Yeo Brings Playoff Ambitions To The Wild

ST. PAUL, Minn. (WCCO) –- The Minnesota Wild have a new, youthful and confident head coach who isn't afraid to share his playoff ambitions.

Mike Yeo knows he is fortunate to be one of 30 NHL head coaches. At a press conference in St. Paul, Yeo spoke of how entering the elite NHL group made him feel.

"That phone call … let's just say, it made my day," he said.

Yeo, 37, comes to Minnesota from Huston, where he coached the Aeros to the cusp of a championship season. He hopes the success he had with the Aeros will carry over to the Wild.

"I believe people want winners," he said.

After three straight years of watching the Wild miss the playoffs, fans are looking for something to revitalize the team.

"I'm not going to sit here and tell you that I don't want to make the playoff," Yeo said. "I want to make the playoffs."

Some hallmarks of Yeo's coaching are organization, physical play and discipline. These impressed the Wild's general manager, Chuck Fletcher, so much that he chose Yeo for the coaching position over more experienced candidates.

Fletcher said that Yeo's confidence and presence was impressive.