Former Merrimack coach Darren Yopyk joins Seattle Kraken

Former Merrimack assistant coach Darren Yopyk has joined the scouting department of new NHL expansion franchise, the Seattle Kraken.

Yopyk served as an assistant coach at Merrimack under former head coach Mark Dennehy from 2005-09. While on staff, he recruited a large number of the players who were on the 2010-11 Merrimack team that advanced to the NCAA Tournament and the Hockey East championship game, including many Western Canadian players like Jesse Todd, Chris Barton, and Karl Stollery. Back when he committed, Dennehy also noted that Yopyk’s ability to speak French was a factor in the program committing Stephane Da Costa.

In 2009 Yopyk took the job as head coach of the Westside Warriors in the BCHL and then he joined the Minnesota Wild’s scouting department in 2011 and he was with the organization for the last nine years, serving most recently as the team’s co-director of amateur scouting.