Down on the Farm: Dwyer Works Up to Minnesota Ranks

Minnesota Wild Assistant Coach Pat Dwyer worked relentlessly as a player for years in the minors prior to earning a full-time roster spot with the Carolina Hurricanes in the NHL. He acknowledged how special it was as a player to accomplish the life-long dream. To do it a second time, but this time as a coach, gave him similar feelings.

The latest turn in Dwyer’s hockey journey brings him to the State of Hockey. It began after Minnesota Wild General Manager Bill Guerin made a coaching change on Nov. 27, creating an opening for an assistant coach in Saint Paul. 

“It happened quick. We (Iowa) were sitting in Denver, waiting on the plane when news broke.”

Minutes later, the former Iowa Wild Assistant Coach’s phone rang. “Right as we're getting to take off, I got a call from Bill Guerin,” explained Dwyer. “He just asked, ‘you want to coach the Minnesota Wild tomorrow night?’”

And Dwyer responded quickly, “Yeah, I do.”

Pat got off the phone for takeoff and had plenty to think about during the two-hour flight to Des Moines.

“It was a bit of piecing it all together in your mind and comprehending everything. But I think at the same time, getting here and then having a game the next day, having to get right into it made that adjustment easier.”

When he landed, details were finalized and the scramble to the State of Hockey was in motion.  The following night, Dwyer helped the Wild and newly appointed Head Coach John Hynes, achieve a 3-1 victory over the St. Louis Blues at the Xcel Energy Center.

“It's been a dream come true and just the way it's panned out is awesome,” said a grateful Dwyer. “I'm super excited for the opportunity and Ashley (his wife) is just ecstatic. The whole family is through the moon about it.”

Minnesota fans should be over the moon about the addition of Dwyer to the Wild bench. His track record speaks for itself, and his brilliant hockey mind adds a new perspective to the Minnesota Wild. His true journey to the state of hockey began at a very, very, young age.

Early Days

Ten days after birth in Spokane, Washington, Minnesota Wild Assistant Coach Pat Dwyer’s hockey journey began.

Pat’s father, John Dwyer was in the Air Force when he was initially stationed in Spokane. John eventually met his future wife, Tammy, who grew up there. Less than two weeks after the birth of their second child, the Dwyer’s packed up Pat and his older sister, starting a new life over 360 miles east in Great Falls, Montana. John had been assigned to Malmstrom AFB where he worked in missile maintenance and transportation.

Pat spent much of his childhood growing up in Great Falls, a town of about 60,000 that sits roughly 120 miles south of the Canadian border. He was involved in nearly every sport as a child: playing soccer, baseball, hockey, and football. When he turned 12, summer hockey was a new “option,” and he made a pivotal decision.

“It was baseball and hockey for me,” said Dwyer. “Once summer hockey happened, the decision came down the pipeline.”

At age 14, John and Tammy moved the family to Minocqua, Wisconsin. It was a brief two-year stint.  A “homesickness” drove a return to Great Falls in time for Pat to finish his junior and senior year at C.M. Russel High School.

The decision was paramount. Pat began making waves for the Great Falls Americans of the AWHL. The right wing was drafted to the WHL and attended training camp in Lethbridge, delaying the start of his senior year. Upon his return, he met Ashley, his high school sweetheart, and the rest was history.

“I went up there to experience it before deciding if I was going to go to college or major juniors. I missed the first three weeks of school being up there.

“And when I came back, I walked into my art class, and that’s when I met her. It just went from there.”

Hockey Ramps Up

Pat’s hockey career was taking off, largely due in part to his final season of junior hockey, where he potted 33 goals and added 57 assists for 90 points. He transitioned to Western Michigan University, where he played all four seasons and studied business management. Just after Dwyer was named CCHA rookie of the year in 2002, the Atlanta Thrashers selected him in the fourth round (#116 overall) of the NHL Entry Draft months later. 

In 2005-06, Pat spent the bulk of his rookie campaign with the Thrashers AHL affiliate in Chicago, and even had a stop in the ECHL with Gwinnett. Over the offseason, Dwyer signed a free agent contract with the Carolina Hurricanes, leading to a nine-year run as a forward within their system. The final stop for the Dwyer’s was Albany, where the Montana native spent parts of four seasons. Pat and Ashley were married in 2007.

After grinding out parts of four AHL seasons, Dwyer finally finished his long-awaited NHL climb in 2008. Pat played in over 400 NHL games for the Hurricanes through 2015. At the same time, Ashley and Pat created a hockey family of their own, adding Ian (15) and Lillian (13) while the couple was in Raleigh.

The right wing played out his career in Europe, winning a championship with Belfast, his final season on the ice in 2019. The coaching aspect of the game has always been there for Dwyer, who learned from the likes of Paul Maurice and Tom Rowe.

His transition to the bench began immediately after he hung up his skates. Dwyer returned to a familiar organization to embark on his coaching career, joining Carolina’s AHL affiliate in Charlotte as an assistant.   

“I would consider myself more of a player’s coach than anything,” explained Dwyer. “I've been through it. I know what it looks like on the other side of the lens. I can relate to these kids. I also consider myself very good at the tactical side of the game. Not just the X's and O's, but adjustments that can be made.”

In 2020 Carolina moved its affiliation from Charlotte to Chicago, where Dwyer manned the bench for the Wolves over three seasons. His time culminated with a Calder Cup Championship in 2022. The euphoria of winning a title transitioned to an unknown with Carolina and Chicago ending their affiliation in 2023. The split left Dwyer without a job in April and a new hockey chapter in front of him and his family.

The hockey universe worked its mojo. As luck would have it, a job opened in Des Moines for an assistant coach position on newly appointed Head Coach Brett McLean’s staff. 

Pat started the season in Iowa, joining the Iowa staff in time for Minnesota Wild development camp in July. The 40-year-old quickly transitioned from unemployed, to assistant coach of the Iowa Wild, to assistant coach of the Minnesota Wild, all within seven months.

“It's crazy how that stuff works,” said Dwyer. “We (the Dwyer family) went from a question mark of what we were going to be doing this summer. Then to have this. It’s something people dream about.”