockey and football. He was the Star Tribune’s football Metro Player of the Year in 1989 after a standout career as a running back and linebacker.

“I remember having more colleges after me for football than hockey,” he said. “All the Big Ten schools, USC, UCLA. But I always knew I wanted to play hockey [in college].”

Walt Dziedzic was a Minneapolis police officer for 16 years before serving on the Minneapolis City Council from 1976 to 1998 and was a commissioner for the Minneapolis Park board until 2010.

Kari Dziedzic was a state senator from 2012 to the time of her death in 2024 from ovarian cancer.