The Houston Bulls of the North American Hockey League (NAHL) have named Nathan Oystrick — former member of the Atlanta Thrashers, Anaheim Ducks and St. Louis Blues — as their head coach ahead of their upcoming inaugural season.

Oystrick comes to the Houston Bulls’ staff behind the bench while boasting over a decade of coaching experience and spending the past four years as the Head Coach of the NA3HL’s Wausau Cyclones; he was named the NA3HL Coach of the Year in 2023-24 after leading the Cyclones to a 36-10-0-1 record that season.

A former professional player himself, Oystrick has logged 246 points across 489 pro games played across the NHL, AHL and KHL — including time with Atlanta (2008-09), the Ducks (2009-10) and St. Louis (2010-11). Across his career in the NHL, Oystrick played against the New York Rangers on five different occasions and tallied two points against the Blueshirts throughout his league career.

Oystrick said his time in the NHL and playing against teams like the Rangers can only benefit his players at the NAHL level.

“Just that experience of playing at the highest level, there are things that I picked up over the years as a former player. I made it to the NHL, I wasn't the biggest guy, I wasn't the fastest guy, I wasn’t the most talented guy, but I think part of why I made it was because of the way I saw the game, and being able to break things down and help our players understand that there's different options and different avenues for them to take,” said Oystrick in an exclusive. “Playing with the best players in the world, and seeing what those guys were capable of, and being able to translate that to our players in Houston is only going to benefit them, and in the long run benefit the entire organization.”

Dec 30, 2008; Toronto, ON, Canada; Atlanta Thrashers defenseman Nathan Oystrick (7) during their game against the Toronto Maple Leafs at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, ON. The Maple Leafs beat the Thrashers 4-3. / Tom Szczerbowski-Imagn Images

Oystrick was a combined enforcer and defenseman in the NHL. He dropped the gloves against Erik Reitz of the Rangers on Feb, 3, 2009, taking Reitz down to the ice.

Additionally, the 43-year-old wore the coveted “C” for Northern Michigan University for two seasons (2004-06).

Aside from his former playing career — as previously mentioned, Oystrick has spent the past 10 years behind the benches of several premier organizations, including the ECHL’s Elmira Jackals and Atlanta Gladiators.

For junior hockey in particular, in addition to his aforementioned past four years with the NA3HL’s Wausau Cyclones, he also spent time with the Humboldt Broncos of the SJHL in 2018-19.

The former defenseman also served as the Head Coach of Ice Hockey at Colorado Academy.

“We are proud to welcome Nathan Oystrick to Houston as our new Head Coach. Nathan’s professional background and his track record of developing talent with the Wausau Cyclones make him the perfect fit for this organization,” said Bulls General Manager Nick Fabrizio. “We are excited to begin this new chapter of Houston Bulls hockey.”

The NAHL announced on March 18 that it would be relocating the North Iowa Bulls to compete as the Houston Bulls in the NAHL South Division. The team will play at the Deep South Ice & Sports Center in Richmond, Texas, which is to host the team in the inaugural 2026-27 season, and will be completed with 1,800 seats and 14 suites in addition to a second NHL-sized practice ice sheet.

While Oystrick has played all over the world and up north in places like New York, he said he is excited to be coaching down in Texas.

“Seeing the excitement when the Houston Bulls was announced from the community was really cool to see,” said Oystrick. “We’re hoping to bring to Houston a fun brand, an exciting brand of hockey for our fans and for the community. We hope and want to play an up-tempo game, and make our fans proud, go out and win some games, and hopefully chase the championship in year one.”