DAVID CUNNIFF BRINGS A WEALTH OF EXPERIENCE TO IOWA
Sep 28, 2015By Tom Witosky | Follow Tom @toskyAHLWild
When David Cunniff got a telephone call this summer from Iowa Wild head coach John Torchetti offering an opportunity to join his staff, the veteran assistant coach couldn’t resist.
“When Torch called, I was very intrigued,” said Cunniff, who spent last season directing the Albany Devils defense after spending 12 seasons as an AHL assistant in the San Jose Sharks organization. “When you look at what he has done and where he has been, I felt it was the best opportunity for me to grow as a coach.”
The 44-year-old son of the legendary American Hockey League coach John Cunniff said his decision simply followed his father’s advice.
“My Dad would always say you never stop learning,” David Cunniff said in an interview. “I have been coaching 13 years, but what’s important is learning new things. That is why I love coaching.”
Cunniff arrived in Des Moines on Saturday as the Iowa Wild’s training camp opened this weekend with the assignment of more than 20 players from the Minnesota Wild’s training camp, the likely addition of four veterans who were placed on waivers by Minnesota, and four more players this week as the NHL team cuts down to a 23-man season-opening roster.
The top priority is to begin building a team that hasn’t qualified for the playoffs in two seasons as well as ready players to make the jump to the NHL.
Major revisions in the player roster, for now, include veterans like defenseman Maxime Fortunus, forward Matt Carey and goalies Kevin Lalande and Leland Irving. Joining them from last year’s Iowa roster in camp are veterans like Marc Hagel, Kurtis Gabriel, Michael Keranen and Zack Mitchell.
Cunniff was behind the bench with Torchetti at the recent NHL Prospects Tournament in Traverse City, MI and at Minnesota’s training camp for a week. He liked what he saw.
“Minnesota went out and supported us,” Cunniff said. “With the draft picks they have, there are number of players who have been very impressive. There are a number of good big players who are going to be developing.”
On top on Cunniff’s list is defenseman Gustav Olofsson, who missed all last season with a shoulder injury.
“Losing Olofsson really hurt them last year,” Cunniff said. “I don’t think most people realize how much. To have him out for the year, really set them back.”
With two disappointing seasons under its belt in Des Moines, the major changes in Iowa Wild’s roster included Torchetti’s decision to hire Cunniff to direct the defensemen, along with Pascal Rheaume.
Both coaches, Torchetti said, subscribe to his approach to hockey learned largely from John Cunniff.
“When I was playing, I would go to his father’s camp and learn a great deal from him,” Torchetti said. “I think about little fundamentals and parts of the game I learned from him. He passed them on to Dave as well.”
With Cunniff on the staff, Torchetti said, there will be no confusion as to what is expected on offense or defense.
“Going into this year I get to lay the foundation from day one,” he said. “Now I have a staff that reinforces it and I don’t have to go over it.”
Cunniff not only brings 13 years of coaching experience to the Wild, he also brings a blue-collar lunch bucket mental approach to the game that provided him with a nine-year career as a professional hockey player. Undersized and not-too-fast, Cunniff said it surprised many friends that he played in ECHL and the AHL for five years as a third and fourth-line center or wing.
“I found a niche -- something that others didn’t want to do and found success with it. It is tough to do those things and stick up for teammates, but that is the kind of environment we need,” he said.
Cunniff helped guide Albany through the 2014-15 season to a 37-28-5-6 record last year, missing the Calder Cup playoffs by two points. He joined the Devils after spending the previous 12 years in the San Jose Sharks organization. The Milton, MA native was promoted to associate coach of the American Hockey League’s Worcester Sharks in 2012-13 after serving the previous ten seasons as an assistant coach with both Cleveland (2002-06) and Worcester (2006-12).
Like Torchetti, Cunniff said that the Wild’s success will be based first and foremost on the team’s character.
“Torch is trying to put the character people in place because if you don’t have it, you can’t win,’ Cunniff said.
He said a successful hockey team is the one that remains positive in tough times as well as good times.
“When a game isn’t going well or someone makes a mistake, you can yell or you can try to get him back on the same page with everyone else. By doing it positively and sharing with him that we are all in this together, that is the biggest thing,” Cunniff said.
The Iowa staff should be one of the best at doing just that, according to Cunniff.
“I really think we have an NHL staff in Iowa,” he said. “I have been doing it a long time and had success. Torch has had a lot of success as well and Pascal has too. We have a good foundation in place.”