After nine years coaching boys' hockey at Stillwater, former NHL star and Olympian Phil Housley was named an assistant coach with the Nashville Predators on Tuesday.
Housley, 49, a South St. Paul native, coached the United States to a gold medal at the World Junior Championships last month in Russia. He also was an assistant coach for the U.S. team at the Men's World Championships where the Americans on Sunday won the bronze for their first medal at the tournament in nine years.
Housley played 21 seasons with eight different NHL teams. The seven-time all-star ranks fourth all-time among defensemen with 1,232 points.
Predators coach Barry Trotz said Housley's "history as a defenseman who was offensively gifted and excelled on the power play is something we have never had on our coaching staff. His insight and viewpoint will bring a fresh perspective to our team."
Housley resigned his position at Stillwater Tuesday morning, school activities director Ricky Michel said, adding that Housley "did a very nice job with our program'' and helped develop top-flight players.
Nashville hired Housley after firing associate coach Peter Horachek.
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