A Manitoban In Palm Springs

The artist who created the image to the left, Stephen Rhodes, is an Australian artist which makes the image a little cooler since he did a good job at capturing that laid-back feeling of California with his sign. Palm Springs is used to seeing visitors from all over including Australia, but it seems to play host to many Canadians who head down south for the winter in their retirement years. These snowbirds will enjoy the warm weather away from the cold and snow in Canada, but one other person will be heading south come August for an eight-month visit as a homegrown coach has been hired by the AHL's Coachella Valley Firebirds to lead their team!

Former Texas Stars and Oshawa Generals head coach Derek Laxdal will stand behind the Firebirds' bench as the second head coach in team history, and the Stonewall, Manitoba native should be a good fit with his experience and knowledge of the game! He's won a Kelly Cup with the Idaho Steelheads, he has two WHL championships after coaching the Edmonton Oil Kings to victory, and he spent some time as an assistant coach with the Dallas Stars so Laxdal should have no problems adjusting to life as an AHL head coach.

"We are pleased to welcome Derek and his family to the Firebirds," Kraken GM Ron Francis said in his press release. "Derek has a successful history of coaching and developing players at all levels. We look forward to him leading our group as we continue to build upon the foundation we have established in the AHL and the local community in our first two years in the Valley."

Laxdal spent eight years in the Dallas Stars organization, and he oversaw the development in the AHL of Jamie Oleksiak, John Klingberg, Valeri Nichushkin, Esa Lindell, Radek Faksa, Jack Campbell, Denis Gurianov, and Jason Dickinson who all have multiple seasons of NHL hockey to their names, so he should fit with the Kraken's philosophy to develop players for promotion to Seattle. As we saw this season with Dan Bylsma and Jessica Simpson, a number of Firebirds made contributions at the NHL level which is something I'm sure Ron Francis wants to see continue.

What had to make him a top candidate in the search was his ability to produce winning teams. Laxdal has had a record over .500 in 16 of 19 seasons as a head coach, and he hit 40 wins in 12 of those 19 seasons in all of the CHL, ECHL, WHL, AHL, and OHL. What may be more impressive is that he gets the most out of his players at the right time as he's been to the league final in all of the ECHL, WHL, AHL, and OHL. Needless to say, the man knows how to develop winning hockey regardless of who he's coaching.

Laxdal joins a very successful group who may see a few departures following their second-straight run to the Calder Cup Final. Having Shane Wright develop his game over the last season has to be encouraging if he's in the lineup, and the Firebirds will likely boast Cale Fleury, Connor Carrick, Kole Lind, and Devin Shore as veteran players on whom Laxdal can rely. Goaltending might be the weakest spot on the roster right now as Chris Dreidger signed with Florida, but Francis will likely find a replacement for the veteran AHL netminder.

"I would like to thank Ron Francis, David Bonderman, Samantha Holloway and the entire Seattle Kraken ownership group for the opportunity to lead the Firebirds," Laxdal said in the release. "I look forward to the season and meeting the great fans in Coachella Valley. My family and I look forward to making the Valley our new home."

Congratulations to Derek Laxdal as he finds his way back into the AHL coaching ranks! It's always fun to see a Manitoban landing in the top ranks of the hockey world thanks to a long history of success, and I have no doubt that Derek Laxdal will fit in well with the Firebirds while keeping their expectation of winning hockey alive!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!