FAIRBANKS, Alaska – On Tuesday, Alaska Nanooks hockey head coach Erik Largen officially announced the addition of Karlis Zirnis to his staff, who will serve as the program's assistant coach.

Zirnis becomes Largen's first assistant coaching hire since being named the program's head coach in April.  Largen is in the process of hiring a second assistant coach to replace Lincoln Nguyen, who resigned from the Alaska Nanooks hockey staff in June.

"Karlis Zirnis is someone we are very fortunate to be adding to Nanook Nation," Largen said on Tuesday. "Karlis has a great reputation within the hockey community, specifically as someone who truly cares about his players. He is a proven winner and is committed to the process of making himself and our players better every day. His head coaching experience at the international and junior levels will help in leading this program to great things."

In April of 2016, the Shreveport Mudbugs were announced as an expansion team in the North American Hockey League (NAHL), with Zirnis taking over the helm. In only his second season as head coach, Zirnis led the Mudbugs to the program's first-ever NAHL national championship title, claiming the 2018 Robertson Cup.

Throughout the 2017-18 campaign, Zirnis led Shreveport to a 41-12-7 overall record, earning first place in the NAHL South Division standings at the conclusion of the regular season. After moving on from the best-of-five South Division semifinals and finals, Zirnis and the Mudbugs swept the Willes-Barre/Scranton Knights in the Robertson Cup semifinals before defeating the Minot Minotauros for the championship. Zirnis was named the NAHL South Coach of the Year for 2017-18.

Additionally, Zirnis served as the head coach for Team Latvia (Under-20) in the 2018 D1A World Junior Championships where they earned a silver medal.

Zirnis, who hails from Riga, Latvia, has served on Team Latvia's coaching staff since 2012-13, in both the assistant and head coaching capacity.

A former left-winger, Zirnis came to the United States in 1997 to play one season in the NAHL for the Gaylord Grizzlies. The left-shot played four years collegiately at the University of Alabama-Huntsville from 1999-2003, appearing in 133 career games and registering 46 goals and 73 assists for 119 points.

Zirnis went on to play professionally, starting with five seasons in the Canadian Hockey League before playing two seasons with the Huntsville Havoc in the Southern Professional Hockey League from 2008-10.

Zirnis earned a bachelor's degree in Foreign Language and International Trade from Alabama-Huntsville in the spring of 2003.

For more information on the Alaska Nanooks hockey team, follow @NanooksHockey on Twitter or like the Alaska Nanooks Hockey team page on Facebook.