Perhaps most renowned for his role on the 1980 "Miracle" team, Strelow served as the United States' goaltending coach at Lake Placid, helping Jim Craig become a tournament standout and household name en route to the unlikeliest of gold medals. He returned as the U.S. Olympic Men's Ice Hockey Team goaltending coach at the 2002 Salt Lake City games where Team USA won their first medal - silver - since 1980, backstopped by strong performances from all three American goaltenders (Tom Barrasso, Mike Dunham and Mike Richter).
Strelow coached goaltenders at the University of Minnesota from 1974 to 1983 while also working as a scout for eight years; four with the Calgary Cowboys (World Hockey Association) and four with the NHL's Central Scouting Department. The Golden Gophers would capture three NCAA Division I National Championships (1974, 1976 and 1979) in his time there.
Following the 1982-83 season, Strelow was hired by the Washington Capitals, becoming the first full-time goaltending coach in NHL history. During his six seasons with the Capitals, the club would post the lowest composite goals-against average in the League, and two of his goaltenders (Al Jensen and Pat Riggin) were named to the NHL All-Star Team and captured the 1984 William M. Jennings Trophy. From 1990 to 1993, Strelow served as the New Jersey Devils goaltending coach, helping future Hall of Famer and four-time Vezina Trophy winner Martin Brodeur hone his craft.
The Saint Paul, Minn. native became San Jose's organizational goaltending coach in 1997 and remained in that role until his passing in 2007. During that span, he helped the franchise become widely recognized as one of the most consistent developers of goaltending talent in the NHL.
"Warren was transformative for our franchise," said Joe Will, Assistant General Manager of the Sharks and General Manager of the San Jose Barracuda. "He crossed the line from being a coach to a true mentor within the organization and helped guide many of our players into becoming quality NHL netminders. It's not surprising that some of his pupils became strong goaltending coaches as well. We would like to extend our congratulations to his family on behalf of the Sharks organization."
Strelow's addition to the Sharks staff had an immediate impact, with the team's save percentage improving from .887 in 1996-97 (25th of 26 teams), to .915 in 1998-99 (fifth of 27 teams). Under his guidance, the Sharks would rank in the Top-5 in team save percentage in four of his nine seasons with the club, tied with Colorado and Minnesota for the most of any franchise in the NHL in that span.
During the 2000-01 season, four goaltenders in the Sharks system were named to their respective league's All-Star Teams (Evgeni Nabokov - NHL, Miikka Kiprusoff - AHL, Terry Friesen - WCHL and Johan Hedberg - IHL. That same season, Nabokov was awarded the Calder Trophy as the League's Rookie of the Year. Kiprusoff, eventually traded to the Calgary Flames in the 2003-04 season, won the 2006 Vezina Trophy as the NHL's top goaltender and the Finnish netminder made a point to acknowledge Strelow in his acceptance speech for the award.
"Warren was a guy who loved hockey and loved teaching goaltending," said Nabokov, now the Sharks Director, Goaltending. "He also was a great human being who cared about people and always was ready to give you advice. I miss him and our conversations about hockey!"
Strelow spent more than three decades mentoring netminders of all ages at the Strelow Goalie School in Minnesota during the summer, where players worked on developing all phases of their game.
In 1996, Strelow was inducted into the Minnesota High School Coaches Hall of Fame - having coached at Concordia Academy (baseball, football and hockey), Breck School (hockey) and Mahtomedi High School (baseball and hockey). In 2003, he was inducted into the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame along with the rest of the 1980 Olympic Men's Ice Hockey Team and in 2006, he was inducted into the City of St. Paul Athletic Hall of Fame.
