Amber Fryklund was named the sixth head coach in Bemidji State Women's Hockey history in April of 2024. She has served on the Beaver women's hockey coaching staff for 10 seasons including five as associate head coach. The 2024-25 season will be Fryklund's first season as head coach of the program but her 11th as a member of the Beavers' coaching staff.
Fryklund first joined the Beaver coaching staff in 2011 as an assistant coach. For five seasons she served as an assistant coach for the program instructing the Beavers' forwards and penalty killing unit and oversaw video breakdown, recruiting, team travel and academics for the team. Prior to the 2016-17 season Fryklund was promoted to associate head coach and carried the title for the next four season.
Following the 2019-20 season, Frykylund took a three-year hiatus from the Beaver Women's Hockey program and began a teaching career as an Assistant Professor of Human Performance, Sport and Health at Bemidji State. She rejoined the program prior to the 2023-24 season and assumed her previous role of associate head coach.
During her 10 seasons with the program, Fryklund has helped guide the Beavers to two 20-win seasons and two Western Collegiate Hockey Association Final Face-off appearances. She has also aided in the mentoring of 105 student-athletes including WCHA Co-Player of the Year Zuzana Tomcikova, WCHA Defensive Player of the Year Ivana Bilic, 14 All-WCHA honorees and two All-Americans (Tomcikova, Brittni Mowat).
Fryklund knows the Bemidji State Women's Hockey program well and prior to her coach career, she was a member of the Beavers from 2000-03 where she recorded 122 points off 59 goals and 63 assists in just three seasons. She still sits as the program's all-time leading scorer and is the program's leading goal scorer and is second in assists. She became the first Beaver in program history to reach 100 career points and is one of just three to accomplish the feat. Fryklund was also Bemidji State's first-ever All-WCHA selection with a second team nod in 2002 and earned the recognition twice in her career.
She was inducted into the Bemidji State Athletics Hall of Fame in 2021.
Following her collegiate playing career, Fryklund taught Physical Education within the Duluth Public Schools and Marshall School systems in Duluth, Minn., for eight years. She also co-coached the Duluth Northern Stars from 2003-09 and was an assistant coach with the Proctor-Hermantown-Marshall Mirage high school girls team in 2009-11.
In addition to her commitment to Bemidji State, Fryklund has devoted her skills and time to the development of girl's hockey through the Minnesota Hockey and USA Hockey developmental programs. She has served as Development Director of Minnesota Hockey's High Performance Girls 15 Program as well as Associate Coach in Chief for Female Coach Development.
She has also worked numerous USA Hockey Developmental Camps and was a coach at the USA Top 66 Player Selection Camp in 2017. In early 2024, Fryklund was named to the coaching staff of the 2025 U18 Women's National Team that will compete at the 2025 IIHF U-18 Women's World Championship in Vantaa, Finland where she will serve as an assistant coach.
Fryklund has served on numerous committee's during her career including the NCAA Division I Men's and Women's Hockey rules committee and the Bemidji State Title IX committee.
Originally from Hibbing, Minn., she received her Bachelor of Science degree in physical education teaching K-12 from Bemidji State University in 2003 and her Master's degree in educational leadership from University of Minnesota Duluth in 2007. She received her Doctorate degree in Higher Education Administration from St. Cloud State University in 2019.
Fryklund not only brings a familiarity with the Bemidji State University women’s hockey program but also a familiarity with high school hockey in the state of Minnesota. She was once a Miss Minnesota Hockey Finalist in her prep playing days.
