Todd Richards (ice hockey)

:"This article is about an ice hockey player and coach, for the snowboarder, see Todd Richards (snowboarder)."

Todd Richards (born October 20, 1966 in Crystal, Minnesota) is a retired American professional ice hockey defenceman and currently an assistant coach of the San Jose Sharks for the NHL. He was formerly the head coach of the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins of the AHL.

Playing career

Richards was drafted by the Montreal Canadiens in the second round (33rd overall) of the 1985 NHL Entry Draft. He played for the University of Minnesota for four seasons.

He began his professional career with the Sherbrooke Canadiens during the 1989-90 AHL season. After being traded early the next season to the Hartford Whalers organization, he helped the Springfield Indians win the 1991 Calder Cup. Richards also made his NHL debut during that season, playing two games and recording four assists for the Whalers. Richards spent two more season with the Indians before beginning he play in the IHL, spending two seasons with the Las Vegas Thunder, and six seasons with the Orlando Solar Bears. He ended his playing career in 2002 with the Genève-Servette HC of the National League A in Switzerland.

Coaching career

After retiring from playing, Richards spent four seasons as an assistant coach for the Milwaukee Admirals. The Admirals advanced to the playoffs each year. In 2004, Milwaukee won the Calder Cup, after sweeping the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in four games.

On August 3, 2006, Richards became the fifth head coach of the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. During his first season, he guided Wilkes-Barre/Scranton to a 51-24-2-4 record and a second-place finish in the AHL’s East Division. The Penguins advanced to the East Division Finals before falling to the Hershey Bears.

External links

*hockeydb|4553
* [http://penguins.nhl.com/team/app?service=page&page=NHLPage&bcid=tea_sta_bio.php_id_59 Richard's bio] at the [http://www.pittsburghpenguins.com Pittsburh Penguins official site]