Iowa Wild general manager Jim Mill announced on Tuesday that the American Hockey League club has named John Torchetti as the second head coach in team history. Mill also announced that Kurt Kleinendorst has been relieved of his head coaching duties.
"Over the last few weeks, it became clearly evident that the team was not playing up to our expectations. We believe, and Kurt agreed, that a change was necessary to get the team moving in the right direction. I would like to thank Kurt for the hard work he provided over the last year and a half, and wish him the best in the future," said Mill.
“John Torchetti is a Stanley Cup champion and has achieved success at every level. We look forward to him putting his stamp on our team and getting us in position for the Calder Cup Playoffs."
Torchetti spent the 2013-14 season coaching in the KHL for CSKA Moscow, where he compiled a record of 32-20-0-2 before exiting in the first round of the playoffs. Torchetti guided the Minnesota Wild’s AHL affiliate in Houston from 2011-13, making it to the playoffs both seasons. He also served as head coach of the San Antonio Rampage in 2002-03, and has a career record of 105-94-18 as an AHL head coach.
A native of Boston, Mass., Torchetti holds 30 years of professional hockey experience as a player, coach and manager. His NHL coaching resume includes stops in Tampa Bay (1999-2001), Florida (2002-04), Los Angeles (2005-06), Chicago (2007-10) and Atlanta (2010-11). He served as interim head coach with the Panthers (2003-04) and Kings (2005-06) and won a Stanley Cup with the Blackhawks as an assistant in 2010.
A Coach of the Year award winner in the Central Hockey League (San Antonio, 1994-95) and the International Hockey League (Fort Wayne, 1997-98), Torchetti also played professionally for seven seasons, including 10 AHL games with the Binghamton Whalers in 1988-89.
Kleinendorst, a Calder Cup champion as head coach of the Binghamton Senators in 2011, led the Wild to a 27-36-7-6 record in 2013-14 and a 2-10-0-0 mark so far in 2014-15.
