View source for Rube Bjorkman

{{short description|American ice hockey player}}
{{Infobox college coach
| image = 
| alt = 
| caption = 
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1929|2|27}}
| birth_place = [[Roseau, Minnesota]]
| death_date = 
| death_place = 
| alma_mater = 
| player_years1 = 1948
| player_team1 = [[United States men's national ice hockey team|US Olympic Team]]
| player_years2 = 1948–1951
| player_team2 = [[Minnesota Golden Gophers men's ice hockey|Minnesota]]
| player_years3 = 1951–1952
| player_team3 = [[Saint Paul Saints]]
| player_years4 = 1952
| player_team4 = [[United States men's national ice hockey team|US Olympic Team]]
| player_positions = [[Centre (ice hockey)|Center]]
| coach_years1 = 1961–1962
| coach_team1 = [[Greenway High School, Minnesota|Greenway High School]]
| coach_years2 = 1963–1964
| coach_team2 = [[RPI Engineers men's ice hockey|RPI]]
| coach_years3 = 1964–1968
| coach_team3 = [[New Hampshire Wildcats men's ice hockey|New Hampshire]]
| coach_years4 = 1968–1978
| coach_team4 = [[North Dakota Fighting Hawks men's ice hockey|North Dakota]]
| coach_years5 = 1980–1983
| coach_team5 = [[Warroad High School]]
| overall_record = 224–234–11 (college)
| tournament_record = 
| championships = 
| awards = 
| coaching_records = 
| medaltemplates = 
{{MedalSport | Men's [[ice hockey]]}}
{{MedalCountry|the {{USA}}}}
{{MedalCompetition|[[Ice hockey at the Winter Olympics|Olympic Games]]}}
{{MedalSilver| [[1952 Winter Olympics|1952 Oslo]] | [[Ice hockey at the 1952 Winter Olympics|Team competition]]}}
}}
'''Reuben Eugene Bjorkman''' (born February 27, 1929) is a former head coach of the [[University of North Dakota]] [[North Dakota Fighting Sioux hockey|Fighting Sioux hockey]] men's team.  A graduate of Roseau, Minnesota High School, where he led his team to a state championship in 1946, Bjorkman was a member of the US Olympic teams in [[1948 Winter Olympics|1948]] and [[1952 Winter Olympics|1952]] (silver medalists).<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20200417101842/https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/countries/USA/winter/1952/ICH/ Sports Reference]</ref>  He was a three-year letter winner at the University of Minnesota.

==Career==
Bjorkman's high school coaching career began at Greenway High School in Coleraine, Minnesota.  His 1962 team competed in the Minnesota State High School Hockey Tournament.  His first college coaching season (1963–1964), at RPI, culminated with his team finishing third in the NCAA Championships.  Following that season he was hired as the Head Hockey Coach at the University of New Hampshire where spent four years before accepting the position at the University of North Dakota.

In 1982 Bjorkman was honored by the Minnesota Hockey Coaches Association when he was named the recipient of the Cliff Thompson Award, given for long-term, outstanding contributions to the sport of hockey in Minnesota.  In 1997 The American Hockey Coaches Association recognized Bjorkman with the John "Snooks" Kelly Founders Award.  Named after the Boston College coach, this award honors those people in the coaching profession who have contributed to the overall growth and development of the sport of ice hockey in the United States.

==Head coaching record==
===College===
{{CBB Yearly Record Start
| type = coach
| conference =
| postseason =
| poll = no
}}
{{CIH yearly record subhead
|name       = [[RPI Engineers men's ice hockey|{{color|white|Rensselaer Engineers}}]]
|color      = color:white; background:#E2231B; {{box-shadow border|a|#222222|2px}}
|startyear  = 1964
|conflong   = ECAC Hockey
|conference = ECAC Hockey / Tri-State League
|endyear    = 1969
|}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
 | championship = 
 | season       = [[1963–64 NCAA men's ice hockey season|1963–64]]
 | name         = Rensselaer
 | overall      = 18–8–0
 | conference   = 12–6–0 / 1–3–0
 | confstanding = t-6th / 3rd
 | postseason   = [[1964 NCAA men's ice hockey tournament|NCAA third-place game (win)]]
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Subtotal
 | name       = Rensselaer
 | overall    = 18–8–0
 | confrecord = 12–6–0 / 1–3–0
}}
{{CIH yearly record subhead
|name       = [[New Hampshire Wildcats men's ice hockey|{{color|white|New Hampshire Wildcats}}]]
|color      = color:white; background:#041E42; {{box-shadow border|a|#BBBCBC|2px}}
|startyear  = 1964
|conference = ECAC 2
|endyear    = 1966
|}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
 | championship = 
 | season       = [[1964–65 NCAA College Division men's ice hockey season|1964–65]]
 | name         = New Hampshire
 | overall      = 6–14–0
 | conference   = 6–9–0
 | confstanding = 
 | postseason   = 
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
 | championship = 
 | season       = [[1965–66 NCAA College Division men's ice hockey season|1965–66]]
 | name         = New Hampshire
 | overall      = 11–12–0
 | conference   = 11–5–0
 | confstanding = 
 | postseason   = 
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Subtotal
 | name       = New Hampshire
 | overall    = 17–26–0
 | confrecord = 17–14–0
}}
{{CIH yearly record subhead
|name       = {{color|white|New Hampshire Wildcats}}
|color      = color:white; background:#041E42; {{box-shadow border|a|#BBBCBC|2px}}
|startyear  = 1966
|conference = ECAC Hockey
|endyear    = 1968
|}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
 | championship = 
 | season       = [[1966–67 NCAA University Division men's ice hockey season|1966–67]]
 | name         = New Hampshire
 | overall      = 18–7–0
 | conference   = 5–4–0
 | confstanding = 7th
 | postseason   = 
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
 | championship = 
 | season       = [[1967–68 NCAA University Division men's ice hockey season|1967–68]]
 | name         = New Hampshire
 | overall      = 22–7–0
 | conference   = 7–6–0
 | confstanding = 
 | postseason   = 
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Subtotal
 | name       = New Hampshire
 | overall    = 40–14–0
 | confrecord = 12–10–0
}}
{{CIH yearly record subhead
|name       = [[North Dakota Fighting Hawks men's ice hockey|{{color|white|North Dakota Fighting Sioux}}]]
|color      = color:white; background:#009A44; {{box-shadow border|a|#000000|2px}}
|startyear  = 1968
|conflong   = Western Collegiate Hockey Association
|conference = WCHA
|endyear    = 1978
|}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
 | championship = 
 | season       = [[1968–69 NCAA University Division men's ice hockey season|1968–69]]
 | name         = North Dakota
 | overall      = 18–10–1
 | conference   = 15–7–0
 | confstanding = 3rd
 | postseason   = [[1969 WCHA men's ice hockey tournament|WCHA West Regional semifinals]]
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
 | championship = 
 | season       = [[1969–70 NCAA University Division men's ice hockey season|1969–70]]
 | name         = North Dakota 
 | overall      = 14–5–1
 | conference   = 12–13–1
 | confstanding = 5th
 | postseason   = [[1970 WCHA men's ice hockey tournament|WCHA East Regional semifinals]]
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
 | championship = 
 | season       = [[1970–71 NCAA University Division men's ice hockey season|1970–71]]
 | name         = North Dakota 
 | overall      = 14–17–2
 | conference   = 10–15–1
 | confstanding = 7th
 | postseason   = [[1971 WCHA men's ice hockey tournament|WCHA East Regional Finals]]
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
 | championship = 
 | season       = [[1971–72 NCAA University Division men's ice hockey season|1971–72]]
 | name         = North Dakota 
 | overall      = 21–14–1
 | conference   = 18–10–0
 | confstanding = 3rd
 | postseason   = [[1972 WCHA men's ice hockey tournament|WCHA second round]]
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
 | championship = 
 | season       = [[1972–73 NCAA University Division men's ice hockey season|1972–73]]
 | name         = North Dakota 
 | overall      = 17–17–2
 | conference   = 13–15–2
 | confstanding = 7th
 | postseason   = [[1973 WCHA men's ice hockey tournament|WCHA first round]]
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
 | championship = 
 | season       = [[1973–74 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey season|1973–74]]
 | name         = North Dakota 
 | overall      = 10–23–1
 | conference   = 8–20–0
 | confstanding = 10th
 | postseason   = 
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
 | championship = 
 | season       = [[1974–75 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey season|1974–75]]
 | name         = North Dakota 
 | overall      = 6–28–2
 | conference   = 4–26–2
 | confstanding = 10th
 | postseason   = 
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
 | championship = 
 | season       = [[1975–76 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey season|1975–76]]
 | name         = North Dakota 
 | overall      = 15–21–0
 | conference   = 12–20–0
 | confstanding = t-7th
 | postseason   = 
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
 | championship = 
 | season       = [[1976–77 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey season|1976–77]]
 | name         = North Dakota 
 | overall      = 19–19–0
 | conference   = 16–16–0
 | confstanding = 5th
 | postseason   = [[1977 WCHA men's ice hockey tournament|WCHA first round]]
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
 | championship = 
 | season       = [[1977–78 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey season|1977–78]]
 | name         = North Dakota 
 | overall      = 15–22–1
 | conference   = 13–19–0
 | confstanding = t-5th
 | postseason   = [[1978 WCHA men's ice hockey tournament|WCHA first round]]
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Subtotal
 | name       = North Dakota 
 | overall    = 149–186–11
 | confrecord = 121–161–6
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record End
| overall = 224–234–11
| poll = no
}}

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

==External links==
*{{icehockeystats}}
*Career coaching statistics at [https://www.collegehockeynews.com/reports/coach/Rube-Bjorkman/2070 College Hockey News]

{{RPI Engineers men's ice hockey navbox}}
{{New Hampshire Wildcats men's ice hockey navbox}}
{{North Dakota Fighting Hawks men's ice hockey coach navbox}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bjorkman, Rube}}
[[Category:1929 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:American men's ice hockey forwards]]
[[Category:High school ice hockey coaches in the United States]]
[[Category:Ice hockey coaches from Minnesota]]
[[Category:Ice hockey players at the 1952 Winter Olympics]]
[[Category:Ice hockey players from Minnesota]]
[[Category:Medalists at the 1952 Winter Olympics]]
[[Category:New Hampshire Wildcats men's ice hockey coaches]]
[[Category:North Dakota Fighting Hawks men's ice hockey coaches]]
[[Category:Olympic silver medalists for the United States in ice hockey]]
[[Category:People from Roseau, Minnesota]]
[[Category:RPI Engineers men's ice hockey coaches]]
[[Category:20th-century American sportsmen]]