Kimball leaves WSU for North Dakota

The University of North Dakota announced Tuesday that Grant Kimball has been hired as an assistant coach for the women's hockey team.

Kimball comes to UND from Wayne State University, where he was the associate head women’s hockey coach this past season and assistant coach and recruiting coordinator since 2003. During his four years at Wayne State, Kimball helped coach the Warriors to 57 wins and a College Hockey America conference championship game appearance in 2007.

“Grant brings a proven recruiting track record with him to UND," Sioux head coach Brian Idalski said. "His work ethic and desire to succeed will be valuable assets to our program as we move forward.”

As Wayne State’s recruiting coordinator, Kimball helped recruit the most productive freshman class in the nation in the 2005-06 season, when Wayne State’s freshmen scored 154 points. During his four years at Wayne State, players Kimball recruited went on to earn a number of CHA honors. They included three players who were named first team All-CHA, six players who were named second team All-CHA, five players who were named to the CHA All-Rookie team and 27 CHA All-Academic selections.

Among his duties at Wayne State, Kimball was involved in all aspects of the program, to include budget analysis, practice preparation, game strategy, pre-scouting of opponents, video analysis. He was responsible for coaching the defense during games.

Prior to coaching at Wayne State, Kimball spent two seasons as an assistant coach at Lake Forest College of the Northern Collegiate Hockey Association. He helped lead Lake Forest to a 13th-place national ranking and a fourth-place western region ranking in the 2002-03 Ratings Percentage Index.

Kimball served as director of the Michigan Regional Girls Development Camp in 2005 and 2006, co-coach of the USA Hockey Girls National Select U-14 Camp in 2005, head coach of Team Michigan in the Chicago Showcase Tournament in 2004 and 2005 and head coach of Team IllinoisGirls U-15 and U-19 teams from 1996-2000.

A Harvard, Mass., native, Kimball played varsity hockey as a defenseman from 1992-95 at Lake Forest College and graduated from Lake Forest in 1996 with a bachelor’s degree in history.