Nancy's Story
When Nancy Burggraf whistled, players skated to attention. Big players. Players with face masks and hockey sticks. USA Today called Nancy a hockey “guru” and “icon.” She was the first woman nominated to the US Hockey Hall of Fame.
For five decades, the petite 5’3”, 110 pound, Roseau, Minn., native touched the lives of more than 40,000 hockey players, from Pee Wees to the professional ranks through her unique Burggraf Skating Skills camps and clinics. She taught some of the best in the National Hockey League including former North Stars Neal and Aaron Broten. Her training video, “Stick Down, Head Up,” has been used by the Chicago Blackhawks, Dallas Stars, New York Islanders, New Jersey Devils and the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association.
Dean Blais, former University of North Dakota hockey coach and now head coach at the University of Nebraska-Omaha, called Nancy his secret weapon. “You knew what she was doing was exactly right,” he said. “The pros would often complain how hard she worked them with her unique drills like jumping over and under hockey sticks.”
Nancy, a trained Emergency Medical Technician, combined her knowledge of hockey with knowledge of the human body, healing, acupressure and massage to create what some players called “voodoo hockey.” “What she could do for my headaches was better than Tylenol,” said one former player.
In 1997, Nancy began have trouble with slurred speech, eventually making her unable to talk. Continuing to run camps and clinics, Nancy and her husband Bernie traveled from doctor to doctor seeking answers and eliminating other causes such as stroke and cancer. In the fall of 1998, she was finally diagnosed with Lou Gehrig’s Disease. In a letter to her children she wrote, “This part of my life is devastating. I am trying my hardest to hang on to my faith that God really loves me and will help me. His timing is perfect, but my frustration is mounting.”
In the March of 1999, the Roseau High School Hockey team, who plays up a division with the metro schools, won the Minnesota State Championship and dedicated the tournament to Nancy, who by this time was in the hospital. One month later, at age 68, she died on Easter Sunday surrounded by family.
There were 97 baskets of flowers at her funeral with sixty players from UND and the Roseau Rams as her pallbearers. “I can hear her whistle,” said one player during the funeral. “Nancy wants us to change drills.”
Rube Bjorkman, past president of the American Hockey Coaches Association, wrote in his hall of fame nomination, “Nancy never personally scored a goal in a hockey game, but because of her presence, she has scored a record number of assists. Hockey is fortunate to have been loved and influenced by this fine woman.”
“She was one of the most influential people I’ve known in hockey,” said Coach Dean Blais, “and I’ve know quite a few.”
“Power and Stride, the Nancy Burggraf Story” documents her life and her journey with ALS in an hour-long documentary DVD and print biography. It follows her as she became one of the pioneers in power skating in the United State. She ignored her critiques who said she was a woman who had never played the game, she wore figure skates and she was a grandma. How could she teach young men? She kept on quietly developing the training techniques she knew were right. Those who knew Nancy treasure her for what she taught them. They continue to pass on her legacy.
