CATCHING UP WITH: Skinner excited to join Wilderness

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This article was published 23/08/2022 (1354 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Brett Skinner’s coaching journey has led him to the Land of 10,000 Lakes.

Following a five-year stint as an assistant coach with the United States Hockey League’s Sioux Falls Stampede, the 39-year-old Brandonite will be behind the bench with the North American Hockey League’s Minnesota Wilderness this season as an associate head coach.

Skinner, who officially joined the Wilderness on Aug. 5, started to look for an opportunity to advance his career earlier this summer after the Stampede parted ways with head coach Marty Murray.

“I was certainly grateful for my time in Sioux Falls and the chance to work with two great coaches in Scott (Owens) and Marty, but five years had gone by in the blink of an eye and I started to go through the process of determining what I wanted to do next,” said Skinner, who had looked at coaching opportunities in the professional ranks and college hockey, in addition to scouting roles in the National Hockey League, before taking the job with the Wilderness.

“Once I started talking with Minnesota, it became pretty clear that it was the path that I wanted to go down. I was quickly on the same page with (general manager and head coach) Dave (Boitz) with the style of play that we like, the way we like to develop players and the type of players we want to have. It felt like a fit from the very start.”

For Boitz, who has been with the Cloquet, Minn., based-side since the 2014-15 campaign, the decision to hire Skinner was an easy one following his conversations with Owens and Murray.

“They both talked about how Brett is such a great teacher of the game and how good he is at practice with the guys,” Boitz said.

“That’s something we want to continue to do here with the Wilderness as we help to develop our players and give them that knowledge that will help them move on to the next level.”

Skinner began his coaching career with the Stampede in 2017 after wrapping up his playing career with Pirati Chomutov in Czechia.

He spent three seasons working with the forwards under Owens before helping out with the defence during the last two years with Murray.

“I had actually gone up against Scott’s teams in the NCAA when he was with Colorado College and I was playing for Denver, so he was someone that I had a ton of respect for,” Skinner said. “His strengths come from the management side of things and the day-to-day work that comes with team building, so I learned a ton from him about that, especially as I grew as a coach and he gave me the opportunity to explore concepts I believed in and wanted to implement on offence.

“Marty is someone that I’ve known since I was a little kid (when he was a star forward for the Brandon Wheat Kings) and I had skated with him a lot when we were both playing professionally. There was a little bit of a change there as I worked with the defence, but I learned a ton under Marty and that’s really helped me as I prepare for this opportunity.”

Skinner’s time with the Stampede also marked his return to the USHL.

During the 2001-02 campaign, he recorded 47 points in 44 games with the Des Moines Buccaneers, received the league’s defenceman of the year award and was picked in the third round of the National Hockey League draft by the Vancouver Canucks.

“The league’s obviously grown a lot since I played in it and now they are in a really good spot where there are at least 50 guys being picked at the NHL draft each year,” Skinner said. “There’s a ton of high-end talent there now, especially with the U.S. NTDP (National Team Development Program), as we were playing against the likes of Jack Hughes and Cole Caufield a couple of years ago.

“Every kid in the USHL is motivated to move on to college and they are all striving to get better. You don’t have to twist their arm for them to put in the extra time on the ice. The quality of play and coaching is really high end.”

When asked to describe his approach as a coach, Skinner says that the ability to communicate and build trust with the players is something that is extremely important to him, especially as he helps to improve everyone’s skills.

A lot of his style comes from the coaches he’s gotten to know over the years, many of whom he continues to draw on for advice.

That group includes Tampa Bay Lightning assistant coach Jeff Blashill, who was the head coach for the American Hockey League’s Grand Rapids Griffins when Skinner won the Calder Cup in 2013, Denver Pioneers head coach David Carle, Boston Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery and former Pioneers bench boss George Gwozdecky, who Skinner played for during his collegiate career.

“I’m pretty fortunate that those guys are a phone call away and they are willing to answer back about anything from things I’m trying to fix up in the defensive zone or when I was looking to advance my career this summer,” Skinner said.

“I’ve really tried to model my style off of Jeff. He was an unbelievable communicator but it was all business when we got on the ice. Jeff is really smart when it comes to in-game adjustments as well, which was a key to the Calder Cup run that year.”

It won’t take long for Skinner to hit the ground running in his new surroundings.

The Wilderness start training camp next Monday and will open up their regular season at home on Sept. 9 against the Fairbanks Ice Dogs.

“We’re getting thrown into the fire right away,” Skinner said. “We’ll have about eight practices under our belt before that first game and then before we know it, we’ll have six games under our belt after two weeks.

“That will present some challenges in terms of hitting the ground running and seeing what everyone is capable of, but we’re going to be patient as they start the season.

“That’s something that I learned under Scott … it’s important to make sure that these kids are developing the right way as we work towards our ultimate goal, which is to win a championship.”

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