Wild assistant coach Darryl Sydor charged with drunken driving

Wild assistant coach Darryl Sydor faces two charges of drunken driving involving endangerment of a child after he was arrested as he drove his 12-year-old son to the son's hockey game.

Sydor, who said last spring that he was a recovering alcoholic, was arrested Thursday evening when he failed field sobriety tests after being stopped by police. He was taken to the Fridley Police Department where a test revealed he had a blood alcohol level of .30.

He was charged in Anoka County with two gross misdemeanor counts of second-degree driving while impaired with two or more aggravating factors. The aggravating factors are endangerment of a child and having a blood alcohol content of .16 or more.

Sydor, 43, was released Friday afternoon after his bail was set at $12,000.

The two-time Stanley Cup champion was arrested by Fridley police at 5:15 p.m. Thursday near Medtronic Parkway and Hwy. 65 in Fridley, said Lt. Mike Monsrud of the Fridley police. A citizen called police to report a possible drunken driver on Hwy. 65, and police observed Sydor displaying "erratic behavior" such as swerving and making wide turns.

When stopped, police noticed Sydor had bloodshot, watery eyes and slow, slurred speech, according to the officer's statement of probable cause. Sydor, who lives in Woodbury, had difficulty finding his driver's license in his wallet and passed by it several times after police requested it, Monsrud said.

Police were able to make contact with Sydor's wife, who was visiting relatives in Canada. The Sydors have four children.

One of the officers drove the child to the hockey game in Plymouth. Arrangements were made with the boy's coach to get him back home after the game.

Sydor said in April that he sought treatment for alcoholism last summer. He entered a rehabilitation facility in Canada and had tattoos of the date of his sobriety on each hand between his thumb and index finger (where you would hold a glass). He said in April that it was a reminder that he should not drink.

The Wild issued this statement: "We are aware of the reports regarding Darryl Sydor. We are continuing to gather information and will have further comment at the appropriate time."

The Wild opens training camp on Sept. 17. The team has three other assistant coaches — Rick Wilson, Andrew Brunette and Darby Hendrickson — under head coach Mike Yeo. Sydor's primary role is to work with defensemen and the team's penalty killing unit. The team is one of the rare NHL squads that had three assistants — Brunette, Wilson and Sydor — on the bench during games. Most teams have only two assistants on the bench.

Sydor, the No. 7 overall draft pick in 1990 by the Los Angeles Kings, played 18 years in the NHL for six teams. The defenseman, who played 1,446 combined regular-season and playoff games, won the Stanley Cup with the Dallas Stars in 1999 and Tampa Bay Lightning in 2004.

Sydor, a member of the Pittsburgh Penguins when Yeo was with them as an assistant, has been at Yeo's side since 2010-11 when Yeo coached the Houston Aeros of the American Hockey League. Yeo became the Wild coach in 2011, and Sydor came to Minnesota with him.

Sydor is part owner of the Western Hockey League's Kamloops Blazers, the team he won a Memorial Cup with as a player in 1992.