When longtime Wolves coach John Anderson learned Thursday night that he would be the next coach of the Atlanta Thrashers, he couldn’t hold back his emotions.
“Yesterday I was so happy I left my room and I cried,” he said. “I couldn’t believe it.”
Anderson’s first NHL coaching position comes after 13 years of coaching minor-league hockey, 11 of them with the Wolves, the Thrashers’ AHL affiliate.
It would be hard to argue Anderson, 51, had anything left to prove with the Wolves after 506 regular-season victories, a .688 career winning percentage and four league titles, including the Calder Cup the Wolves captured this month.
Anderson acknowledged the wait was long, but he believes it served a purpose.
“Things happen for a reason,” Anderson said. “Me being in the minors for 13 years has made me a better coach, and I think a stronger person.”
News that Anderson would be the next Thrashers coach broke Thursday night in Ottawa, where the team made Zach Bogosian the third pick in the draft Friday night.
Anderson’s next order of business is to turn around a Thrashers team that finished 34-40-8 this season, next-to-last in the Eastern Conference.
“The one thing that kept coming back is players love to play for John,” said Thrashers general manager Don Waddell, who served as interim coach for most of the season.
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mlynch@tribune.com
