Brett Skinner is headed back to the league where he began his coaching career.
After leading the Minnesota Wilderness to a Midwest Division playoff championship in his first season as a head coach, Skinner has accepted the same position with the Fargo Force of the United States Hockey League (USHL). Prior to coming to Cloquet, Skinner spent five seasons in the USHL with the Sioux Falls Stampede as an assistant coach.
In his lone season behind the Wilderness bench, Skinner finished 2022-23 with a 35-18-7 regular season record. He then led the squad on a playoff run that extended to the Robertson Cup championship, where it fell to the eventual league champion Oklahoma Warriors in the semi-finals. It marked Minnesota’s first division title and appearance in the semi-finals since 2015, when it won the Robertson Cup.
“Brett did an outstanding job for our organization, taking us all the way to the Robertson Cup semi-finals,” said general manager David Boitz. “We couldn’t be happier for Brett in his new opportunity. We wish him nothing but the best moving forward and know he’ll do an outstanding job wherever he is.”
Along with the team’s success this past season, Skinner helped secure NCAA Division 1 commitments for three players: Joe Cesario announced in January he will play for Air Force Academy (before being traded by the Wilderness to Anchorage in February), followed by Cole Gordon’s decision to go to Arizona State in March and, on Thursday, Kevin Marx Norén announced he has committed to Northern Michigan.
Patrick “Packy” Munson remains in his position as assistant coach as the team holds its first pre-draft camp this weekend in Michigan.
Meanwhile, a search for Skinner’s successor is underway.