“The Minnesota Wilderness was informed on Sunday, July 10, that a video making allegations against
Assistant Coach Brendan Phelps had been posted on YouTube and possibly other social media sites. The
Wilderness has been in contact with the North American Hockey League, the U.S. Center for SafeSport,
and local authorities regarding this matter.
Mr. Phelps’ employment by The Wilderness has ended effective immediately and he
has been suspended from all participation in any USA Hockey sanctioned activity, including all activity
within the jurisdiction of the NAHL.
Based on the information currently available to the The Wilderness, the conduct in question does not appear to have involved any NAHL player personnel or activities.
Local authorities and the U.S. Center for SafeSport are handling this matter and The Wilderness will
cooperate with their efforts, in coordination with the NAHL.
The team encourages any player, player’s family member, or billet family member who has concerns about Mr. Phelps’ behavior to contact team representatives, so that they can be put in contact with the U.S. Center for SafeSport and/or local authorities.
The incident is now being handled by the local authorities and the U.S. Center for SafeSport. Therefore,
in cooperation with their investigations, the Minnesota Wilderness has no further comment at this time.”
