The Iowa Wild have added Ben Simon and Patrick Dwyer as assistant coaches on new head coach Brett McLean’s staff.
Simon, 45, spent the previous eight seasons with the Grand Rapids Griffins, including three as an assistant coach (2015-18) and five as head coach (2018-23). He helped the Griffins to a Calder Cup championship in 2017.
Simon also served as an assistant coach with the Toronto Marlies (2014-15) and Rockford IceHogs (2011-13), and spent one season as head coach of the ECHL’s Cincinnati Cyclones in 2013-14, reaching the league finals.
A fifth-round draft choice by the Chicago Blackhawks in 1997, Simon played 481 games in the American Hockey League over his 11-year pro career, collecting 188 points with Chicago, Milwaukee, Syracuse, Grand Rapids, Springfield and Toronto and winning a Calder Cup with the Wolves in 2002. He also skated in 81 NHL games with Atlanta and Columbus.
Dwyer, 40, spent four seasons as an assistant coach with the Carolina Hurricanes’ AHL affiliates in Charlotte (2019-20) and Chicago (2020-23), winning a Calder Cup championship with the Wolves in 2022.
Dwyer played 14 professional seasons before retiring in 2019 and appeared in 416 NHL games, all with Carolina. He also skated in 354 AHL games with Chicago, Albany and Charlotte, totaling 94 goals and 102 assists for 196 points.
