Skate to Excellence

Skate to Excellence would like to welcome Jim Hillman as our newest member of our coaching staff.  Hillman will coach the STE 2000 AAA hockey team and help out in other STE clinics.  Jim  played high school hockey at Blaine HS, then played 2 years of junior hockey with the St. Paul Vulcans where he played on the 1991 National Championship team coached by Mike Geuntzel. Jim then went on to  play his college hockey at the University of Minnesota.  While a Gopher he played on two WCHA Final Five Championship teams and competed in two Frozen Four NCAA tournaments.  After his playing days were done, Jim got into coaching with the Twin Cities Vulcans as an assistant coach for two years then took over as the Vulcans Head Coach.  In his second year as head coach Jim lead the Vulcans to the National Championship.  When the team moved to Kearney, NE and became the Tri-City Storm Jim went on to become the teams Head Coach and General Manager for three seasons.  After coaching Jim became a amateur scout with the New York Islanders and Director of Scouting and Player Development with the Sioux Falls Stampede.  Jim  also has international coaching experience, as an assistant coach in 2000 with the Under 17 National team in Previzda, Slovikia where they won the Gold Medal. He also has be an assistant coach in the US Four Nation Tournament.  Jim is currently coaching his son's team in the Coon Rapids Hockey Association at the squirt level.