Yeo Finalizes Coaching Staff

It will be announced later today that Mike Yeo has concluded his search for an assistant coaching staff. In addition to retaining Rick Wilson, Darby Hendrickson and Bob Mason, Yeo has hired Darryl Sydor, who was an assistant in Houston last season.

Sydor is obviously familiar with Yeo, but he also knows Wilson very well. Wilson coached Sydor as an assistant with the Dallas Stars, and the two were members of the 1999 Stars team that captured the Stanley Cup.

The hiring of Sydor means the Houston Aeros will have a completely new look behind the bench this season. Yeo’s other assistant, Brian Wiseman, recently accepted an assistant position with the University of Michigan, his alma mater.

There will be more on the staff hirings on Wild.com today.

 

Sydor And Wiseman Named Aeros Assistants

You can see the full story here, but the Wild has hired two-time Stanley Cup winner Darryl Sydor and former Aero Brian Wiseman as the assistant coaches for the Houston Aeros. Both have a history with new Aeros head man, Mike Yeo. Sydor was playing for the Penguins while Yeo was an assistant, and the Penguins reached the Stanley Cup final. Wiseman was a teammate of Yeo’s with the Aeros.

Yeo was very excited about his new staff in Houston, and he spoke to us just prior to heading out on the ice for a power skating instructional at the Wild’s Development Camp at Xcel Energy Center. He said Sydor is expected to come into town later today, and Wiseman will most likely be here on Thursday.

Obviously, the big news here is the naming of Sydor, who was playing for the St. Louis Blues just last year. Over 18 years, Sydor played 1,291 games and posted 507 points (98-409=507) while winning two Stanley Cups – Dallas in 1999 and Tampa Bay in 2004.

Yeo was the one that reached out to Sydor as he tried to fill his staff. He thought Sydor would make a great coach since working with him in Pittsburgh. He acknowledged that it was probably tough for him to give up playing, but thought that going right into coaching was a great way to stay involved. Obviously, Sydor would project to be an outstanding head coach at some point.