Patrick WilliamsTheAHL.com Features Writer
Derek Laxdal he came up short in the championships as the head coach of the Texas Stars in 2018 and as an assistant of the Dallas Stars in 2020. The Coachella Valley Firebirds have come up empty in back-to-back Finals.
Perhaps this is the combination that could put a Calder Cup championship banner in the trees of Acrisure Arena.
Laxdal won the Calder Cup as a prospect for the New York Islanders and Springfield Indians in 1990. With the Stars organization, he took the ECHL title as the head coach in Idaho in 2007 and spent six seasons in charge of Texas, leading the AHL club to Game 7. of the finals in 2018. And after being promoted to Dallas in the 2019-20 season, he helped the big club reach the Stanley Cup Finals that summer.
As a junior coach, he won two Western Hockey League titles and the 2014 Memorial Cup with Edmonton, and guided Oshawa to the Ontario Hockey League final while winning coach of the year honors last season.
Laxdal can win and he can develop talent — two things he has done repeatedly during his various stops in a coaching career that began in 2001.
Laxdal was hired by the Seattle Kraken on July 5 as their new AHL head coach amid a busy week of free agency that saw dramatic changes sweep the Coachella Valley roster less than a week after their season ended with a Game 6 loss to Hershey in the Calder Cup Finals.
A visit to the Firebirds base in Palm Desert, Calif., left Laxdal impressed. Acrisure Arena, which opened in December 2022, regularly hosts large crowds and features an attached practice facility that rivals any in hockey.
“One of the things I see is that the setup is global,” Laxdal said. “The stadium, the training ground, the venue, the weight room, the way they have everything set up. I think they have hit the nail on the head.”
The fan support in the Coachella Valley also stands out. The Firebirds averaged nearly 8,500 fans per game in their first two seasons in the desert.
“You look at the matchup with Palm Springs and Palm Desert and Indio, the fans have really taken to the Firebirds,” Laxdal noted. “It has really become their team, they have really jumped. The expectations are very high.”
After two seasons of relative stability, this season's Firebirds roster will have a markedly different look. Andrew Poturalski, Kole Lind, Jimmy Schultt, Cameron Hughes, Places to stay in Petman again Peter Seppala – all bases for each of the last two years – carried forward. Depending on how Seattle's opening night schedule holds up, several players from last June's run to the playoffs could stick with the Kraken.
After four trips to the NHL Draft now, the Kraken have amassed a pool of prospects ready to play and develop in the Coachella Valley. Expect the Firebirds to take on a smaller, development-oriented flavor.
After a first season filled with free agent signings, last season's Firebirds showed the first signs of transitioning to a more traditional AHL format, as Seattle's revamped Shane Wright, Ryan Winterton again Places to stay in Ottavainen he turned pro.
Kraken is counting on Laxdal to orchestrate that change, of course Dan Bylsma and his staff helped the Firebirds in their formation two years ago. And Laxdal has shown that he can withstand change. As steady as he has been in his coaching career, his return to Junior and Oshawa in 2022 suggests he may be moving on to something unfamiliar. Laxdal, a native of Manitoba, had no OHL connections before taking the Oshawa job. But he adapted quickly, learned the new league and took part as a general manager.
The OHL's less demanding travel schedule has given Laxdal more time to practice with his players. He also admitted that after years of working with professionals, including NHL players, he has had to prioritize patience with his younger players.
“It was an eye-opener,” said Laxdal, 58. “I really enjoyed my time back in Junior. The young player has changed. They want to know more. They want more information, to build relationships, to build that family spirit.”
Going to Dallas as an assistant also presented a different alliance for Laxdal, who hadn't been an assistant since 2003 in the old Central Hockey League. He worked for the hockey team Rick Bownesssomething that gave another chance to learn.
“It really taught me to step back, listen, and take in the information … digest it a little bit before you make a decision,” said Laxdal, whose assistants in Dallas are now Hershey's head coach. Todd Nelson and AHL Hall of Famer John Stevens. “I think it really allowed me to take a step in my maturity as a coach from Texas to Dallas.”
Laxdal admits he is a different coach than the one who left Cedar Park five years ago.
“I think every day brings a new challenge,” he said. “It doesn't matter what league you're in. He is a problem solver.”
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