Chad Kolarik is serving as an assistant coach for the U.S. Under-18 Men’s Select Team for the second time at the 2024 Hlinka Gretzky Cup after helping the team to a third-place finish at the 2023 Hlinka Gretzky Cup. 

Previously, Kolarik served as an assistant coach of the gold-medal winning 2023 U.S Under-18 Men's National Team.

Kolarik, an alum of USA Hockey's National Team Development Program (2002-04), is entering his third season as an assistant coach of the NTDP’s Under-18 Team. He also served on staff for the 2023 Under-18 Four Nations and 2022 Under-18 Five Nations Championship, where he helped the team to a first-place finish in both tournaments.

The Abington, Pa., native began his coaching career with the USHL’s Waterloo Black Hawks as an assistant coach in 2021, helping the team to the Clark Cup Playoffs during the 2021-22 campaign.

As a player, Kolarik represented the U.S. on multiple occasions, most recently as a member of the 2018 U.S. Olympic Men’s Ice Hockey Team that competed in PyeongChang, South Korea. He also skated in two Deutschland Cups, helping Team USA earn a first-place finish in 2013, and was a member of the 2004 silver-medal winning U.S. Under-18 Men’s National Team.

Kolarik played 12 seasons of professional hockey, spending time with both the New York Rangers and Columbus Blue Jackets at the game’s highest level, in addition to five stops in the AHL. He also spent time overseas, finishing his career with seven seasons in Europe throughout Sweden, France, Switzerland, Germany and Austria. He skated collegiately at the University of Michigan, where he produced 174 points (78G-96A) in 163 games for the Wolverines.