Deaf North Dakota native fulfills dream of being hockey coach

Jeff Bredahl, a former UND player and one of Zimmerman's high school teammates, said he set up Zimmerman to score his first varsity goal. Bredahl later received a note from Zimmerman's parents.

"They said, 'Thank you for making one of our child's dreams comes true,"' Bredahl said. "I'll never forget that."

Bredahl said Zimmerman was a tenacious and physical player who offset his disability with uncanny instinct and superior on-ice vision.

"He really played with his head on a swivel. He had to," said Bredahl, now a Fargo attorney.

Zimmerman went on to attend the University of North Dakota, where he got a bachelor's degree in 1989 with a major in middle school education. He has been teaching at the North Dakota School for the Deaf in Devils Lake for 19 years, and teaches some physical education classes at the high school.

The Firebirds lost 11 seniors and their top eight scorers from a team that went 12-11-0 last season. Zimmerman's goal is to stabilize the program and increase numbers at the lower levels. He plans to find a "big brother" for each of the younger players to work with one-on-one.

"It will allow the older players to explain to the younger kids what they have to do to get at that level," Zimmerman said. "We have to find ways to keep them motivated to play hockey. That's not an easy thing to do."