After being an assistant coach in Minnesota for 14 years Darby Henderickson is joining the Nashville Predators staff.
Head coach Andrew Brunette played with Hendrickson back in the 2003-04 season. The duo was also on the Wild’s coaching staff together from 2014-16.
“We are excited to add a person and coach of Darby’s caliber to our organization,” general manager Barry Trotz said in a press release. “After spending more than a decade as a professional player, he has now been a quality coach in the NHL for a long time and further strengthens our staff’s ability to communicate and teach the game at a high level.
“His familiarity with Andrew Brunette – having been both teammates and coaches together in the past – adds to the cohesiveness of our group, and his experience as an NHL player and coach makes him very relatable to today’s player.”
Brunette and Hendrickson’s strong relationship is just an added bonus to what the Predators are trying to accomplish long-term. It’s an aspect the organization has valued in the last few seasons.
Behind the bench, Trotz now has 2,247 games of playing experience among his coaching staff.
Altogether Brunette, Hendrickson, Scott Nichol, Todd Richards, Derek Mackenzie, Sebastian Bordeleau, Rob Scuderi, Nathan Gerbe, Pekka Rinne, and Mark Borowiecki combine for 5,519 games of playing experience.
“I’m thrilled to reunite with one of my former teammates in Darby and welcome him to the Predators organization,” Brunette said. “Strong communication, building relationships and establishing a connection with players are the fundamental building blocks of our coaching staff, and he exemplifies those values and skills.
“He also has a long history of not only developing young players but growing with them, making him a strong addition to our staff that seeks to continuously evolve. I’m looking forward to watching him use his experience as both a player and coach to improve our team.”
The Predators are replacing Dan Hinote who was an assistant coach in Nashville for the last four seasons and was responsible for running the penalty kill.
Hendrickson has been an assistant coach for the entirety of his post-playing days. He served under six of the seven Wild coaches — Todd Richards, Mike Yeo, John Torchetti, Bruce Boudreau, Dean Evason and John Hynes.
Back in his playing days, Hendrickson appeared in the 1997, 2000, & 2001 World Championships. Across those appearances, he played with or amongst former Predators players David Legwand, Steve Sullivan, Scott Walker, Hal Gill, Kimmo Timonen, Andreas Johansson, Vladimir Orszagh, Richard Litner, Olli Jokinen, and Jan Lasak.
As a bonus, forward Juuso Pärssinen’s father Timo played against Hendrickson in the same tournament in 2001.
Time will tell as to what Brunette wants Hendrickson to do on his staff.
Now the Predators get ready for the NHL Draft which is now one week away in Las Vegas. Stay tuned for all the coverage on 102.5 The Game.
Follow Nick Kieser on Twitter/X: @KieserNick
Top photo courtesy of Nashville Predators / Minnesota Wild
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