Current Minnesota Wild assistant coach Brett McLean is set to be named the fifth head coach of the AHL’s Iowa Wild, as first reported by Michael Russo of The Athletic. Minnesota parted ways with most of its minor-league coaching staff, including head coach Tim Army, last month.
McLean, a former NHL center with Chicago, Colorado, and Florida in the 2000s, has been with the Minnesota Wild organization for the past six years. He spent three seasons as an assistant coach with Iowa before being promoted to the NHL bench ahead of 2020-21.
It’s a move McLean is ready to take on. The 44-year-old had expressed his aspirations of being a head coach at the pro level during his previous stint in Iowa, emphasizing the importance of working his way up the coaching ladder and learning the necessary steps to teach and guide players effectively.
With McLean’s promotion, the Minnesota Wild will now be on the lookout for another assistant coach to join the NHL coaching staff led by Dean Evason.
Iowa’s short-term success will play a crucial role in the Wild’s ability to stay in playoff contention over the next few seasons. A tight salary cap situation brought on by the Zach Parise and Ryan Suter buyouts makes it nearly impossible to make external adds via free agency, and they’ll need to rely on players stashed in the AHL on cheap cap hits many times throughout McLean’s tenure at his new post.