The Iowa Wild announced on Tuesday that Steve Poapst has been named assistant coach of the American Hockey League club.
Prior to joining Iowa, the 44-year-old Poapst spent three seasons as an assistant coach with the Rockford IceHogs. During his tenure in Rockford, Poapst oversaw the team’s defensemen and was instrumental in the development of Chicago Blackhawks prospects such as Adam Clendening, Dylan Olsen, Ryan Stanton and Klas Dahlbeck.
Before jumping to the AHL ranks with Rockford, Poapst served as general manager and head coach of the Chicago Steel (USHL). The Cornwall, Ont., native spent nearly four years with the Steel before joining the Blackhawks organization. Poapst was named the USHL’s Coach of the Year in 2008 after guiding the club to a 20-win improvement from the previous campaign.
The former defenseman played 498 games in the AHL with Baltimore (1992-93), Portland (1993-2000) and Norfolk (2000-01), winning a Calder Cup championship with the Pirates in 1994 and skating in the 1995 AHL All-Star Game. He also appeared in 307 NHL games with Washington, Chicago, Pittsburgh and St. Louis.
The Wild also named Tim Flynn video coach. Flynn spent the last three years at the University of Alabama-Huntsville, and served as the director of hockey operations in 2012-13 working with current Iowa head coach Kurt Kleinendorst.
