Wisconsin men's hockey: John Hamre hired as Director of Hockey Operations

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Men's hockey head coach Mike Eaves hires a director with vast experience in several levels of hockey.

The Wisconsin athletic department and men's hockey head coach Mike Eaves officially announced the hiring of John Hamre as its new Director of Hockey Operations for the men's program Tuesday in Madison.

First reported by the Wisconsin State Journal's Andy Baggot last Friday, Hamre will replace former director and video coordinator Zach Remiker, who is leaving the men's program, starting June 8.

Hamre brings a vast array of experience to Wisconsin, having been a part of junior and high school hockey up to the Olympic level.

Read more from Wisconsin's official press release below:


June 2, 2015

MADISON, Wis. --- Wisconsin men's hockey head coach Mike Eaves has hired a familiar and experienced face to fill the upcoming opening for Director of Hockey Operations.

John Hamre (pronounced HAM-ree), who worked with Eaves as an assistant coach for two years at the U.S. National Team Development Program, will replace longtime men's hockey video coordinator and director of hockey operations Zach Remiker, who is departing the program. Remiker handled travel planning and scheduling among many other duties, and transitioned last year from the team's full-time video coordinator to solely handling those duties on the road.

Hamre is expected to begin his duties on June 8.

"I'm really excited to have John join our staff," Eaves remarked. "John and I have history together working with the National Team Development Program for two years. He's got experience in both hockey and the administrative part of the job that needs to be handled. He's a good communicator with people, is trustworthy, and I'm looking forward to getting him in here and getting his feet wet."

Hamre comes with a wealth of experience and a varied background that includes NCAA, junior, high school and Olympic hockey.

Currently in his first year on the math faculty at Benilde-St. Margarets High School in Minnesota, Hamre spent the prior year as a substitute teacher at Benilde-St. Margarets, while serving as a coach and consultant for the Washington Junior Nationals (EHL) in Laurel, Maryland.

The holder of three degrees from the University of Minnesota, including a bachelor's degree in mathematics (1991), an MBA with a finance emphasis (1993) and a Ph.D in educational policy and administration (2007), he boasts five years as an assistant coach at the NCAA Division I level. He served Yale as an assistant coach from 1998-2000, Alaska Anchorage for the 1996-97 season and Princeton from 1994-96. He also spent the 1991-92 season as a graduate assistant coach for Minnesota, before spending two seasons (1992-94) as the team's video coordinator and administrative assistant.

In addition to his collegiate history, Hamre spent nine seasons as the boys varsity hockey coach at The Blake School in Minneapolis from 2002-11, leading the team to three Minnesota State High School League State Tournaments. Other hockey coaching stops along the way include the Coulee Region Chill (NAHL), Michigan Warriors (NAHL) and Vermont Lumberjacks (EHL), and volunteer stints with the Dayton Bombers (ECHL) and Walpole Express Junior `A' (AJHL).

Hamre also helped USA Hockey for the 1994 Olympic Winter Games in Lillehammer, Norway, as a video assistant coach.

"Right now John is teaching high school math and writing for Let's Play Hockey and that speaks to his ability to cover a lot of grounds," Eaves stated. "In the director of hockey ops position, it is very much like that. You have to be able to understand the language of hockey, you have to understand how to be a good administrator in terms of getting the details we need to get done. He has done that in his realm of experiences and that is why I think he is a good fit."

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