The Minnesota Wild made their first big move of the summer when they snapped up head coach Bruce Boudreau at the start of the 2016 offseason, just shortly after he was dismissed by the Anaheim Ducks.
The team has been slowly rolling out their other coaching hires in the weeks following. Hall of Fame defenseman Scott Stevens was the first assistant coach to be announced by the team, then long-time Chicago Wolves bench boss John Anderson was named as the second of a potential three assistant coaches days later.
Now, the full Wild coaching staff for the 2016-17 season has been announced.
Joining Boudreau, Stevens, and Anderson as an assistant coach will be Darby Hendrickson. He returns as the only retained assistant coach from previous seasons, as Hendrickson has worked with the Wild since 2011.
As goaltending coach, the team confirmed another returning name. Bob Mason, who has worked with Minnesota as the team’s goaltending coach since 2005, will come back behind the bench as well. A native of International Falls, Mason first returned to his home state in 1996 to work as a goaltending coach with the University of Minnesota and Shattuck St. Mary’s Prep. He made his foray into NHL coaching in 1999 with the Atlanta Thrashers, then moved to the Wild as a consultant in 2001.
Rounding out the final two coaching hire announcements are Jonas Plumb, who will serve as video coach, and Sean Skahan who will come on board as strength and conditioning coach. Plumb is a team returnee, while Skahan comes from the Ducks.
The team has also announced that Andrew Brunette will remain with the Wild staff, although no longer as an assistant coach. The Sudbury, Ontario native will instead ‘assist the hockey operations department in its player personnel and professional scouting efforts’.
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