Karen Nystrom

Karen Nystrom (born June 17, 1969) is a retired Canadian ice hockey player. She was a member of the 1998 Canadian national women's ice hockey team and played for the Scarborough Firefighters, Toronto Red Wings, Brampton Thunder, and Beatrice Aeros.

Playing career Prior to joining the Canadian National women's team for the 1992 Women's World ice hockey championships, Nystrom participated in the Central Ontario Women's Hockey League. Nystrom competed for the Scarborough Firefighters (1985 to 1991) and the Toronto Redwings. Prior to the 1998 Olympics, Nystrom also played hockey for the Northeastern Huskies women's ice hockey program. She would play with the Brampton Thunder from 1997 to 2003. During the 2000–01 NWHL season, Nystrom played with the Brampton Thunder and finished fourth in league scoring with 48 points.

Other Karen Nystrom was also a soccer player who competed for Scarborough United. In 2006, Nystrom was hired as an assistant coach for the Ontario Tech Ridgebacks women's ice hockey program, representing the University of Ontario Institute of Technology in Oshawa, Ontario. Prior to accepting the job, she had worked for over 10 years as a customer service manager for Nike Canada.

In March 2009, she would become the Ridgebacks head coach. Spending six seasons in this capacity, she led the team to consecutive OUA playoff appearances in 2013 and 2014, both first round exits. In addition, the Ridgebacks enjoyed their first season of double digit wins under Nystrom's tutelage, amassing 12 wins in the 2011–12 campaign.

Career statistics Regular season and playoffs Regular season Playoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 1992-93 Scarborough Firefighters COWHL 27 21 11 32 28 — — — — — 1993-94 Scarborough Firefighters COWHL 28 22 24 46 38 — — — — — 1995-96 Toronto Red Wings COWHL 29 23 20 43 42 — — — — — 1996-97 Newtonbrook Panthers COWHL 31 36 48 84 54 — — — — — 1998-99 Brampton Thunder NWHL 25 23 14 37 38 — — — — — 1999-2000 Brampton Thunder NWHL 36 34 30 64 30 — — — — — 2000-01 Brampton Thunder NWHL 34 21 34 55 46 4 2 2 4 4 2001-02 Brampton Thunder NWHL 23 18 17 35 31 4 3 1 4 14 2002-03 Brampton Thunder NWHL 2 0 0 0 0 — — — — — Beatrice Aeros NWHL 28 15 20 35 14 — — — — — 2003-04 Brampton Thunder NWHL 9 2 4 6 4 5 0 3 3 2

International Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM 1992 Canada WC 5 3 2 5 6 1994 Canada WC 4 1 1 2 6 1997 Canada WC 5 1 2 3 2 1998 Canada OG 5 1 0 1 2

Awards and honours Won COWHL scoring title in 1991–92 (runner-up in 1990–91, 1992–93 and 1996–97) COWHL All-Star Team every year from 1989 to 1997 OWHA champion with Scarborough Firefighters, 1991