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WELCOME TO MINNESOTA ICE COUGARS

 

ABOUT US

The Minnesota Ice Cougars AAA Hockey Club's goal is to Develop Intelligent Athletes with Grit.

OUR THREE PRINCIPLES ARE ACCOUNTABILITY, DISCIPLINE & LEADERSHIP

Ice Cougars players will receive instruction based upon core hockey skills. In addition, we emphasize the key details of how to make themselves, as well as their teammates, better on and off the ice.

Each player will be treated with respect. Every coach and player will be held to the highest standard of accountability

THREE PRINCIPLES OF MN ICE COUGARS:

Accountability

  • Know your job.
  • Do your job.
  • Be responsible for the outcome.

Discipline

  • Drive through adversity.
  • Keep moving forward.
  • Grit.

Leadership

  • Set an example.
  • Intrinsic motivation.
  • Communication.

MN ICE COUGARS DISCIPLINE:

  • Doing what you know is right even though something else that is easier is tempting.
  • Ask yourself: “Are my actions making my teammates better?”
  • Create the Habit of Discipline
    • Knowledge: what to do
    • Skill: how to do it
    • Desire: understanding why it is important

PRESENCE: YOUR ABILITY TO HAVE INFLUENCE OVER YOURSELF, OTHERS AND YOUR ENVIRONMENT

Five Elements That Will Cultivate a Strong Positive Presence:

  1. Body language: how you look
  2. Mood: how you feel
  3. Tone: how you sound
  4. Experience: what you’ve done
  5. Spirit: the energy you bring to a situation

Teams

Clinics

MN Ice Cougars are excited to announce our annual summer programs to help to get the players to the next level. We will offer four different ways to get to the next level. Defensive Clinic, Shooting and Stickhandling Clinic, 7 Week Summer Training Program, and Mentorship Games. 

2024 DEFENSIVE AWARENESS CLINIC - $350

  • 10 hrs of defensive specific training
  • Offered to each player, forwards and defenseman
  • Low player to coach ratio - 7:1 max
  • All Female Staff
  • Sold out the past 7 years-> Do not wait too long to register!
  • Visit https://teams.mnicecougars.com/dclinic for additional details

2024 Shooting and Stickhandling Clinic - $350

  • 10 On ice practices
  • Professional all female staff
  • This clinic has been sold out the past 6 years. Register now to secure your spot.
  • Visit https://teams.mnicecougars.com/ssclinic  for additional details

2024 7 Week Summer Training Program - $499

2024 Mentorship Games - $299

Staff

 
COACHING STAFF
 

We are very proud to employ an all-female coaching staff. We are poised to change the landscape not just for current Coaches, but also for the next generation of aspiring female Coaches. 

Kayla Chillstrom - Current St. Olaf assistant coach

Annika Peterson - Former St. Olaf player

Annie Juergensen - Former Augsburg University player, Current Centennial Varsity assistant coach

Anna Schmidt - Former St. Michael HS Player

Lindsay Czech - Current University of Minnesota Duluth player

Jordan Hanson - Current Hamline University Player

Sam Hanson - Former UND collegiate player and former PWHPA player

Taylor Curtis - Former Syracuse college player.  Former Hamline University college player

Samantha Lackman - Current St. Kates collegiate player. Three years of coaching experience with the MN Ice Cougars

DEVENIR GOALTENDERS - MN Ice Cougars is partnered with Devenir Goaltending to provide goalie-specific training throughout our practices. Learn More.


 
LEADERSHIP
Mira JalosuoMira Jalosuo
President
 

Mira grew up playing boys youth hockey in Lieksa, Finland. In 9th grade, Mira was recruited to play in the Finnish women’s national league. While she was still in high school, she played for Oulu Kärpät women’s team and won two silver and two bronze medals. She also won several individual awards while playing in the Finnish women’s national league.

After graduating high school, Mira went on to play college hockey for the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers. During her four seasons playing for the Gophers, she won two National Championships (2012 and 2013). She graduated from the University of Minnesota in the August of 2013 and went on to play two years of professional hockey in Russia. In that short period of time Mira went on to win a National Championship in 2014 and European Cup in 2015. She was also selected as the best defender of the European Cup tournament. 2015-2016 Mira played for the Minnesota WhiteCaps and got recruited to go play the playoffs in Sweden where she won the Swedish League championship. 2016-2017 season Mira played for Oulu Kärpät women’s team and won the Finnish League championship and was selected as the MVP of the playoffs. Mira has been a member of the Finnish National team since 2004, and has over 150 games in international play. She has participated in the 2014 Olympic Winter Games and 2018 Olympic Games where she won bronze with Team Finland. She also has played nine times in the IIHF Women’s World Championships, winning five bronze medals in 2008, 2009, 2011, 2015, and 2017.

Along with Mira’s playing experience she brings a wealth of coaching experience to Minnesota Ice Cougars. In 2013, Mira began working with the Minnesota Icemen and Ice Cougars AAA program as a player mentor. In 2014, Jalosuo was selected as the head coach for the U16 and U12 Minnesota Ice Cougars AAA program and she was also a Defensive Coordinator for the same program.

Currently she is coaching at D1 level at St.Cloud State University and is also MN Region PWHPA Assistant Coach. Prior to her time at St.Cloud, Jalosuo had served as a head coach for Stillwater HS where she led the team to a State Tournament 2020. Before that she was an assistant coach for Hamline University and the Wayzata High School program 2015-2018. She also coached with the Stillwater Area Hockey Association, leading the U12A team to a 42-6-2 record in 2018-19. Mira has coached and worked with many players over the past three years helping students learn and improve their hockey skills. Over the years Mira has developed an ability to work effectively with players of all ages and backgrounds.


Kayla Chilstrom Kayla Chilstrom

East Director

Hockey playing experience; 

Kayla Chilstrom is in her second season as an assistant coach for the St. Olaf women's hockey program in 2021-22 after joining head coach Tracy Johnson's staff on Sept. 4, 2020.

A former NCAA Division III student-athlete at the University of Wisconsin-Superior, Chilstrom joined Johnson’s staff following four seasons as an assistant coach at her alma mater. St. Olaf did not compete in any games during Chilstrom's first season of 2020-21 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In Chilstrom’s four seasons on staff at UW-Superior, the Yellowjackets won 50 games and appeared in the semifinals of the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) Championship each season. This past season, UW-Superior went 17-8-2, with victories over No. 7 UW-River Falls and No. 4 Gustavus, and received votes in the USCHO.com national rankings on two occasions.

Chilstrom has also served as an instructor at the Scott Bjugstad Shooting School and as a player development coach for the Minnesota Ice Cougars. Prior to returning to her alma mater as an assistant coach, Chilstrom was an assistant coach at Superior High School for five seasons before being elevated to head coach for the 2016-17 season.

As a student-athlete at UW-Superior, Chilstrom helped the Yellowjackets to their first-ever appearance in the national semifinals in 2007-08 and a Northern Collegiate Hockey Association (NCHA) conference title that same year. In 102 career games on the blue line, Chilstrom accumulated 38 points on 11 goals and 27 assists while the Yellowjackets went 71-31-12 (.675).

 -Coaching quote

"Popcorn is prepared in the same pot, in the same heat, and in the same oil, yet the kernels do not all pop at the same time. Do not compare yourself to others. Your turn to pop is coming."


Sam Hanson

Sam Hanson
West Director
 

As a coach, Sam Hanson is starting her fourth year with the Minnesota Ice Cougars. This past season she was the Assistant Coach for the MN Ice Cougars U19 traveling team and was the Skills Coach for Academy of Holy Angles girl’s high school . Perviously assisted with Hockey Gymnasium training on and off the ice in Leksand, Sweden. 

Former professional hockey player. Hanson played four years professionally between the PWHPA, KRS Vankee Rays (Russia), and Leksands IF (Sweden) where she was a captain. 

Her collegiate career was played at the University of North Dakota. She played her youth and high school hockey for White Bear Lake.

Contact Us

STAFF

Mira Jalosuo
President/Owner |  ✉️  
 
Sam Hanson
West Director | ✉️  
   
 
Kayla Chilstrom
East Director | ✉️   
 
 
MAILING ADDRESS | PLEASE SEND CHEQUE PAYMENTS TO:

EMForce LLC

1747 Dale St N

Roseville, MN, 55113

  
 
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