Upper Arlington picks assistant coach Craig Hagkull to lead hockey program
After serving as an assistant coach the past two seasons under Hamish Baird, Craig Hagkull is looking forward to the challenge of leading the Upper Arlington hockey program.
Pending school board approval, Hagkull will succeed Baird, who stepped down last month after three seasons because of family commitments.
“It should be a smooth transition,” Hagkull said. “There’s a lot of continuity (within the coaching staff). It’s been known for a while I had a pretty good chance of getting (the position).”
Hagkull, 48, has extensive experience as a player and coach. A native of Arden Hills, Minnesota, a suburb of Minneapolis and St. Paul, Hagkull won a Junior A national championship while playing for the Des Moines Buccaneers in the United States Hockey League.
He went on to play in college at Notre Dame and then returned to Des Moines as an assistant coach for two years. He also has served as a coach in several levels of youth hockey.
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Hagkull lives in Upper Arlington with his wife, Molly, and sons Brady and Connor. Brady is a senior who played goalie for UA.
Baird, a 1989 UA graduate and former player in the program, spent three seasons as an assistant before being promoted to head coach in 2020. He led the Golden Bears to a 76-36-3 record, reaching state in his first two seasons and winning the Blue Jackets Cup in the 2020-21 season.
UA went 23-13-1 this past season, losing to eventual state champion Olentangy Liberty 10-1 in the district final.
The Bears have finished with a top-10 ranking in the state the past four seasons.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Craig Hagkull named Upper Arlington hockey coach
