BEMIDJI -- Emma Terres is accustomed to leadership roles with the Bemidji State women’s hockey program, though she’ll now be assuming a new one. The former team captain has been hired as an assistant coach, BSU head coach Jim Scanlan announced Friday.

Terres captained the Beavers as a senior during the 2017-18 season before playing professionally for two years in Germany.

“I’m so excited to start the next chapter in my career,” she said. “I love Bemidji State and everything it has to offer. The community, the staff, the players, and just the kind of feel that you get from the university and being a part of it is so exciting. It’s exactly where I want to be and I think it’s a perfect opportunity for me to grow. I’m excited for the next steps.”

“First and foremost, knowing Emma as a person, she has a good combination of leadership skills and communications skills,” Scanlan said in a news release. “She has the unique ability to connect with everyone. That is just her personality.

“She brings a lot of experience playing the game, not only with us, but also playing overseas the last couple years.” Scanlan added, “I think she has a good mind for the game and that she can help our players as far as skill development. She will be a fresh set of eyes and ideas. I am just excited for her to start working with our players.”

A native of New Hope, Minn., Terres played in 146 career games for the Beavers from 2014-18, and skated in 145 straight contests. As a forward, she totaled 48 points (21g-27a) for her collegiate career, including a career-high 22 points in her senior year when she tied for the team lead with 11 goals.

“It’s extremely special. I’m so honored to be back,” Terres said. “Scanlan, (Amber) Fryklund and Shane (Veenker) have created such an amazing culture here. I’m excited to help grow that culture and be a part of it. They’re just phenomenal people and created a first-class program. I’m excited to be on their team and learn from them.”

Fryklund announced in April that she would step down as associate head coach to become an assistant professor at BSU, leaving an opening on the team’s staff. Terres played four seasons under Fryklund’s tutelage.

“I’ve learned so many things from Amber Fryklund. I’ve also worked with her as a colleague through some summer coaching opportunities as well,” Terres said. “She hired me with the High Performance 15s. She’s always taught me you’ve got to be yourself and work hard.”

Among the coaching positions she’s held, Terres has been involved with the Little Lady Lumberjacks program in Bemidji, as well as a coach and evaluator for the USA Hockey Development Camp in St. Cloud.

“I’ve always wanted to help others, whether that was through education or coaching,” Terres said. “That was always kind of the role I wanted to take on. And I love the game of hockey, every aspect of it. I knew I wanted to coach, and I always wanted to coach at the Division I level and be able to help student-athletes at this high level of play, especially in the WCHA.”

Back to Bemidji from Germany

After her four years as a Beaver, Terres crossed the Atlantic to play in Germany’s top women’s hockey league. She spent 2018-19 with ERC Ingolstadt and this past season with Eisbären Juniors Berlin, compiling 79 points (48g-31a) over 53 games in two seasons.

“It was such a phenomenal experience,” Terres said. “I was able to keep playing the game I loved and I was able to travel. When I was over there, I was able to see like 13 different countries, so it was a phenomenal experience to keep playing.

“It’s a totally different culture and foreign language, so it’s all new and you kind of adjusted on the fly, but that was the fun of it. Everybody’s so welcoming over there. It’s just fun learning new cultures and new aspects of hockey too.”

After the season ended in Germany, Terres returned to Bemidji, where she’s lived in the offseason ever since college. She completed her minor in human performance and earned a coaching certificate from BSU in 2018 before completing her bachelor’s degree in individualized studies from the university online this past spring.

Terres will officially start her new job in August.

“There’s a lot of prep that I have to do and I’m eager to learn,” she said. “Definitely start networking too, and just kind of start talking to other coaches and learning as much as I can.”