Brian Wiseman, a four-year letterwinner and Hobey Baker Award finalist at Michigan, is returning to Ann Arbor as an assistant hockey coach.

Wiseman played for Red Berenson from 1991-94 and remains the Michigan hockey team's third all-time leading scorer with 348 points in 166 career games. The next step in a recently jump-started coaching career is joining Berenson behind the bench, the school announced Thursday.

Michigan's Brian Wiseman (16) battles Lake Superior State's Sean Tallaire during a 1994 NCAA hockey regional. Wiseman is returning to Ann Arbor as an assistant coach.

AnnArbor.com file photo

He replaces long-time assistant Mel Pearson, who left to become head coach at Michigan Tech.

After a five-year stint in the corporate world, Wiseman returned to coaching last season as an assistant with the Houston Aeros of the American Hockey League.

"Brian did a great job with the Aeros and was a big part of the success we had this season," general Manager Jim Mill said in a news release. "We wish him well with the Wolverines and know he will help continue the tradition of success at Michigan."

Wiseman was previously an assistant at Princeton (2003-04), a video coach for the Dallas Stars (2002-03) and served as Michigan's administrative assistant from 2000 to 2002.

As a senior captain in 1993-94, Wiseman was a first-team All-American after becoming one of only seven Wolverines to record 50 assists in a single season. His four years at Michigan started the team's current streak of 21 straight NCAA Tournament appearances, including Frozen Four berths in 1992 and 1993.

Wiseman played just three games in the NHL (with Toronto), splitting a six-year professional career between the International Hockey League and the American Hockey League.

He was the IHL's leading scorer and most valuable player while playing for the Aeros in 1998-99.