Good afternoon from balmy Minneapolis, where I'm a tad overcaffeinated. Just met up at a coffee shop with a local prospect that will be drafted next weekend for a story that'll appear in the Strib next week.
According to sources, the Wild's strongly considering Brad Bombardir for the new role as director of player development. I know they've talked to him about it and I believe they've gone as far as to offer it to him. The former Wild defenseman is currently the Wild's director of community partnerships. It's not just a given that Bombardir accepts the new position, however. He loves his job right now and the new role would be a huge commitment with a lot of travel.
GM Chuck Fletcher, who said, "No comment," when I asked if the job's been offered to "Bomber," wants the director of player development to spend one week a month in Houston and also to spend one to two weeks being the pipeline between the Wild's junior and college prospects and the Wild. The Wild hopes to have the position in place soon, especially because the director of player development will have a big role in organizing next month's development camp.
As for the Wild's assistant coaching opening to replace Mike Ramsey, who still may wind up having some role in the organization, there is no timeline. Fletcher's going to be a big part of this search in consultation with coach Todd Richards, so because Fletcher is so swamped right now with the draft and free agency, I'd think this would go into July.
Wes Walz, the Original Wild checker and former Lightning assistant coach, may eventually be a candidate. Minnesota Hockey Journal's Fiona Quick quoted Chuck Weber yesterday saying he's interested. Some have speculated that maybe Stillwater head coach and should-be Hall of Famer Phil Housley could be a candidate.
A couple potential candidates that jumped into my tiny brain today are recently dismissed Columbus Blue Jackets assistants Gary Agnew and Gord Murphy. Both are awesome coaches and guys.
Agnew, who's extremely well-respected, was a superstar junior coach back in the day before going to Columbus after coaching the AHL Syracuse Crunch. But I'm almost positive he interviewed for the Florida Panthers nearly-annual head coaching openings a few times back in the day (at least I remember writing his name a lot back then when I covered the Cats), so Fletcher probably knows him fairly well.
And as for Murphy, he was one of the biggest character guys I've ever covered. He was an assistant captain on those great Panthers teams back in the day under Roger Neilson and Doug MacLean, so he knows Fletcher -- a former Panthers assistant GM -- extremely well. In fact, I believe they've already been in contact about the Wild opening. Murphy was a solid defenseman, meaning if the Wild wants to hire a former defenseman to replace Ramsey, he'd fit that role.