RPI Has New Assistant

From The Troy Record-

TROY - As was first reported in The Record on June 17, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute men's head hockey coach Seth Appert has added Army assistant coach Shawn Kurulak to round out his first head-coaching staff.Rensselaer Director of Athletics Ken Ralph made Kurulak's appointment official with an announcement Tuesday morning.Kurulak, a former all-star defenseman, played under Appert, a longtime University of Denver assistant, at the perennial WCHA power."There is a lot of history and tradition at RPI and I look forward to being part of something special in Troy," Kurulak said. "Seth is a great coach and I am very excited and honored that he asked me to be part of the staff."Appert says he's equally excited. "We are very excited to have Shawn on our team," Appert said. "He is a proven winner who consistently makes teams better. His intensity and competitiveness will be tremendous assets in the locker room, on the ice and as he is directing our recruiting efforts."Kurulak (pronounced KER-lack) comes to Rensselaer after spending the past two seasons as an assistant at West Point, working with recruiting, player development - especially with defensemen - and coordinating video instruction. He was an integral reason head coach Brian Riley was named the Atlantic Hockey Coach of the Year in 2005-06. The Rensselaer roster will have at least four freshmen defensemen next season. Only three blueliners return from the team that finished 14-17-6.Former National Hockey Leaguer and American Hockey League star Jim Montgomery, a volunteer assistant at the University of Notre Dame, was named Appert's first assistant last month. Kurulak led Fargo-Moorhead of the North American Hockey League to a 33-21 record and a second-place finish in the West Division in 2003-04, the team's first season in the Junior 'A' hockey league. As the head coach, he was chiefly responsible for establishing the team's infrastructure for team operations and recruiting and developing players. The Calgary native also served for two seasons as an assistant at Bemidji State University, where he was the team's recruiting coordinator. He also developed and implemented game strategies as well as assisted with video analysis and strength and conditioning. Kurulak also spent one season as a volunteer assistant at his alma mater, when Appert was still an assistant. Kurulak also served an internship with the Colorado Avalanche as their assistant video coach. A four-year letter winner for the U. of Denver Pioneers, Kurulak wore the alternate captain's 'A' for three seasons. In 131 career games, he had 41 points (7 goals, 34 assists) and 268 penalty minutes. He also represented the WCHA on an all-star team that traveled to Switzerland for an international tournament in 1998.Kurulak graduated from Denver in 1999 with a BSBA in Finance/Marketing.