Minnesota Wild Fans, Meet (Interim) Coach Torchetti

Following the mid-season firing of Mike Yeo by the Minnesota Wild Sunday night -- Iowa Wild head coach John Torchetti has had to make a quick adjustment to the NHL for tonight's game at Vancouver, but rest assured; tonight is not Torchett's first rodeo behind the NHL bench.

This is Torchetti's third time as an interim head coach at the NHL level taking over after a firing. He coached the final 12 games of the season for the Los Angeles Kings in 2005-2006, and the final 27 games of the season for the Florida Panthers in 2003-2004.

John Torchetti has coached in both Iowa and Houston, both minor league affiliates of Minnesota, so he is no stranger to the majority of the players in the locker room. Torchetti faced a similar challenge in Iowa to the one he's walking into in Minnesota. The Wild's AHL affiliate began this season 5-23-2, but has gone 10-6-1 in its past 17 games with Torchetti helping to straighten things out.

According to MinnesotaWild.com, Torchetti said he probably knows 50 or 60 percent of the locker room, smoothing the get-to-know-you period, and he plans to meet with every player individually before the Wild's next game.

After the three-game Canadian road-trip, Torchetti's first home game as the Wild's head coach will be at TCF Bank Stadium on Saturday against the Chicago Blackhawks.

Go Wild!