Minnesota Wild General Manager Chuck Fletcher tonight announced the National Hockey League (NHL) club has named John Torchetti interim Head Coach.
Torchetti joins Minnesota after serving as the head coach of the Iowa Wild since Nov. 11, 2014. He spent the 2013-14 season as Head Coach of CSKA Moscow in the Kontinental Hockey League, where he compiled a record of 32-20-0-2. Torchetti guided the Wild’s AHL affiliate in Houston from 2011-13 posting a record of 75-51-0-26 and advanced to the playoffs both seasons.
The native of Boston, Mass., holds 31 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).
Prior to joining the Thrashers, Torchetti served as an assistant coach for the Chicago Blackhawks. During his time in Chicago, he helped the team improve in wins and points each season as the Blackhawks advanced to the 2009 Western Conference Finals and won the 2010 Stanley Cup Championship.
Torchetti has served as an interim head coach in the NHL twice previously: with the Florida Panthers in 2003-04, where he posted a 10-12-4-1 record and with the Los Angeles Kings in 2005-06, earning a 5-7-0 record in the final 12 games of the season.
He has also served as head coach of the San Antonio Iguanas in the Central Hockey League (1994-96), the Fort Wayne Komets in the International Hockey League (1996-98), the AHL’s San Antonio Rampage (2002-03) and the Moncton Wildcats in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (2006-07). Torchetti was named Coach of the Year with San Antonio in 1994-95 and with Fort Wayne in 1997-98.
In 1996-97, he spent time as the assistant general manager with the San Antonio Dragons (IHL) and was the general manager of the Detroit Vipers (IHL) in 1998-99. During his tenure in Detroit, the Vipers posted a 50-12-11 record and captured the IHL’s Eastern Conference Championship.
Torchetti’s professional playing career spanned seven seasons in the Atlantic Coast Hockey League, the All-American Hockey League, the ECHL and the AHL. In total, Torchetti earned 532 points (258-274=532) in 359 career games with the Carolina Thunderbirds (ACHL, AAHL, ECHL), Virginia Lancers (ACHL), Binghamton Whalers (AHL) and Winston-Salem Thunderbirds (ECHL) from 1984-91.
[Source: Minnesota Wild press release]
