ST. CLOUD, Minn. -- The St. Cloud State women's hockey team has another highly accomplished former player on its coaching staff.

Two-time Team USA Olympic defenseman Molly Engstrom has been hired to be an assistant coach for the Huskies. Engstrom, who played in the 2006 and 2010 Winter Olympics, was officially named to the position on Wednesday, July 19.

Engstrom, a former University of Wisconsin player, joins former Badger and Olympic team teammate Jinelle Siergiej on the staff for new head coach Steve Macdonald. Engstrom replaces Macdonald, who was an assistant coach under former Huskies head coach Eric Rud for the past five seasons.

"Her name consistently came up as someone who should be of interest for the position," Macdonald said. "With Jinelle knowing her from playing with her at Wisconsin and on the national team, we had some inside knowledge.

"When Molly and I sat down to chat, it was obvious that she would be a great fit for the program and I'm very happy that it's worked out. We want this program to move forward and we think we have a lot of the right pieces in place. It's easy to see how she can help us move the program forward."

Engstrom was named the Best Defenseman at the 2010 Turin Winter Olympics. She played on the national team from 2004-11 and played in the IIHF World Women's Championships six times. She served as a USA Hockey Developmental Scout since January and has been an IIHF U18 High Performance Camp Coach/Ambassador since April 2016.

"I can't thank Steve (Macdonald) and Jinelle (Siergiej) enough for this opportunity, and for all of the people who reached out and helped me out during this job search," Engstrom said in a news release. "I'm excited to be back in and part of the WCHA and I'm really looking forward to the future here at St. Cloud State."

Engstrom played and coached in the Swedish Women's Professional Hockey League from 2016-18. From 2014-16, she was the head girls hockey coach and assistant athletic director at Kimball Union Academy in Meriden, New Hampshire.

Prior to her Olympic team experience, Engstrom was the WCHA Defensive Player of the Year in 2004 and 2005 while playing for Wisconsin and was a top 10 finalist for the Patty Katzmaier Award in 2005. The Patty Katzmaier Award goes to the top player in women's college hockey annually.

Engstrom is from Siren, Wis., and participated in track and field and golf in high school.

"I'm thrilled to be coaching with Molly (Engstrom) and for the exceptional hockey experience and knowledge she is bringing to our players," Siergiej said in the news release. "We share experiences on and off the ice that will be beneficial for our program and the future here."

Speaking of Siergiej, she has been promoted to associate head coach by St. Cloud State. She has been an assistant coach with Macdonald the last five seasons.

Macdonald was named the head coach on June 21 and is excited about his staff hiring being completed. "This is very special to see all in one day," Macdonald said.

2 recruits added

Since Macdonald was hired, the team has also had two players sign national letters of intent. Defenseman Annika Fazokas and forward Taylor Lind will be two of six new players for the Huskies this fall.

Fazokas has played for the Austrian national team since 2012.

"She's an older player (1997 birth year), so she brings a level of maturity and a wealth of experience to us," Macdonald said. "She's played in the European league."

Lind, who is from Shaunovon, Saskatchewan, has played the last three seasons for the Swift Current Wildcats and scored 93 goals and had 170 points in 83 games playing in the Saskatchewan Female Midget AAA Hockey League.

"She's an exceptional goal scorer no matter what team she's played on in Saskatchewan," Macdonald said. "To have these two come in and bring our freshman class to six, it's definitely exciting."

St. Cloud State begins fall semester classes on Aug. 26. The Huskies have an exhibition game against the University of Regina on Sept. 28 at the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center. St. Cloud State opens the regular season with a series against Ohio State on Oct. 4-5 at the Brooks Center.

Mick Hatten can be reached at   mhatten@forumcomm.com . Follow @MickHatten on Twitter, Instagram.