ST. PAUL, Minn. - Former Boston University men's ice hockey player John Hynes ('97) was officially introduced as the new head coach of the Minnesota Wild on Tuesday morning.

No other school now boasts more NHL head coaches than BU, as Hynes once again joins Mike Sullivan (Pittsburgh Penguins) and David Quinn (San Jose Sharks) in the NHL head coaching ranks. That trio makes up 21% of all former NCAA players who are now NHL head coaches. BU is also the only school in the country to have an alumnus as an ECHL head coach (Pete MacArthur), AHL head coach (McCarthy), NHL head coach and NHL general manager (Chris Drury/Mike Grier).

In addition to Hynes and Sullivan, two other BU alumni have served as head coaches in the NHL. Joe Sacco was with the Colorado Avalanche from 2009-13 and Steve Stirling coached the New York Islanders from 2003-06.

Minnesota becomes the third team that Hynes will have coached, as he was previously the bench boss with New Jersey (2015-19) and Nashville (2020-23). Hynes has led his teams to four playoff appearances as head coach, including three straight postseason berths with the Predators. Prior to his appointment with the Devils, Hynes spent five seasons as head coach of the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in the American Hockey League. The 2010-11 AHL Coach of the Year posted a record of 231-126-10-17 and qualified for five AHL playoffs while also owning the lowest team goals-against average in four of the five seasons.

Before his stint with Wilkes-Barre Scranton, Hynes spent six years (2003-09) as the head coach at USA Hockey's National Team Development Program where he led the U.S. Under-18 national team to three medals, including gold in 2006.

During his four seasons at BU from 1993-97, Hynes helped lead the Terriers to four straight NCAA Frozen Four appearances and the 1995 national title in Providence while teammates with current Terrier head coach Jay Pandolfo. As a junior in his best season, he totaled four goals and six assists for 10 points.

A serious neck injury sidelined his senior season and halted his playing career but opened another door, as then-head coach Jack Parker asked Hynes to become a graduate assistant the following year. Hynes ran with the opportunity to an assistant coach position with UMass Lowell in 2000-01 and Wisconsin in 2002-03 before moving on to USA Hockey.

Hynes, a native of Warwick, Rhode Island, was inducted into the Rhode Island Hockey Hall of Fame in 2023.