Skinner named Wilderness head coach
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 10/09/2022 (1259 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
Friday night was a memorable one for Brett Skinner.
The 39-year-old Brandonite was behind the bench for the North American Hockey League’s Minnesota Wilderness as they opened their campaign against the Fairbanks Ice Dogs in Cloquet, Minn.
Skinner was hired by the Wilderness on Aug. 5 as an associate head coach but was officially promoted prior to the start of the team’s training camp.
After five seasons as an assistant coach with the United States Hockey League’s Sioux Falls Stampede, Brandon’s Brett Skinner is now the bench boss for the North American Hockey League’s Minnesota Wilderness. (Submitted)
“The opportunity to be a head coach and be more directly involved was something that I really wanted to do as I looked to advance my career this summer,” Skinner said.
“The chance to control my own destiny and be part of that challenge is something I’m really looking forward to.”
Skinner spent the previous five seasons as the assistant coach for the United States Hockey League’s Sioux Falls Stampede, where he had worked under Scott Owens and newly named Brandon Wheat Kings general manager Marty Murray.
After spending the first three seasons helping out the forwards and the next two with the defence, Skinner will get his first chance to be a head coach, with general manager Dave Boitz and assistant coach Kyle Brodie joining him in the hockey operations department.
“I feel like I’m ready for the challenge, especially after what I learned from Scott and Marty during my time in Sioux Falls,” Skinner said.
“It’s been great to be an assistant coach but I now get to tinker things to the way that I want to do. To take the step into setting the style of play, the way we do player development and how we do things as a program is something that I’m looking forward to the most.”
The Wilderness, who are entering their 10th season in the NAHL, finished in fourth place in the Midwest Division last year with a 35-23-1-1 record
They upset the top-ranked Ice Dogs in the first round but fell to the Anchorage Wolverines in the division final.
“Our roster’s a work in progress, especially up front, but we’ve got a good group of guys here, especially in goal and on defence, that will allow us to get up to speed right away,” Skinner said.
“It’s an exciting time of year. It’s a little bit different for me as I’ve been getting used to new faces and being in a new place … but it’s been a lot of fun as we get ready for the season.
» lpunkari@brandonsun.com
» Twitter: @lpunkari