ST. PAUL, Minn. — Stu Bickel laughs now, thinking about his movie cameo, when he serendipitously became an extra in the third Mighty Ducks film.
Bickel, 39, who grew up in Chanhassen, Minn., was around 9 years old when the Disney production was on location at the Mall of America shooting a rollercoaster scene. Bickel and his brothers were on the coaster for one of what he estimated were 10 takes by the Ducks players. It was the Bickels’ only time on the ride, and it was the take that went in the movie.
“It wasn’t like something where we were called in to be extras,” Bickel said. “We just got lucky. I just remember my mom saying, ‘Don’t act like idiots, otherwise they’re never going to use it.’
“So we were pretty stoic.”
It’s one of Bickel’s many ties to the Twin Cities, from playing for Eden Prairie High and the University of Minnesota to spending two years on Bob Motzko’s Gophers staff. He played nine of his 76 career NHL games with the Wild during the 2014-15 season and even had a memorable bout with current color analyst Ryan Carter in 2012.
But his path to becoming the head coach of the Wild’s AHL affiliate in Iowa last month was also sparked by his relationship with Iowa general manager Matt Hendricks, an old summer skating partner during their playing days. The Wild, looking for their third AHL head coach in four years after Greg Cronin took a job on the St. Louis Blues staff, hope they’ve found a more long-term answer in Bickel.
Bickel spent the past four years with AHL Coachella (the Seattle Kraken’s affiliate), going to four playoffs and two Calder Cup finals, and hopes to “build a winning culture” in Iowa. This is his first pro head coaching job. And Cup-winning coach Dan Bylsma, who had Bickel on his staff in Coachella for two years, believes the former NHL defenseman is ready.
“He’s been with three good head coaches now, and those are valuable lessons in building an identity,” Bylsma said. “The first time always has to come. But you look at the development of coaches, it comes after a coach puts in experiences with good teams and organizations and has built his schtick and built his head coaching values over time, and Stu has put in that time.
“He’s been ready for this jump, and I think he’s perfectly ready for it.”
Bickel said he’s wanted to be a head coach since his first AHL stint as an assistant with Springfield during the 2021-22 season. He had to grind his way into the NHL, which he hopes will make him relatable to players. Bickel played for four AHL teams and two ECHL teams before breaking through with the New York Rangers in 2011-12. He played in 18 playoff games that season on New York’s run to the Eastern Conference final.
Bickel calls then-Rangers coach John Tortorella one of his major influences. Tortorella became a sounding board during the past eight years in Bickel’s coaching quest. They’ve had many phone conversations about different aspects of the profession and jobs. Bickel employs a lot of the elements Tortorella brought, including being up-front and honest with his players — even if they won’t initially like the message.
He knows first-hand the impact the approach can have.
“When I made that team, (Tortorella) told me, ‘Honestly, I didn’t know who the F you were coming into camp,’’’ Bickel recalled. “I wasn’t on the radar at all. That takes a lot of open-mindedness of a coach in the NHL to be open to the idea of, ‘Hey, maybe this guy can play a role on this team.’ I wasn’t a young first-round pick that’s supposed to make it. Him taking a chance on me, I’m in debt to him forever for that.”
Tortorella chuckled, thinking back to his line to Bickel, admitting he really didn’t know much about the right-shot defenseman. But he was looking for character and, “It’s written all over Bick,” he said.
“He wasn’t a great skater, he didn’t have a great shot, he didn’t have a whole lot of offense to him,” Tortorella said. “But the thing I loved about him was his willingness. He was willing to fight. I just liked his attitude. He didn’t play a lot in the National Hockey League. But it’s those types of guys … these are the really good coaches. They grinded their way to try to get there. They knew what they needed to do to try to stay and just try to make it to the big leagues.
“It makes for a really good coach, especially in the minor leagues, especially there where those young players are waiting for their final step to the National Hockey League.”
One of the most memorable moments from that 2011-12 Rangers season came when Bickel was involved in an infamous line brawl with the Devils after the opening faceoff of a March game. Fans had to know something was coming when the 6-foot-4, 207-pound Bickel moved to center ice to take the draw against Carter.
“I didn’t know he threw as hard as he threw,” Bickel said of Carter. “He’s kind of sneaky tough. When he played, he was a good player, too. He wouldn’t just go out and fight all the heavies. That wasn’t his game. But for his class and how often he fought, he was tough.
“He tagged me early on in the fight, and I was like, ‘Oh, he’s bringing the heat.’”
How about a rematch — maybe for charity?
“I’m good on that,” Bickel said, laughing. “When I finished playing, I made a decision: I’m good on not getting punched in the head the rest of my life.”
Bickel’s first taste of coaching came as an assistant with Motzko and the Gophers. He learned a lot about simplifying messaging and getting players’ “buy-in.” He then spent one year as head coach of the Minnesota Magicians in the NAHL, taking them to the third round of the playoffs.
Moving on to the AHL, he apprenticed under former St. Louis Blues coach Drew Bannister (Springfield), Bylsma (Coachella) and former NHL assistant Derek Laxdal (Coachella).
“Being an assistant in the American League for five years allowed me the opportunity to work with three different head coaches. That’s been great to be able to pick up things from each coach, see how they’d handle different situations. You match that with your approach and your personality to fit,” Bickel said.
“I got to know the league and the next crop of players that is coming through — what makes these prospects tick, all those sorts of things that go into developing good pros. I think you need to take your time in that process. Every step provided different experiences. That’s how the timing matched up more — that I’m ready for this. I wanted to make sure I was ready before I got into it.”
Bickel has a tough challenge awaiting him in Iowa. The program has struggled, missing the playoffs each of the past three seasons. Iowa did play .600 hockey in the final 30 games under Cronin, showing some progress.
Bickel said his drive is to “breed winners” by creating a competitive environment and winning habits that eventually lead to success, both in the AHL and the NHL.
“You have to try to develop that winning culture before you’re going to see the wins,” he said. “A lot goes into that with our daily habits, our expectations, utilizing our leadership group to pass off some of those expectations and let them be a part of the process and become accountable to that process. Those are all the things that are key to developing that winning culture. For me, it’s the entire development side. It’s not just about skill acquisition. It’s about doing things that are going to allow our team to win games.”
Bylsma said what struck him about Bickel in his interview with him four years ago was his “conviction” in the game, his relationship with players and his “enormous passion” for development.
“That’s the American League job,” Bylsma said. “It’s all about development. If you talk to him, you’ll find out quickly that strong belief in the best way to develop players and the team is in a competitive or, dare I say, winning environment.”
Bylsma saw Bickel’s detail and enthusiasm in his one-on-one work with Finnish defenseman Ville Ottavainen, a Kraken prospect who has spent three years with Coachella. The 6-foot-5 defenseman was “raw” and needed work in his details.
“Stu was in the trenches with him,” Bylsma said. “I saw a bit of intensity with Stu, both in practice and the games and one-on-ones with players — that it’s all about business. One thing he believes is you’ve got to do it in the fight, in the fire of competition.”
Bickel said of all the coaches he’s worked with, he’s most similar to Bylsma in terms of the day-to-day energy and positivity he brings.
He said one example of injecting his personality into the team is that he will talk to the team’s equipment managers about displaying high energy in their greetings to players on their way into the building, since they’re often the first staff members players see.
“It sounds like a really small thing that shouldn’t really impact a team a ton,” Bickel said. “But when you do that every day, you bring that positivity and good energy in the rink. Guys want to be part of that, and they’ll pull for you when you do that. Make sure your meetings are all high-energy and positive as you can be.
“There are some times when we have clean-up video and it won’t be a positive message, it’ll be a hard message, we’ll need to change this area right now. Here’s how we get there. But overall, when you look at the way Dan coaches, he’s extremely positive, and over a long season and adversity with a group, you stick together.”
Bickel and his wife, Lacey, have been in the process of moving from their Southern California home back to the Midwest. Their hands are pretty full now with their 8-month-old son, Banks, crawling around. After what’s been a revolving door for coaches in Iowa, Bickel believes this could be a longer-term fit.
“I want to build a winner in Iowa,” he said. “I want to make sure we’re taking care of the development, where we are developing players that are effective in Minnesota. If you can do both of those things, that’s the highest level of success you can have in the American League. That process takes time.
“There’s a lot of positive things going into this, and I see we can have success. But it’s going to be a process, and I want to make sure we take it one step at a time.”
