Wild Officially Announce Darby Hendrickson as New Assistant Coach

Russo had this on his Twitter earlier, and the Wild have confirmed with a press release. Former Minnesota Wild forward, and Minnesota native Darby Hendrickson will be the Wild's third assistant coach, joining Rick Wilson and Dave Barr behind the bench with Todd Richards.

While it was speculated to be a part-time assistant position, Russo had this follow up shortly after announcing the move:

Told Hendrickson will be a fulltime assistant, which undoubtedly was deciding factor to pass up his other options.

This is a good move by the Wild, giving them another voice in the chorus, and bringing on board another fan favorite. Maybe Hendrickson being behind the bench will make the "Minnesota Only" crowd calm down a bit. You know, since Darby will be back there brainwashing the players into Minnesotans.

Welcome aboard, Coach Hendrickson.

Kent Youngblood has more over at Russo's Rants.

Here is the press release:

MINNESOTA WILD NAMES DARBY HENDRICKSON ASSISTANT COACH

Hendrickson an Original Member of Wild Organization

SAINT PAUL/MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – Minnesota Wild General Manager Chuck Fletcher today announced the National Hockey League (NHL) club has named Darby Hendrickson an Assistant Coach.

Hendrickson, 38 (8/28/72), was an original member of the Wild and one of the most popular players in team history, playing four seasons (2000-2004) and scored the team’s first goal at Xcel Energy Center on Oct. 11, 2000 vs. Philadelphia. The Richfield, Minn., native posted 60 points (29-31=60) in 182 regular season games with the Wild. He appeared in 17 playoff matches with Minnesota in 2003 and recorded five points (2-3=5) including the game-winning goal in Game 7 of the Western Conference Semifinal series at Vancouver. Hendrickson also skated with Toronto, the New York Islanders, Vancouver and Colorado, posting 129 points (65-64=129) in 518 NHL games in parts of 10 NHL seasons.

He played for the University of Minnesota for two seasons (1991-93) after earning the 1991 Minnesota Mr. Hockey Award and was a member of the 1994 United States Olympic Team. Hendrickson most recently served as a studio analyst for FOX Sports North and an analyst for KSTC-TV, Channel 45’s coverage of the state high school hockey tournament, as well as a National Hockey League Players Association (NHLPA) Northwest Division Representative.