AHL’s Iowa Wild hire Greg Cronin as head coach
The Iowa Wild have filled their head coaching vacancy with a relatively notable name.
Greg Cronin, who most recently spent the 2023-24 and 2024-25 seasons as head coach of the NHL’s Anaheim Ducks, has been tapped to replace Brett McLean behind the bench in Iowa.
As their team name would suggest, Iowa is the AHL affiliate of the Minnesota Wild.
We've got our guy🤝 Welcome to Iowa, Greg Cronin!
Full details 🔗 –> https://t.co/rDNZCubOHv#ItStartsInDSM pic.twitter.com/R2fbnlksAf
The 62-year-old Cronin has been active in the coaching ranks since the late 1980s, serving as a head coach with two other AHL franchises and an assistant with the Toronto Maple Leafs and New York Islanders during his career.
“We are thrilled to have a coach of Greg’s caliber behind the bench in Iowa,” Iowa general manager Matt Hendricks said in a release on Monday. “He brings a thorough, detail-oriented approach and an extremely high understanding of the game of hockey.
“With an extensive background in player development and a proven track record of leading winning organizations, we are excited to bring Greg’s passion for coaching to our organization.”
Cronin led the Ducks to a 35-37-10 record this past season, enough for 80 points and a sixth-place finish in the Pacific Division. But with Ducks ownership pushing for a return to the playoffs in the near future, management elected to replace Cronin with former Chicago Blackhawks and Florida Panthers bench boss Joel Quenneville after the season.
A former NCAA D2 player at Colby College, Cronin has worked extensively in the collegiate ranks, most notably as the head coach at Northeastern University from 2005 to 2011. He has also served as head coach of the AHL’s Bridgeport Sound Tigers and Colorado Eagles.
Iowa struggled to compete in the 2024-25 AHL season, finishing sixth in the Central Division with a 27-37-6-2 record and missing the Calder Cup Playoffs. Under the previous coaching staff, the team’s young core largely stagnated and failed to make much of an impression in brief NHL stints.
Cronin is the latest in a long line of new AHL head coaches this summer, immediately following Rocky Thompson in Bridgeport and Brett Sutter in Calgary.