Minnesota Wild hired Stu Bickle Has the head coaching job of the Iowa Wild, the team’s primary development affiliate in the American Hockey League.
Bickell, a Minnesota native, returned to Des Moines and played for the AHL’s Chops and Wild over a 10-year career.
Bickell, 39, has spent the past five seasons as an assistant coach with the Springfield Thunderbirds (2021-22) and Coachella Valley Firebirds (2022-26), including three consecutive Calder Cup Finals appearances in 2022, 2023 and 2024. He began his coaching career as an assistant coach at the University of Minnesota (2018-20) before spending one season (2020-21) as the head coach and assistant general manager of the Minnesota Magic of the North American Hockey League.
After three junior seasons with Green Bay and Sioux Falls of the USHL and Southern Minnesota of the NAHL, Bickell spent the 2007-08 season at the University of Minnesota before signing as a free agent with the Anaheim Ducks and beginning his professional career with the Iowa volleyball team. As a defender, Bickell played 310 games in the AHL with the Chops, San Antonio Rampage, Syracuse Crunch, Connecticut Whale/Hartford Wolf Pack, Iowa Wild and San Diego Gulls, recording 12 goals, 42 assists and 919 penalty minutes.
Bickell also appeared in 76 NHL regular season games with the New York Rangers and Minnesota Wild and 18 Stanley Cup Playoff games with the Rangers in 2012.
