Everything seems to be working out for Iowa Wild head coach Stu Bickel. He begins his first season as the head coach of Minnesota’s AHL affiliate as the Iowa Wild begin their 14th season with a pair of road games in Texas. Bickel will make his AHL head coaching debut on his 40th birthday (Oct. 2).
When the job came open this summer, Iowa Wild general manager Matt Hendricks began investigating the possibility of Bickel taking over at Iowa State. The two Minnesotans were quite familiar with each other during their NHL days after spending summers training together in the Twin Cities.
Bickel has been on Hendricks’ radar for the past few years due to his recent success as an AHL assistant. With that in mind, the Wild invited the fast-rising bench leader for an interview. Hendricks said Chanhassen presented a detailed plan and took great pride in his work.
“When he was introducing myself and then the rest of our group, you could see how much he wanted this opportunity, and that was important,” Hendricks said. “I think Stu has a path for himself right now. He understands the process involved in moving up the ladder.”
A former Gopher and Eden Prairie High School product, Bickel grew up watching wildlife. In 2014-15, he played in nine games with his hometown Minnesota Wild and played 43 games with the Iowa Wild. He is the second Minnesotan to coach the team and the first former player in history to manage at Iowa State.
It’s safe to say you’d be hard-pressed to find anyone in hockey who would want the job more than Bickel.
“Being with the Minnesota Wild organization is a dream come true for me,” said the lifelong Minnesotan. “I’m from here. I played at various levels in my youth from high school to the Gophers. It is a special organization for me that I am familiar with. I know they are great people. I know they want to win. It’s also very convenient for my family.”
Knowing he wanted to coach in the latter stages of his playing career, he set a path for himself by becoming a relentless student of the game. After ten professional seasons, 411 professional games (including 76 NHL games) and 1,172 minutes, Bickel called it a career in 2018.
He joined Bob Motzko’s staff at the University of Minnesota and spent two seasons with the Gophers. In addition to coaching, he also earned a degree in business administration. Stu credits his time with the Gophers for “helping me find my way into coaching and realize my passion for it. It became something I really fell in love with right from the start of the first season.”
He left The U for an opportunity to head the NAHL’s Minnesota Giants in 2020-21, helping them to a conference finals appearance.
After a season with the Magicians, his career seemed to take off with the opportunity to join the AHL’s Springfield Falcons as an assistant. After losing in the Calder Cup finals in the spring, Bickel found himself on the move again, this time joining Dan Bylsma for the expansion AHL Coachella Valley Firebirds on the farm of the NHL’s Seattle Kraken.
The Firebirds posted back-to-back seasons with a winning percentage above .700 and lost in the finals in 2023 and 2024, marking the third consecutive summer Bickel finished as the AHL’s runner-up. Two seasons later, he was ready and willing to become an AHL head coach.
Ironically, he began his pro career in Des Moines as an undrafted prospect for Anaheim, whose AHL affiliate, the Iowa Chops, played at what is now Casey Center. The familiar landscape makes the transition easier, but it’s been a blessing for him to meet the new hockey operations staff, from assistant coaches to equipment and coaching staff.
“On the coaching side, Nate (McIver), Ben (Simon), Rich (Bachman) and Eric (Micho) stood out. They work extremely hard and are fun people to be around,” the new Iowa head coach explained. “Also, Dan (Barker), Shakey (Crowse), Putzy (Putzig), Nick (Peyton), Corey (Chap) and Mason (Pauley) leave nothing to be desired in how they take care of our guys. I am fortunate to work with them all.
Bickel will implement the same systems as the parent club, fine-tuning players for a seamless transition directly into NHL play. He really has a vision of what he wants from his team.
“In terms of our identity, we want to be a fast team in transition. We want to be a physical team. We want to play inside the offensive zone, which is an area I think we can improve on,” the former linebacker said. “There are some areas where we can make a move as a group. Part of that is a willingness to play inside. I think once the young players start to understand the concept of going to tough spots, they will find more success on the offensive line.”
The team of the year is balanced with a strong group of veterans such as forwards Mason Shaw, Tyler Pitlik, Dylan Gambrell, Justin Kirkland and Jerry Mayhew (AHL contract), along with Elk River native Matt Kierstedt, who is entering his sixth pro season. These veterans have enjoyed high-level success in the AHL and will play a key role in showing the youngsters how it’s done.
“We don’t want to be a perimeter team in the offensive zone,” he said. “We want guys in the net and dirty areas.
