Brenden Kotyk was named head coach of the St. Scholastica men’s hockey program in July 2026.
Kotyk returned to St. Scholastica with six seasons of professional coaching experience in the ECHL, including two seasons as the head coach and director of hockey operations for the South Carolina Stingrays. He spent the previous two seasons as an assistant coach with the Savannah Ghost Pirates, working primarily with the team’s defense and penalty kill.
Kotyk began his coaching career with South Carolina ahead of the 2020-21 season. During his first season as an assistant coach, he helped the Stingrays advance to the 2021 Kelly Cup Finals while working with the defense and penalty kill.
He was promoted to interim head coach late in the 2021-22 season and guided South Carolina to victories in seven of its final nine games. Kotyk was subsequently named the 11th head coach in franchise history and led the Stingrays for the following two seasons.
South Carolina posted a 94-56-8-4 record during Kotyk’s tenure as head coach and captured the ECHL South Division championship during the 2022-23 season. His responsibilities included overseeing the team’s forwards and power-play units.
Before entering coaching, Kotyk played three professional seasons as a defenseman. He appeared in 151 regular-season ECHL games with the Greenville Swamp Rabbits and Toledo Walleye, recording 50 points on 20 goals and 30 assists. He also played seven games for the Hartford Wolf Pack of the American Hockey League and helped Toledo advance to the 2019 Kelly Cup Finals.
Kotyk’s collegiate career began at St. Scholastica during the 2012-13 season. He recorded 19 points on seven goals and 12 assists in 25 games and led all Northern Collegiate Hockey Association rookie defensemen in scoring.
He transferred to the University of Minnesota Duluth following his freshman season and played three seasons for the Bulldogs after sitting out the 2013-14 campaign due to NCAA transfer regulations. Kotyk served as an assistant captain during his senior season and helped UMD win the 2017 National Collegiate Hockey Conference Frozen Faceoff championship and advance to the NCAA Division I national championship game.
A native of Regina, Saskatchewan, Kotyk played junior hockey for the Humboldt Broncos and Dauphin Kings. He captained Dauphin and was named the Manitoba Junior Hockey League’s Top Defenseman after recording 62 points during the 2012-13 season.
Kotyk resides in Duluth with his wife, Hayley, and their dog, Bruno.
