Welcome Cody Murphy, Hockey Director!

We are very excited to introduce our new Northbrook Bluehawks Hockey Director…. CODY MURPHY!

Cody is no stranger to the North Shore. He grew up in Lake Forest, IL and played for the Falcons, where he was coached by Ken Johnson! Cody went on to play AAA for Team Illinois, Chicago Mission, and the Chicago Young Americans. At 17, Cody was drafted in the OHL and USHL where he played three seasons in the USHL for the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders and the Tri-City Storm. He was then awarded a college scholarship to play Division 1 at Miami University, majoring in Sports Leadership and Management. During his four seasons at Miami University, his team won two championships (2013 Regular Season CCHA Championship & 2015 NCHC Playoff Championship) and had three national bids for the NCAA National Championships.

After college, Cody played professional hockey, participating in rookie camps with the NHL’s Washington Capitals and the ECHL’s Reading Royals. From 2015-2019, Cody played professionally in Sweden in the Allsvensken league. After retiring from playing, Cody turned his attention to coaching where he began with the Chicago Jets U15 AA. Cody then moved on to junior hockey (17–20 year-olds) and accepted a head coaching opportunity with the Elmira Jr. Enforcers (2020-2021) and later the Wilkes-Barre Scranton Knights of the USPHL Premier League (2021-2022). Cody took on the challenge of building and cultivating these first-year organizations where he was responsible for recruiting his players and building his teams. Under Cody’s leadership, the teams flourished. Elmira finished the season with a 28-14-2 regular season record and punched a bid to nationals coming a few games short of a championship. The Wilkes-Barre Scranton Knights are currently 34-3-1 and are looking to make a deep playoff run. Cody has helped many players move onto the next levels. One of his top players from last season, Jack Rogers, recently signed a National Letter of Intent with St. Cloud State (D1).

Since 2007, Cody has owned and run clinics as a Head Instructor for StickSpin Hockey which focuses on skills, puck management and building player confidence. Cody has also worked as a player advisor for the recruiting company NCSA, creating connections all over the country at various levels (AAA, Juniors, NCAA).

Cody comes from a rich background of hockey with a father, John Murphy, who played hockey for the Belleville Bulls, Muskegon Mohawks IHL and had NHL training camps with the Chicago Blackhawks and Pittsburgh Penguins. John has been a major influence in the Chicagoland area as a coach and was inducted into the Illinois Hockey Hall of Fame in 2015. John coached Cody’s youth hockey teams with Team Illinois, Chicago Young Americans, and the Chicago Mission. More recently, he was the head coach and hockey director of Lake Forest High School for a decade.

Cody is excited to return to his hometown to grow and improve the Bluehawks and help our players thrive and become the best hockey players they can be, on and off the ice. Cody’s start date will be before April 15 but is dependent on his current team and how far they progress in their playoffs.

"I am extremely excited to accept the position. I have high aspirations for what this program can be and am fully committed to enhancing and building off what we already have. I have a vision for this program to be one of, if not, the most competitive programs in the state and I will do everything in my power to help our players develop, have a great experience, and win. I look forward to meeting you all. The real work begins soon," says Cody Murphy.

I would like to thank our Selection Committee (Brad Walker, Julie Hochschild, Larry Rubin, John Loiacano) as well as Marcy Brajkovic for the countless hours and commitment each made to finding the right person to be our new Hockey Director. I am thrilled by the energy and competitive spirit that Cody will bring to our organization, and I am excited for everyone to meet him soon!

Regards,

Seamus Caruso

President, NBHL